In the story, So B. It, the little girl, Heidi, overcame many difficult challenges in her life. Heidi was very brave in the book, because she had to travel to New York all by herself at the age of twelve looking for answers to questions her mentally disabled mother couldn’t answer. Growing up with a mom that was disabled was very difficult for her. Heidi was a very brave young girl and had to overcome many challenges in her life to survive.
There were many obstacles that Heidi had to deal with throughout her life. For example, the fact that her mom had a mental disability was the biggest obstacle she lived with. Her mother could hardly speak or take care of herself, so it was up to Heidi and Bernie, their neighbor, to take care of her mom. They had hardly any money because her mother couldn’t work and Heidi was too young to have a job. Their neighbor, Bernie, hardly had any money either because she was afraid to leave her house so therefore could not work either. Heidi never went to a real school although Bernie tried to teach her all that she could. Heidi didn’t even know if she had any other extended family members that she could go to for help. Since her mom couldn’t say many words, she couldn’t tell her anything that would be helpful. Lastly, Bernie their neighbor had such a strong fear of going outside that she would faint the minute she stepped outside.
Obstacles and phobias were something Heidi dealt with daily. Having a phobia of going outside was very hard because it got very boring for Bernie sitting around the house all day. Lucky for her she had Heidi who could go to the store and get food for her and anything else that they needed. Bernie was a very kind woman especially to Heidi's mom because she took Heidi and her mom in when Heidi was just an infant. Not being able to go to school was hard for Heidi because it would make it difficult to learn new things and get out of a bad situation like Heidi was in. Once in awhile Heidi got books from the library that helped her learn. Since her mother could only say twenty three words she couldn’t tell Heidi if she had any grandparents or a dad. She knew nothing about her family so that's the reason why Heidi took the trip to New York. Heidi found pictures of her mom when she was at a nursing home for disabled people. These photos were the clues that helped her locate the nursing home her mother had once lived in. Money was very tight for her family because Bernie didn’t have a job and her mom was disabled. Heidi was resourceful and got money by babysitting and finding coins from the coin machine at the Laundromat. Bernie also had left over money that her dad passed down to her after he died so they were able to get by on that for awhile. Lastly, her mom’s disability was the biggest obstacle of all. Heidi didn’t know any different but she knew her mom wasn’t like other moms. She knew that her mother had limitations so she felt a need to take care of her mother. She did know that her mom loved her in her own way.
After reading this story I realized that I really should be thankful for what I have. Even though we all have challenges in life, my life is nothing like Heidi’s was. I am very thankful that I know that I have a family and everything I could ever need. In this story Heidi was very brave, and had to overcome many struggles in her life.
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