Outside these walls

I was going through the daily stresses of being a teenager. It was one of those bad days where it seems like everything goes wrong. You lose your textbook, you fail a test, and you get in a little fight with your best friend:

things like that. When I got home, all I cared about was me and my problems.

My mom got home from work where she helps out at an elementary school. What my mom told my family at dinner really made me think that day. "Everyone, you're not going to believe what happened to me at work today," my mom said. She talked out the whole conversation, just like this:

A little girl went up to her in the lunch line. "How are you?" she said.

"I'm fine, but what's wrong, sweetie?"

"Oh, my daddy died yesterday. He was at a store and got shot there."

The whole dinner table was speechless when my mom was finished. This girl was in about first grade, and probably didn't even really understand what was going on. I felt so bad for the little girl, and so did my mom.

After dinner, I went on the computer and I talked to my friend Robyn. We were in a normal conversation when suddenly she asked me if I knew about the girl with cancer that died 3 days ago at her school. I had never even heard about it. Robyn told me how the girl still went to school even though she only had 6 weeks to live.

Imagine knowing that your wonderful life could be taken away from you in a matter of weeks. Cancer is probably one of the worst sicknesses to have, especially if you know you are going to die because of it.

Robyn told me how they had prom early just for her because she really wanted to attend. It just seemed so sad. I wonder what I was doing the second that she died. I know I didn't know her at all, but any death makes me think, and how what if it happened to me?

On top of all of this, my friend told me that both of her parents lost their jobs. We doubt that they will move because they will find other jobs where we live. I hope. But it is so sad how they are going to have to deal with not having a lot of money. I felt so bad for my friend.

My family has gone through many troubles, too. My sister got the wrong idea of how she should diet and lost too much weight. She was sick for a while, but thankfully before they had to send her to the hospital, she started gaining weight. But then she got an ulcer in the back of her stomach. It was caused by some kind of virus. She spent the entire summer in the hospital because of her stomach surgery, and she wasn't able to eat. Of course, this made her lose even more weight. My whole family has been through so much trouble trying to get her better. It is just all too sad.

After all of this, I look at my silly little problems about school and about friends. I realized that I'm pretty lucky to not have an ulcer or cancer. I realized that outside these walls, people are suffering much worse than I am. Even my own sister faces really tough problems. I know she has had a much harder life than I have had.

I also know that I am lucky to have this life. My little problems that seemed so big before now seem so unimportant. Next time, when I'm home and all upset over something that happened with my friends, I'll think about those less fortunate: those with nowhere to live, no parents. What's outside of these walls.

by Melissa