My eyes were tired. My eyes were red. They didn’t want to open to see what was goin’ on.
At that instant, someone was waking me up. I was scared and confused. When I opened my eyes, I saw a man standing over me saying, “Here, it’s money for the laundry.”
As I looked to see who it was, I felt like a giant weight was put on me….it was my brother’s arm. We shared the same bed. I went back to sleep.
When I woke up, my brother was waking up too. I found money on the floor and remembered a blurry memory of what had happened a couple hours before. My brother looked at me with a puzzled look on his face. He said, “Where you get that from?”
I told him what happened.
I looked around the room. Clothes were on the floor, shoes were at the corner, and the TV was on. I remember it was the power rangers on. It was at the part where they were getting defeated by some ugly red monster with long arms. As I looked around, I saw the kitchen was a mess like a swarm of rats had passed by. It was an ugly view.
As I started to wake up more, I started to wonder where my mom was at. It was pretty early in the morning, maybe like 7 or 8 in the morning. There was light coming through the window, so I knew that the sun was out.
As I started to worry about my mom, I called her and her boyfriend. When I finally got an answer, he had told me to not worry that she was just getting a check-up. I noticed a nervous tone in his voice but did not take action upon it. So I went on with the day. I did the laundry and cleaned up the house… Not by myself though. I made my brother do some the work. I wanted the room to clean. I needed my mom to see that we were responsible.
As I was getting ready for school, I received a call. It was my mom. She was telling us to go to the hospital after school. School was important so I couldn’t miss it. Education is important to my mom. She says it’s a way to free ourselves from societies’ bad image of us. It’s a way to be successful and make something of ourselves.
After school, me and my brother rushed to the hospital. I remember well, about panicking to get there. When we found the room we found my mom lying in the hospital bed sleeping. She looked so peaceful and quiet. She looked very relaxed. When we were in the room, a doctor came in.
I was in shock. When I saw that baby in the doctor’s arm, I looked with awe and started to feel butterflies in my stomach. I was so happy. I was full of emotion. I had just seen the most beautiful little baby in the world. As I stood there watching, my new born little brother, I felt like I time had stopped. I felt like I was floating in the air. I saw stars and comets flying around me.
Until this day, I remember the day I first saw my little brother, Juanito.
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Elizabeth Jeronimo is a member of our Youth Advisory Board. She is 17 years old.
About the Youth Advisory Board
The YAB (Youth Advisory Board) is an energetic squad of students aged fourteen to eighteen who represent different schools and are an integral part of 826 programing. yAb students act as ambassadors to the schools and communities we serve. We meet twice a month to help with various events, and to develop strategies for recruiting students to take advantage of our free writing services. The yAb will build your college and professional resumé, opening future doors of opportunity.
As a YAB member, you could earn $200 to
* organize and run youth-focused readings and events at 826 Support and attend fundraising events
* recruit high school students to attend our workshops, events, and activities
* support 826 Valencia’s tutors and interns during tutoring & workshops
*serve as liaisons to schools, friends, families, and the community
For more information on how to join, contact Raúl Alcantar by email at raul@826valencia.org, or by phone at 415.642.5905, ext. 205
