Many people may look at me and assume my life is a dream. I have two parents, who must be so happy, and a perfect home. People may look into my life from a third person view and think, “Wow, Annabell must have it made in the shade! She knows exactly what she is doing with her life!” Third person views are almost always perceived far from what the truth is, because in actuality, I don’t have it made in the shade.

My dad works hard every day, waking up at 3:00 in the morning and arriving home at 2:00 in the afternoon. After a hard day at on the base he comes home and takes care of my mom. He gives me daily speeches about joining the Air Force. He reminds me that once I complete that part of my life I will, in fact, have it made in the shade. He pressures me everyday about my grades and my schoolwork. I will come home with all A’s and he will say, “Well why aren’t those A pluses?” I will tell him that I always do my best and we move on with taking life day by day.

As for my mom, she has multiple health issues. Every morning she wakes me up to get ready for school, and keeps herself busy with keeping the house clean since she can’t work anymore. I leave for school with my neighbors and persevere through the day. Afterwards, I come home and make sure she is taken care of. She cries a lot, because she is in pain. Constant suffering of something she caused, but now cannot control. She cries because she feels abandoned and disappointed. My poor mother does not have it made in the shade.

As for me, I have no idea what I’m doing. I have no idea what I am going to do after high school. I don’t know if I will go to college, into the Air Force, or straight into the real world to work at a job I hate. I take it day by day. I do my very best in school so when it is time, I know what my options are and I can have a happy life. Everyday I go to school not knowing what the day holds. I do know that every single decision I make in this time of my life, is crucial to what I determine for my future. I know that if I make the right decisions now, and do my absolute best now, my life will be made in the shade.