“How To Grow Up” by “Anne”, a short memoir about what it’s like to be forced to grow up in a span of seconds, is a heartfelt, meaningful piece that deserves recognition by many. “Anne” perfectly describes what it’s like to learn your mother has cancer and how a child must become stronger and adultlike at a very young age.“Anne” states, “The day my mother got that call was three days after I got my first period. Three days after my mother’s mastectomy, I became a teenager.”, implying she was around eleven or twelve years old when her mother first found out she had cancer. Therefore, she was forced to mature very rapidly at a young age.

February 2019, only four months ago, my parents and I discovered my little brother was extremely depressed and experiencing suicidal thoughts. I had just turned fourteen. I had to learn to be a robot: I had to be flexible so he was happy, I couldn’t show any emotion when he described his thoughts to his psychiatrist. I didn’t just have to be an older sister, I had to be a responsible adult. That transition was extremely difficult but I got used to it over time and because of it, my brother has gotten much better. Even though my brother didn’t have cancer or another life-threatening illness, “How To Grow Up” was relatable in the sense that, like “Anne”, I had to grow up in a span of minutes.