Effects on others...

For me it all began December 25th, 2004 the happiest day of the year, supposedly. This
seems like a special day right? Time of joy, happiness, family. Not for me! This is the day
everything went sideways. Ever since that day my life has never been the same. Over the years
it’s improved a little bit, but I’ll never be that same boy you saw in 2004. It is now 2009 and I
have yet to recover. That was the day my parents had their first fight and little did I know that
day would change my life forever.
At that time I was 12 living in Nebraska. It was a very small town, some would even
consider it nowhere. There was only one school located just down the street from my house.
This is where I went. It was called Acholm middle school. Every kid in town went here. Even my
mom and dad went here when they were young! It was all a normal day I went to school for a
parade, came home, opened presents and had dinner with my family like everyone else did.
Later that evening we played games and I could sense some tension between my family. I didn’t
know what was going on but I decided to keep my mouth shut. Whatever this was it seemed like
it was none of my business and would just blow away by tomorrow and everything would be
fine. That was not the case.
That night when I went to bed and all I could hear was screaming which sounded like it
was coming through the walls. All I could think was, ”is that just me or is that mom and dad
yelling at one another?” I decided to head down the stairs down the dark silent hallway. I had a
small house so it didn’t take long for me to get there. When I got there, it all went silent. I had
the biggest sigh of relief, then, out of nowhere I heard a big boom! My dad threw his laptop at
the wall! I hear my mom say “Ron! That was very unnecessary, cut it out!” then my dad said
“Melissa I’ve had enough of you this was all unnecessary get out of my life!” I broke down in
tears and could only hope things didn’t progress. I didn’t want my parents to argue and fight and
maybe even get a divorce! I loved them with all of me! Losing them would be like losing the
championship in the little leagues times 10!
As you can imagine I was left there struck with sadness. I layed there in my bed in the
dark, gloomy room sobbing my eyes out. Out of anyone in this world this happened to me! What
did I do to deserve this! This was hard on me. I went to school and it wasn’t anything like I
remembered. The hallways were dark, classrooms seemed dull, teachers and students seemed
a lot more quiet. Maybe it was just me. I tried to talk to others but all I could think about was my
parents… Later that day my friend Jaydon came up to me and said “hey man you alright?
You’ve seemed way off lately and haven’t been answering your phone.” I didn’t know what to
say? Do I get him involved? I decided to tell him what’s been going on. All I could say was
“Jaydon, I don’t know what’s going on, it’s my parents.” Right then my world went dark. I fell
down and bursted into tears. My chest ripped open. I honestly thought I was going to die. My life
had just completely fallen apart.
Couple months have passed since that fight. I swear everyday they argued one after
another my dad would say “shut up!” after that my mom would chime in and say “you shut up
get out of the house!” Finally one day my dad did end up leaving and went to live with my
grandma. At this point I knew I was going to lose them. This was the biggest turning point in my
life. My life totally went downhill from here. My mom was constantly mad at me, I spiraled down
a dark hole. The only time I enjoyed was being at my dads and even then sometimes it feels like
he’s not even there for me. Months passed, in fact years passed of me feeling depressed and
down. I finally hit highschool. It was my junior year and I met someone really special. I was in
math class and during that class a new girl came in and man let me tell you she lightened me up
even more than I’ve ever been! I went up to her and said “Hello there! I’m Oliver, what's your
name? She responded, “I’m Faith, it's a pleasure to meet you!” She changed my life around for
the better! Time went on and we got to know each other. I felt strongly about her and I felt like
she was the only person meant for me. No one else has really been there for me like she has
and after these rough few years I really needed this. She makes me feel at home. I feel like I’ve
escaped the deep, dark tunnel I’ve been stuck in for ages. As you can imagine I asked this girl
to be my girlfriend and she did say yes! I went from the saddest man ever straight to the
happiest. Even though my parents left me stranded and helpless, It only took one person's love
for me to feel good about myself and to give me purpose to put forth my best effort and to give it
my all not only for me but the person that helped me become who I am and brought me to the
light of this world and I am forever grateful. Always take care of those who you love and do
what's best for you and them. That’s what I live by.