Leah Price

Your father has been arrested and is going to jail.” Nothing could describe the shock and disbelief that I was in when my mom told me this when I was only nine years old. It was the moment that changed my life forever. I was overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry. I felt my life was unraveling, and I did not know how to stop it. From that night on, my life shifted from what I thought I knew as normal; the routines and tasks I felt I needed to accomplish would all become different. My mom, brother and I had to move to an apartment and start a new life almost overnight. My mom had been a homemaker for as long as I could remember taking me to school, piano lessons, and sports and helping me with homework. She now had to work full-time to support my brother and me, and we all had to make changes and take on new responsibilities. I was a 4th grader who had to give up piano, create carpools, help raise my brother, learn how to cook, clean, and help with other things around the house. Dealing with the missing hole of a father figure was difficult. Not knowing the whole truth and my friends always asking about my dad was exhausting and embarrassing. How could I tell them that my dad, the dad I envisioned as perfect and loving, was not so perfect and was quite the opposite. He made poor choices, chose terrible things over his wife and kids, and caused everyone’s life to shatter. Even though my world felt upside down, I decided I would not let my father’s actions define me.

Years have passed since this incident, I am almost 18, and despite everything that has happened in my life and the hardships I faced, I would not change anything. It shaped me into the person I am today and taught me resilience, perseverance, character, and to be a good person. I never want to feel powerless and restricted, so I aim to give it my all and never give up. I will never forget the night that changed my life, and I intend to use that night to drive me to succeed. I look forward to going to college in this land of opportunity.