Dreamstime

Hi, my name is Christian Fuentes. I am 11 years old. I remember when my mom used to tell me “No matter how hard something is there is always a way to overcome it.’’ My mom was always there for me, my dad not really, but I always try to do good in school. When I was in 2nd grade, I always thought that middle school was going to be hard. I thought I was going to fail and never make it past 5th grade.

I knew that one day something would happen when I got home. My sister and uncle were crying. That was the first time I have seen my uncle cry. I didn’t know what happened and it was summer so I was wondering why they were crying. My sister said to me that my mom did not have much time left to live. I started to cry. I did not know how to react to this news. My mom was there for me and cared for me. 

We went to the doctors and they said, “she will not make it!”

I felt miserable.

Two weeks later. 

They said today is her last day with her family.  I looked at her and she looked different from when she was healthy. I was outside for a while until my sister called me. 

My mom wanted to spend the last moment with me. She said, “Christian please behave for your sister and never give up. I love you, Christian! The heart monitor stopped beeping.  

I felt depressed.. Why? Everything in my mind was asking why?  The summer of the next school year started. I changed and I stopped talking to everyone.  Everyone was wondering why I was not talking. They tried to cheer me up but it did not work.  I have been sad for so long. 

I talked to the counselor. It worked a lot but I was still a little scared of everything that happened and to include people in my life. Other kids made fun of me.  

They said, “you can’t ever make it in life.” After a while, things changed for some odd reason. I was playing soccer with my friends and my heart was pounding loud and louder every second. This was not grief, it was happiness. Finally, after a long time, I overcame my challenge. No matter how hard or easy something is at the end of the day it only matters how you overcome it.