The day started off like any other. It was the middle of eighth grade, nothing was unusual, I did my morning routine, and got ready for school. The same thing every day, and I mean every single day. As I grabbed my backpack on the ground, I heard something I hadn’t heard in awhile- silence. I screamed goodbye to my mom and dad and shut the door so loud the chandelier shook, and started walking to my bus stop. The outside pollen blew through the air and made me sneeze immediately. The smell of flowers filling the trees filled my nose, then in the distance I saw a yellow blurb appear. The bus, better start sprinting Ixchel. I got my foot onto the step of the bus as she was about to close the door, but I found the same spot I sat in everyday. That was my comfort zone.

The entire day had been a bit off so far- I almost missed the bus, I got a B on French, and just felt exhausted. I came home from school, walked into the kitchen, and said hello to my mom, then immediately saw the color drain from her face. What could this be. She told me she and my dad had an argument, and I brushed it off like it was nothing, you know the usual I told myself. She told me no, that this one was different, but that was hard to believe since occasional yelling would fill the house from time to time. I did not think anything of it and ran off to my room to start homework. Ignore it and nothing happened, everything is okay. Those were the words I told myself whenever something like this happened. I ignored it until I heard my dad come back from work. My name along with my brothers were called, we followed the voice, and entered the room. Both my parents were sitting on the bed, my mom the same expression she had earlier. I searched for an answer in their eyes, then my brothers, but their thoughts were as scrambled as mine. They told us to sit down, and after a few moments passed, they said in unison words that changed my entire life. “We are getting a divorce” they said. Five words that turned my world upside side. I sat there awestruck, and went blank for the next few minutes. I felt the tears building up, but forced myself to keep them down as I searched for answers.  Why me? Why this? I went to my room and started crying. I did not want this, but it was out of my control and there was nothing I could do. I should have seen this coming I told myself, but in a way I did. I noticed the relationship was no longer what was best for anyone, but it had been this way for so long that I had begun to ignore it. I spent the night processing what was happening and how many things were going to be different. After many weeks of talking to my parents about it, I realized everything was going to be okay and there was nothing to worry about. I still was going to have both my parents in my life, and now everything is so much better because there is no longer tension.

You see, society makes us believe we have one life and that life planned out for us from birth. You grow up, go to a good college, graduate, get a job, get married, have babies, and live until you die. This is what most kids grow up wanting, it is even what I wanted. When my parents told me they were getting a divorce, I thought about the world around me, and how all of my friend’s parents were still together. At first I was worried that I would be judged, but soon learned it was the opposite. Society around me made me feel pressured to be like everyone else and have the same type of family everybody else has. But everybody’s family is different, and that is a concept that was so far from grasp at the time. Society also tells us you have one partner for the rest of your life. But that is not the way it works in life. I now realize how much better it is to have two separated happy parents than the situation we were in before. I love how much more peaceful everything and truly think it was for the best. You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it, and you can create your own future. Failed relationships do not break people, as I was not broken by this. You learn from them, the good, the bad, and move on with life. I was so afraid of change before, I did the same thing everyday, falling into a routine, because it was comfortable. This whole experience dragged me out of my comfort zone, and caused me to see things very differently. No matter what obstacles you are going through, it will all be alright in the end.