To whom this may concern,

     Responsibility is a big word in meaning and in literal being. It’s not always handed to you, you earn it with time. Responsibility can be a burden, but it also has it’s perks. You can take more on and try to accomplish it all or you can take what you can handle; sometimes people don’t necessarily have a choice like I do.

     I was standing frozen in the center of it all. The spotlight shining down on me and the air filling with the smell of popcorn and funnel cakes. It wasn't too dark, but I could make out the primary color tent that I was standing under and the bleachers filled with familiar faces. Some of the faces were ones that have cheered me on since I was in diapers and just learning to walk. After each stumble I took, they were always there for helping me back up and encouraging me to go forward. Other faces were ones that have constantly put obstacle after obstacle in front of me and trying to make me fall down. No matter who it was or what they meant to me, all of their eyes were burning into me, as if waiting for me to make the next move. I glance over my shoulder and to my right, the wrong decision is out in the open, appearing to have no difficult obstacles to overcome. I turn to my left in search of the right decision and there’s nothing to be found. The crowd’s eyes were fixed upon something above me. As I turned my head in the same direction, the right decision was on the opposite landing of the starting point on the tightrope. Underneath it, there was an unsturdy net and my fear of heights. I decided that the right thing to do would be to face my fear and do the right choice. As I made my way up, a clown had peeked his head down at me. Having to face another one of my fears, (that being clowns) I continued to trudge on.

     Finally reaching the top of the landing, the clown had handed me three juggling balls with the word “responsibilities” written across them. After placing a blindfold on me, I was to start my way across the tightrope. My first step wasn’t too bad, it was the ones that I took afterward that were even worse. Not even a quarter of the way through, I had people yelling at me; from rude comments to motivational gestures or quotes. One of the rude comments I heard I could distinctly tell who it was. Their raspy, high-pitched voice burned the inner part of my ear all the way to my ear drum. The face of my enemy was perfectly pictured in my head; her hair the same color as hay, her teeth resembling the ones of a horse, and her attitude as disgusting as a dumpster. Knowing that it was her, it only pushed me to keep moving on and to not act like a scaredy cat in front of her.

     Marking my halfway point, I was juggling twice as many balls as I had started with. Doing so well, people started to cheer. My confidence exploding through the ceiling of the tent like a firework show on the fourth of July, I was so proud of myself for facing my fears and being able to juggle six balls across the tightrope. With my head in the clouds and my heart set on doing the right thing, nothing could get in my way. With no wood around for me to knock on, I clearly jinxed myself and everything started to fall apart; and by “fall apart’ it literally meant the net underneath me. Panic finally set in; beads of sweat forming on my forehead and in my hands. It felt like Niagara Falls was rushing through the palms of my hands. With that happening I lost grip of a few juggling balls and as they plunged to the sandy, circus floor, so did my confidence.

     As I started to lose my balance, I felt like giving up up. I didn't want to make myself look like a fool anymore than I already did, but the net underneath me had broken and fell to the ground, so I had to keep going on. It felt like forever that I had been on that tightrope; I was just ready to get off.

     After everything that had happened, I finally made it across. I had lost a few “responsibility” balls along the way, but I overcame my fears and finally reached the right decision. Even though I had to make it through a few obstacles, it had paid off in the end.

     At the bottom of the tightrope, my family and friends had met me there congratulating me for doing an outstanding job. Once the tent had started to empty, I noticed the same girl that was yelling the rude comments walk out with a hatred look on her face. I began to think that, that was her normal expression due to how much she used it.

     With all of that being said, the moral of the story is no matter how many hurdles you have to jump over or how many times you fall down, you should always do the right thing.

Sincerely,

Breana