The heart between two homes

Ten years old can be a very crucial age in a young human life. It’s the year that we graduate from 5th grade and move on to middle school. It may be the year that you try your first club or sport that may shape your future, but for me the age of ten is when my parents decided they would live separate lives.

I grew up a normal girl I attended pre-k, my parents put me in many sports, I had good friends, and a lovely community surrounding me. As I recall my parents were always in a good mood, loving each day, and sharing that love with their ten-year-old daughter. Marriage is a huge rollercoaster full of trust and commitment, but at the age of ten the worst memory I have is when both of my parents stormed into my room in the middle of the night and my mother saying “ Briana, your father and I are getting a divorce.” My instant reaction was as any young child were to think, which was to blame myself.

According to the U. S Legal Services regarding divorces, about only 50% of marriages carry on without divorce. A couple of years down the road, when I turned 13 years old it was an even more of an emotional phase for me. That is when my mom had met my soon to be step-dad Jason. It was weird to see my mom with a different guy, but as long as she was happy that’s all that mattered. I never looked at him as my “ dad”. I just saw him as a 3rd parent, and not my other dad. My dad on the other hand didn’t remarry and started focusing on himself. It was stressful to be bouncing back, but when I hit high school I finally realized that things happen for a reason. It took me about 3 years to understand why things ended up the way they did, and I thank God I did because my grades were beginning to suffer, my personality was turning cold, and I was lost in the darkest of tunnels for a long time. At the end of my senior year I graduated top ten % of my class, was voted senior class president, got accepted into my dream school, and walked across that stage a better person.

In conclusion, the best advice I can give anyone going through their parents being divorced is not to give up, right now it seems like your life may be falling apart, but I promise things will get better. At the end of the day every parents wants the best for their children, and its hard to raise a child when those parents aren’t happy themselves. Even though you have to bounce back between 2 houses, the most important thing is that you have the love and support of both families. Enjoy life to the fullest and appreciate those around you because tomorrow is never promised.