It was my grandmother’s birthday, yet we were not with her because we lived away. It was in the middle of winter in Little Rock, Arkansas, when I was watching Nickelodeon on the TV. My brother and sister had gone upstairs and had not been back in a little while, but I did not think anything of it. I was gladly watching the TV when my sister came downstairs hysterically crying. I, of course, knew something was wrong, but I did not know how serious because she was always hysterical. She told me to go upstairs, and on the way up, I was not anticipating the news that would change my life forever.

I walked into my parents’ room seeing my dad on the bed with a tissue, my brother sitting on the bed, and my mom in her rocking chair, given to her by her parents when she had my brother. I went to sit on my mom’s lap awaiting the ever so important news. My dad had told me that he and my mom were separating, and at the time for a seven-year-old, that does not sound like the end of the world. But when I saw my mom’s and dad’s faces after that, I realized what this meant for us as a family. I dug my head into my mom’s shoulder, but I was not really crying. This made me wonder if I was a terrible person because I was not acting sad when my whole family was devastated. With my head on my mom, I actually started to smile, which made me realize how I could cope with terrible news now and for the rest of my life. I showed the fruit of goodness, ironically, because I could find something to do instead of sulking when I am upset.

My brother, being the protective and reasonable person he is, asked my parents where we go from here in regards to our life in Arkansas and living situations. This is when the news that would change my life completely would come into play. My mom told us she, my siblings, and I would be moving to New Orleans because her family is from there, and we would move schools too. This left my dad out of the equation, but I was curious where he would be. He decided to move to New Orleans too to be closer to us and watch us grow up. That is great news: my family would be together but separated again. It should have been good news, but I thought something was off. Previous to Little Rock, we had lived in Lexington, Kentucky, and when my dad got a new job, we moved to Arkansas; however, this instance was different because I knew we would be staying in New Orleans for a long time. That is when the next week we started packing, and my siblings and I started a new school in a new city.

Throughout this process of change and heartbreak, I realized I managed to find goodness in a time of sadness. I knew I, along with my siblings, had to be strong for my parents because we knew they were going through an even harder time. I would say finding goodness in this time was the best thing I could have done for myself and my family because it led me to become positive and optimistic when trying times became prevalent in my life. Starting a new school was hard, but with the goodness and positivity in my heart and mind led me to transition smoothly and have new friends. I know as a kindergartener tough ideas were hard to understand, like leaving all of your old friends and starting fresh. Being a new kid never bothered me, and it actually let me break out of my shell to become the person I am today. Although this time was hard for my family and me, I never doubted the love my parents and siblings had for me because they were doing what they thought was right for themselves. My parents actually showed goodness in this time of their lives because they were focusing on what they needed to, and it was what was best for their three children, who have grown closer as a family due to the help and love of each other.