My Last Day On Earth

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Puerto Rico where my family and I were taking a vacation that spring. As I lay on my dad’s colorful bed in the small pink villa on the water, I find it hard to enjoy the view that comes from the balcony and the salty smell of the light blue ocean. The villa resides on a rocky cliff where the rippling ocean waves smash onto the rocks below. The waves, which usually relax me, are insignificant. I see colorful houses that run along the water for miles just like ours. In the corner of my eye I see the infinity pool that looks out onto the crystal clear water. Something else is on my mind. Something not even the alluring scenery could take my mind off of-death. One month earlier, I lost my mom to a vicious disease called cancer. Its evilness left my family and I broken and sick at heart. When I look back now to that vacation, I think nothing other than sadness and mourning. Maybe it was too soon to take a vacation, I thought. My dad walks into his room and sits next to me on his bed.

My parents had packed everything. EVERYTHING. There was bareness on the walls and there was around us except piles and piles of boxes. I looked around the house one last time as cold salty tears streaked down my face. I was covered in tears from the waist up. The feeling of leaving everyone made me empty inside. I felt hollow. Finally my dad said, “Let’s go!” I pleaded with him to let us stay, but I got the same usual answer, “You’ll be fine.” I wasn’t.

“We are moving to Arizona. It’s your decision whether or not you come with us.” As a seven year, old girl, this was one of the hardest things to hear from the woman I was supposed to trust most, my mom. I had to make a decision whether or not to move across the country with my mom and a stranger, or move in with my dad and stay near my family. I immediately responded with “I will be staying in Massachusetts”. Although I knew that this decision would flip my world upside down, I didn’t know how much I would personally change because of it. In that moment, I didn’t know that I wouldn’t be seeing my mom for another year. I didn’t know that our relationship would never be the same again. That one sentence changed the whole course of my life. In that split-second decision, I went from a seven-year-old little girl, blind to the reality of life, into a mature young girl forced to swallow the idea of her mother leaving her behind.

Waking up at midnight on a cloudy monday night, I walked outside and looked at the moon. Look at how far I have come. Living in hillbilly hick Iowa, to traveling all over the world. Listening to my mother has been one of the greatest things I have ever done. Without her I would have stayed in Iowa and probably married a ugly overweight farmer. Graduating from highschool I decided that I was going to go straight to college and get my masters in Biological Anthropology. Since I already had 20 credits completed at Iowa Central, I decided to stay for one more year. The money I would save would go into my traveling “fund”. Planning on living with my mother still, to me was not a bad decision. She fed me, clothed me, and loved me even though I can

Today was funeral day. My mom’s funeral. It was a dark October thursday, the clouds were brewing a storm. A slight breeze disturbed my neck. My uncomfortable suit sleeves bellowed in the cold breeze.. I hadn’t felt any emotions since the day of her death, which was weeks ago, almost as if my emotion is grey. It was warm then, as my mind was too. Nowadays, up until today, my mind has been a dark fog, as if my mind was released into the sky, darkening everyone’s day, arriving at my mom’s funeral or just to cuddle up with their friends and family in front of a warm crackling fire, telling the stories of their childhood and how times were better. Not me, my dad usually ignored me and he only worked on managing my mom’s fortune. Yeah. My mom’s

This is what lies ahead for us in these upcoming days. When we have to say goodbye to everything familiar, safe, and be exposed to a new world while leaving great memories behind. But believe me when I say, there are far greater things ahead than any we leave. What we can’t do is live our lives always afraid of the next goodbye and the coming beginning, because chances are they’re not going to stop. The trick is to recognize when a goodbye can be a good thing: when it’s a chance to start again. Two years ago, I almost lost my father to cardiovascular disease that was close enough to claiming his life. All I can say is that it was the worst time of my life. My days were filled with long empty hallways, and awful dim lights that flickered without a rhythm, hospitals reminded me of something in a horror film. To me, hospitals were full of pain. To me, hospitals were where people went to die, where people went to say goodbye. To me, hospitals meant death. I remember constantly fearing that the next time I'd see my father would be in a wooden casket. My father who not only spent half of his paycheck so I can buy new clothes and travel out of the country or get a proper education, but who was also very open minded and not afraid to expose me to new things out there because he knew that to gain experience and wisdom, I had to see the good and the bad of everything, was in a place where

“We’re moving?” I cried in horror and disbelief. This was the moment that any middle school kid would never want to be in. All my life I had lived in this town, and frankly, I never wanted to leave. I slouched back on the couch, silently panicking and trying to think of a way out. The look on my face must have clearly shown my emotions because my mom was saying every positive thing about moving that she could think of. “This is a new opportunity for you to find new friends, maybe start a new sport or other hobbies,” she said holding my shoulders, “It’ll be fun!” Out of all the words scrambling through my mind at that moment, “fun” was definitely not one of them.

They didn’t want this for me, they didn’t want me to go to dauntless. I had screwed over myself, and the day didn’t get any better. As the ceremony ended, I glance back to say goodbye to my parents. Their faces were meaningless with no excitement and life. Before I could do anything, they turned away and headed into the far distance. I knew it would be the last time I would see

It’s devastating to have friends always with you, following you around everywhere and literally haunting you every moment, so I sprawled down onto the blanket and looked into the blue sky, thinking, and imagining what miracles can happen to make my life even just a little more sophisticated. Deciding that I have nothing to do a small peninsula pointing out into the setting sun giving a perfect portrait of the red flower, half of it on this side of the world, and the other half on the other side. This spot was my favorite, it told me that another day was ending, a new start was coming, and another day closer to death.

“I hope so,” I answered. Tomorrow. It seemed like a strange work that meant “far away, foreign land.” I didn’t think I could wait that long. I feared the images, thoughts and dreams would come back. I was tired of the entire thing.

The suitcase is all packed, flight now booked, I said my final goodbyes and now I'm looking out the window 5,000 feet off the ground. Reflecting about all the good times and people I'll be leaving behind, and reminiscing

As the end of the night approached us, I couldn’t stop thinking about how many mixed emotions I had about starting a whole new chapter in my life. I couldn't wait to go to college, meet all new people, get a degree so that I could start my career path, but I knew that meant I had to say goodbye to my two best friends, who were moving several hours away from me. This was one of the hardest things I had ever had to do in my life. We all cried a little, and then made promises to keep in touch, and then we were off into the real world! I was very happy to be at this point in my life, but I was scared deep down inside.

Have you ever arrived upon a Saturday’s blushing dusk and reflected on what you could be doing with your life? The options that ran through my thoughts included starting assignments which may or may not have been due the following Monday, or perhaps I could have finished those that were due the previous Monday. I had the modes to spend time with friends, indulge in my favorite activity of sleeping, or even go outside to enjoy the orange blanket of light that encompassed my town. Yet, out of the activities I could have been doing, none seemed more important than laying on my bed and clicking refresh on Facebook from my computer impatiently waiting for the news.

One day I was at work with Chris Davis. Me and Chris worked for his uncle Rob. I was working there for about a month but I didn’t know that today would be my last day. It was about 8:00 pm at night and I had one more thing to do. Put all the empty boxing in the compacter and lock up the building. When I got done me and Chris walked back to his uncle’s house because that’s where Chris lived. When we got back Rob told me and Chris to come into the garage to get paid. We got paid in cash instead of checks. He gave Chris his money and then he gave me around $160. After me and Chris got paid we went upstairs to his room and hung out for a while. About 45 minutes to and hour passed and I was ready to leave. So I called my mom and she didn’t answer the first time so I called her again. When she picked up she said “ Hello”. I said “ Mom can you come pick me up I’m off work now”. She answered “Well while you were at work our house burnt down”. I said “ what for real, how did it burn down”. “The snakes heating rock cord caught fire and it started the fire”, she replied . “Did it burn all the way or just like 1 room, did the firemen stop it in time.” “No it burnt all the way the only rooms that are not burnt are me and your dads room and the office.”

They took my books out of my hand and threw my backpack to the ground. They then preceded to push me to the ground and relentlessly call me names while the others kicked me nonstop. They called me a faggot, they called me a perdedor, they wouldn't stop their bullying. I have just described to you a day in my shoes at Don Bosco High School. I'm writing this because I want people to know what has happened to me, and what my life has been like. I don't want my story to be forgotten as I find myself in my final days of life here on earth. Currently I am in Santo Domingo, in La Inca's house. I have come here because I am in love with a woman named Ybon. It might be confusing to you why I would be writing this for that reason, allow me to explain. Ybon has a boyfriend named the captain. He's a cop here in Santo Domingo, and he wants to kill me. Here in the DR, nobody is supposed to mess with cops, and cops are allowed to mess with nearly everyone. I have declared my love for Ybon and have come to Santo Domingo so that I can bring here back to the United States. I am not blind though, and I recognize that these could be my final days. Why would someone put their life on the line just for one person who has failed to reciprocate, you may ask. The answer is that I have never had a girlfriend, I have never had sex, no girl has ever loved me. And we Cabrals fall in love hard and easily, as my mother always says. But there has been much more to my life than just losing out on women,