Common App

When I was twelve, my maternal grandfather died of prostate cancer. My parents had hid his sickness from me for months, thinking I was too young to handle the news. I found out only weeks before he died, and I recall being furious with my parents at his funeral. So, I asked my grandmother if I could stay with her for a while, thinking I could keep her company and also get a break from my parents who I felt had somehow betrayed me. Within weeks of moving in with my grandmother, she told me she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Living with her disease was not easy; she complained a lot about being alone, which was hard for me because I was at school all day and had little time to spend with her. Soon after, my older sister left home as well to study abroad. Months later, my grandmother died, and I returned home to live with my parents.

But things were completely different. My mother had fallen into a severe depression. She was heavily medicated, eating and sleeping all day. None of her friends came to visit, and my dad was working twelve hours a day, so my brother and I had to deal with my mom’s sadness and anger alone. I did not manage this well. I had just turned fourteen, and in order to forget about my family problems, I rebelled. I began to drink, smoke, and party every weekend. I was desperate for my parents’ attention, but they were unable to give it. My excessive lifestyle went on for two years, but eventually my body and spirit gave out. I realized that my behavior was doing nothing to change my home situation. It was only making everything worse. So, with no prompting from anyone, I decided to make a drastic change. I told my parents I wanted to switch schools because I felt I needed a new beginning.

Leaving the friends I had spent the past twelve years with was hard. I knew I needed to get good grades in my classes in order for my new high school to allow me to attend. I was determined to make everything work, however, so I stopped going out