Term Paper on "Smoking"

Quoted Instructions for "Smoking" Assignment:

The essay is about living with a smoker. In this case, a girl*****s father who smokes. Even till this day, long after she graduated smokes because he*****s addicted and can*****t seem to quit. This is the central point of the story, but need to get to it sooner.

What*****s interesting is not how or when the girl learned her father smoked, but that he does smoke, and continues to. Thinking this story spends too much time on a single incident. By 200 to 250 words in, a reader should know that he smokes, that he hid it from the girl but she found out and she*****s worried. Then we need resolve the story. It*****s not clear how much he still smokes (he smokes at least a once a day), if he*****s tried to quit (he*****s tried to quit several times, the first being when the girl was born), the girl*****s anxiety over this is still as strong as it was when she first learned. These are the points the story needs to hit ***** these points will resonate with anyone who has lived with a smoker. It would also help to have line or two about doctors smoking ***** any numbers you can find. Back in the *****˜50s, doctors were actually featured in cigarette ads endorsing smoking.

---work from this version

When I was growing up, my dad would sometimes leave the house for a drive or walk of a half-hour or more. He would smell like smoke or cigarettes when he came back. I never thought too much about him coming and going until I was in middle school. He would come back home and if I was there, he would give me a hug, but he smelled like smoke and it bothered me. He would then jump in the shower. I have never in all my life seen my dad smoke, but I know he does. I never asked him about it. I was too scared that he would tell me the truth. It would be so disappointing if I knew. It was not until a friend of mine called me one evening. *****I ran into your dad while he was lighting up,***** she said. *****Didn*****t know he smoked!***** That moment crushed me. I couldn't ignore this anymore. For my friend to see for herself that my Dad, the pillar of all things good in this world and a medical doctor at that smoked was such an embarrassment. I was finally confronted with the ugly truth.

Weeks went by since my friend*****s call and I didn*****t say a word. As my dad drove me back to school at the end of the summer 1998 I was heading back to start my 2nd year of college, we had two hours to kill. The car always smelled faintly of cigarettes, but it was clean. Sometimes, it smelled too clean. Anyway, I told him about my friend seeing him smoke. Dad said he thought he recognized my friend that day, but was not sure. I thought at that very moment he would tell me everything. Tell me about how he started smoking. Tell me that he was sorry he kept it from us. Tell me he was sorry for smoking. Sorry for deliberately killing himself slowly.

I just stared outside the window. The drive was silent the entire way to school. I did not know what to say. I was thinking, should I just ask, *****Hey, Dad, why do you smoke?***** But I could not muster the courage to ask the question. My dad was supposed to be perfect. Why would he intentionally smoke?

I got to school and called my mom, who had just gotten back from an out-of-town trip. I spilled everything. *****Why does Daddy smoke? I*****ve never seen him actually do it, but I know he does. He knows better*****¦he*****s a medical doctor. Why does he do it?!***** My mom let me vent. She let me cry it out. She finally said that I needed to ask him. She said my Dad loved us too much to openly smoke in front of us. She said he had tried to quit several times, but with no luck. She said he had tried everything, but just could not seem to be able to quit.

I hated that my dad smoked. I do. Since coming back to school, he would call to say hi and I just felt this coldness in my heart. I was cold to him and he did not know why.

I came home for the holidays and I cracked on Christmas Day. I looked my dad straight in the eye and told him I wanted him to stop smoking. Just stop it. I cried and pleaded that we could help him and he just shook his head. He grabbed his coat and walked out of the house. Hours later, he came back smelling like smoke as usual. He did not rush into the bathroom as he usually did. He came and gave me a hug. All I could smell was the smoke on him. I did not care that his eyes were bloodshot red. I did not care. He looked at my sister and me and said he was trying. He said he was not perfect; he had been smoking since high school. It helped him unwind after a long day or allowed him to think. He said he was not perfect. I just sat there in disbelief. This is the same person who taught us right from wrong. No smoking. No drugs. No alcohol*****¦

I will never forget that moment. It drained me completely. All kinds of thoughts were going through my mind. Maybe if we got him to exercise more. Convince him there were other things he could do to relax. My mom joined us and said to let him be. I think I am ultimately scared he will leave this earth as a result of smoking.