I’m going to be true to what I want to do, because if I care what people think about me,
I’m a puppet. Which I have been in my life. And you can’t live life that way, man.
-Donny Osmond
Was there a time when you wanted to start over and change some things that you’ve dealt with because of how hard life was for you? Well, Dominique’s mom has left her and her dad. They didn’t know why, what, or how, all they knew was that, she’s never coming back. Dominique wanted to go chase after her, but she changed her mind because her mom made the choice to leave them.
Dominique:
My mother told me not to do anything stupid when I get older, like take drugs or drink in an early age, after she had left my dad and I to someplace unknown. I never found the exact reason to why she left me. My dad and I tried looking for her, handing out missing pictures of her, tacking them on walls, poles, and trees. We also searched her up online on her Social Medias, but she wasn’t updated. The more my dad and I tried to look for my mom, we have lost interest. She made a choice and now I’m doing the same.
Throughout middle school, my mom was the best mom ever, she helped me get through my dramatic problems with girl and guy dramas.  My mom and I were very close. We would go shop for clothes, try out make-ups, and all those other girly things. To tell you the truth, it’s not that I don’t miss my mom. I’m just mad about her choosing to leave. My mom was my best friend; my everything, but now, she is nothing to me. 
Now that I’m in high school, I can finally enjoy the life that I’ve wanted to live. I have found new, great friends. They’re much cooler than my old friends. My old friends were such goody goodies who didn’t take risks and just had fun. My new friends got me into trying out new things. I never thought that I’d ever drink alcohol or try out anything that I wouldn’t have done, but I have. Just between you and me, I regret doing all those things, but if I would’ve left their “group,” I wouldn’t had other people to be with.
People think that I am a new person, but I am not. I’m still the same Dominique who had no mom because she moved out of the house. I’ve been doing the things that I’ve been doing now because it’s to keep me away from reality. When my friends tell me what to do, I do it for them because they’re the only people that “want” me, and “care” about me. I know that I have changed a couple things about myself because like everyone says, I was a very “colorful” person, as in I had some ups and downs throughout my life. Now, everyone thinks I’m “colorless.” I don’t know what they meant by that, maybe because all I have been going through are my problems.

Everyone says you only fall in love once, but that’s not true, because everytime I see you,
I fall in love all over again.
-Best Love Quotes
Do you love someone, that doesn’t have the same affection or feelings as you? Francis has a friend who he truly loves, Karen. He has loved her for all the years that they’ve been best friends. But Karen never knew, he never told her, he didn’t want to express his feelings if Karen didn’t feel the same way.
Francis:
The perfect day of any day is every day, but it had nothing to do with the weather or what I did. It was when I was with my best friend. I heard the saying, “when you like someone and she’s your best friend, you should not like or love her.” This saying, I don’t like it, it’s not helpful, but it is true. Sometimes when you date someone who is your best friend and it can end badly, because you had just lost a best friend. But people should follow what their hearts lead them to. My heart, led me to having affection for this beautiful girl, Karen. When I’m around her, my heart don’t pound, my hands don’t shake, my knees don’t go weak, but I do feel calm.
Karen is the only person that I can trust and truly love. She’s always right by my side through my ups and downs and everything that’s happens to me. When she has a smile on her face, it puts a smile on my face. When she talks, I listen. When she cries, I comfort her. We don’t go through things alone, we do it together.
  The more I’m around her, the more I gain affection towards her. I’ve been in love with her for so long, but she hasn’t loved me back. I seem to be the only one trying or showing that I care.
Another saying that I have heard was, “love sometimes takes a break and stops for a moment. Then it’ll regain its power and find another person.” This is also a quote that I don’t like. Love should keep going because there’s only one person in the whole entire world that will be one’s partner. I know that this saying is true because if people don’t get a chance, they’ll lose hope, but it should not be like this. People deserve every chance that they need and can get.
In my heart, Karen is the girl for me. But in my head, I know that she’s not for me. The actions show it. Life moves on and despite the love, I truly have for her should move on too.  The thing is, there are things about her that make my life seem easier and clearer. Without her, everything will close and the only thing that I’ll see is darkness.

A day without laughter is a day wasted.
-Charlie Chaplin
Have you ever felt like you have lost everything that you’ve had? Marissa has just moved to a new town with her daughter. Which meant, a new school for her daughter and a new job for her. Marissa’s daughter, Tessa has been pushed around and made fun of, basically she got bullied. On Tessa’s old school, she had everything, she had friends and family supporting her and helping her out. It seems like her world has just turned upside down.
Marissa:
When I got home, I saw my daughter, Tessa, crying. I didn’t know why, but I know that I should go talk to her and help her out. I walked into her room and found two bruises on her right eye and left cheek. Then I saw her knees, there were patches of skin bleeding. As the mother I am, I cried my eyes out. Why does this happen to my daughter every time she comes home? She always has new cuts, bruises, and blood running down from her skin.
Tessa is a sixteen year old teenage and we have recently moved to Mobile, Alabama. Tessa didn’t want to move because her friends, relatives, and favorite people lived at our old hometown. But we needed to move away from that town since there were bullies and dealers there. But here, it’s just as bad. I didn’t want those people to affect or influence my daughter. Even though Tessa had a happy life there, I just wanted her to have a life with people that will influence her the right way.
My only daughter was a very joyful girl back where we lived. That side of her is long gone. Every night, I cry and blame myself for how her life has turned upside down. I never knew how to help her, except by saying these words:
“In the morning, there’ll be a new life waiting for you. Don’t let people push you around. Let only you and those people who loves you help yourself. We both didn’t want this to happen, but we had no choice. I didn’t want those people back at our hometown to influence you. Also, I owe people a lot of money and I haven’t paid them yet. But that’s not the important thing right now, either keep going into the life you have now, or let other people lead you the right way.”
I know this is not very helpful for Tessa, but this is all I can do. I know she wants to move back, but her worst experiences can teach her lessons and help with the upcoming, yet worse possibilities in the future.

Life is in control of yours. You make your own mistakes, problems, but they can be solved because you are in control of your life. Anything that has happened to you, you did to yourself, not by other people. But, do things what your heart wants you to do. Don’t change yourself because just one mistake was done or something new just happened. That’s not what life is supposed to be. The whole situation of life is to stay true to yourself, from the beginning then to the end.