Unexpected

There was a young girl named Sara. Sara absolutely loved going out into the small forest behind her house. She would take walks, explore, and bask in the nature that surrounded her. She was always looking for little trinkets to take to her room so she could remember her thrilling adventures. One day, she had just finished going on a walk down a new path she had recently discovered. Something bright caught her eye. It was yellow, an ugly-mustard yellow. Once she laid eyes on it, she physically cringed. She almost didn’t want to pick it up. Something in the back of her mind told her to just grab it. After a few seconds of debating, Sara picked it up. It was heavy and felt like sandpaper, and the back was rough and hollow. She flipped it around and she stood there, stunned. Crystal. The hollow rock was full of extravagantly purple, shiny crystals. How could something so beautiful be attached to something so unpleasant? She admired the gorgeous rock before happily walking home with her new founded trinket, one more to add to her growing collection.

Faded Away

When I was younger, me and my older sister were inseparable. Wherever she went I went. It was a given that we would tell each other everything. One day she told me about this girl she had become friends with. She told me about how great of a friend she was, how she was kind, outgoing, and lively. Everyday my sister would come home and have a new adventure to tell me about, whether it was that they raced on the playground or simply walked around the school yard. I was practically living through my sister, it was almost like she was my best friend too. One day, she came home, but she didn’t have an adventure.. I figured she was absent. The same thing happened the next day. Then the next. And everyday after that. I would always wonder what happened to her. It was almost as if she disappeared, or she might have just been slowly fading away over the years.

Don’t Forget

It was Halloween and I was sitting at my friend’s dining table, her marble dining table, and I was in my Tigger costume. My friend was to the left of me in her Winnie the Pooh costume, while her sister was two seats down to the right of me (not in a costume). Her mother would drop by every so often to check up on us or our group project, or even just to have a small conversation. I liked her parents, they were very nice. Her dad was more closed-off, while her mom would be the one to initiate the conversations, but they were both very kind. Her mother walked in after being away in the kitchen for a little bit, but she walked in with two bowls of candy. I figured they were for the trick or treaters. She sets them down and announces that when the trick or treaters came by, we would give them 3 pieces of candy each. This sparked a conversation on how many pieces of candy should be given out per person. Her sister then said, “Well, we can’t give everyone a handful, we would run out.” Her mother replied with a smile, “A handful is too much, but we won’t be running out of candy anytime soon.” My friend’s little sister then shot back, “We probably will run out of candy since we only bought two bags because we are poor.” That. That made my head turn the slightest bit, just enough to see her in my peripheral vision. Poor? It could’ve been a joke, and I could have laughed, but I didn’t. Was the fact that she had to drive 15 minutes to school everyday because she lived in the better part of town not enough? Were her pink bedroom walls, and bedroom full of everything she had ever asked her parents for.. not enough? Was I annoyed because of how she was acting, or was I annoyed because it made me realize I had been in the same position before? “Why can’t I get this doll, are we really that poor?” I could hear all the times I had said similar things to my parents ringing through my head. Was my two-story house not enough? Was the toy box bigger than me, full of any toy I could think of.. not enough? Why did I have to be so ungrateful, and be so blinded by the things I didn’t have, to have forgotten about everything else I already owned? Fortunately, I was able to mature to a point where I was able to realize that what I had was enough, more than enough if anything. I grew up and witnessed what it was like for people who really were poor, struggling to put food on the table and a roof over their head. I was also lucky enough to not witness it first hand, but rather from afar and in the comfort of my home. There were people who were poor, even poorer than poor to the point where they weren’t even able to have a shelter of any sort. I was able to become someone who was grateful for their things, family, and home. I work hard to remind myself of all of my privileges that come with my life, rather than the burdens or obstacles that may get in my way. I hoped right then and there that my friend’s little sister was able to become that person too. I hoped even more that she would never have to go through those kinds of struggles either. I also wanted to thank her for reminding me of everything that I should be thankful for.