"All children, except one, grow up" (Peter Pan).

     As children we are full of innocence, hope, and wonder. We are sheltered from the harshness of the outside world and live in our own personal bubble. There comes a point in our lives where we make that transition from childhood to adulthood whether it be physically and/or mentally. All children must grow up and sometimes we are forced to grow up before we are ready.

     I was in eighth grade. Quiet. Shy. Immature. Yes, that was me and like most children my age my primary concern was taking the SHSAT to get into a good high school. I was happy; I lived with my mother, grandmother, and dog and even though we were a small family, I was always happy the way I was. I was extremely close to my grandmother; I called her Tete which means grandmother in Arabic. I considered her to be my second parent because she practically raised me while my mom worked all day.

     November 3rd. What started out as any ordinary day turned into one I will never forget. Around 8:00 pm I was upstairs in my grandmother's apartment playing games on my computer and my grandmother and mother were downstairs organizing their winter clothes. I remember going downstairs to ask my mother a question when I walked into her bedroom to see my grandmother lying on the floor and my mother beside her. She was dialing 911 and I was panicking as every worst possible scenario ran through my head. Time froze and the next thing I remember was watching the EMT's wheel Tete out into an ambulence. I knew my mother had to go with her so my aunt came and picked me up. She took my dog to her house to take care of her and I went to my best friend's house.

     Ten days passed by until I was able to go back home. My friend's parents housed me for over a week taking me to school, washing my clothes, etc. My mother and aunt spent most of their time in the hospital with my grandmother. 

     When I went to school, I had to pretend that everything was alright. I have a tough exterior but anyone who knew me knew that something had happened. My once lively eyes became dark and lifeless black holes. Even in class, the only thing I could think about was my grandmother. How she was suffering. How I owed my life to her. How the greatest woman I knew was now spending her days in a hospital.

     Eight months passed before she was able to come home. Tete had suffered from a massive stroke which caused the left side of her body to become paralyzed. She was now in a wheelchair and my uncle had designed her apartment to be wheelchair accessible. They hired a twenty-four/seven live-in nurse to watch over my grandmother. My grandmother couldn't cook or garden anymore and these were her favorite hobbies. I wonder all the time why such terrible things happen to such good people.

     When I saw my grandmother on the floor on November 3rd, I knew there was something changing inside of me. That was the night that I grew up. I learned that the world isn't as nice as it was made out to be and that people get ill and die every day. I had been lucky that at this point in my life I hadn't had to experience any major losses in terms of losing a loved one. What happened to me though over the course of the next few months was worse than that. I watched my grandmother struggle to survive, eat through a feeding tube, learn how to speak again, etc. I helped her through physical therapy. I saw how she struggled with the simple things in life that we take for granted every single day. We don't realize how our lives would change if we were unable to do these simple tasks.

     "All children, except one, grow up" and unfortunately we are not Peter Pan. All children must grow up one day. For many it will be a smooth transition hindered by peer pressure. For others it will take a single, life changing moment that makes them realize the difference between reality and fantasy. I had to grow up very quickly over the course of a few months but what I learned was that we should never take anything for granted even something as small as the ability to smile. My grandmother had the prettiest smile and there was a point where she couldn't even most the left side of her face. Now, every day when I visit her, I get so much joy hearing her beautiful laught and seeing her wonderful smile. All children grow up...but the question is...what will make that child grow up one day?