The empty Bud Light bottle, underneath the sink’s cabinet, where her mom has hidden it,

awaits. The pearly white wooden door with the dent from when her father has kicked it, it awaits

as well. It’s 10:55pm, five minutes until her closing shift is done, one of the many she voluntarily

takes. Five more minutes until she has a talk with her dad. No, “The Talk” with her dad. The

talk that could change her life. Within those minutes, she ponders her pros and cons. Pro: She

won’t ever have to go back to the household she was once afraid of, where she longed for

domestic tranquility. Con: Her education, the money for a better opportunity that her parents

have and are willing to give her if she stays. Pro: A new life for her can begin, her independence

tested to a new level. Con: Her future, her dreams of majoring in both International

Relations/International Business, being a founder of an NGO, traveling to third world countries

to help the innocents. If she leaves, what way would she take to get her dreams into effect? If she

stays, financially, it would come easier then if she left. 10:59pm. Guilt, it overwhelms her whole

body. She thinks, “Am I being selfish? And if I am, isn’t it alright for me to think about myself?”

Tap. Tap. Tap. She clocks out, her dad waiting outside, her stomach twisting, her anxiety

arising, the car door closing. At that moment, she feels sincerely penitent, in the passenger seat.

Her dad with one hand on the wheel, staring off with a stoic look on his face. The talk begins,

another critical talk of how selfish she is, but this time with no beatings. She knew there

wouldn’t be any because he has changed. People change. She remembers how her father, a

couple years ago, was incarcerated due to his violence. How her parents fought all the time back

then; on a normal day it would be diatribes. On some occasions, it would be her alcoholic mom

sobbing and her dad breaking furniture or glassware. That was how the fights usually ended.

Snap. “Are you listening to me? No, you’re not, you never listen to me,” she hears as her

eyes and mind focus back to the present, and her relentless flashbacks are done. It’s now her turn

to talk. She says, “I’m 18, I can leave if I want to, and you and I both know I could make it out

there. But I want to stay, make amends, and not be afraid anymore of what could come back.”

Before long, her father knows exactly what she’s talking about. He has apologized countless

times, made arrangements and “worked it out” with her mother. He even started going to church

but he knew the damage done. He knew exactly why his daughter was in infinite organizations

obtaining leadership positions; SCA, DECA, Operation Smile, etc. Why she spent her day at

work or at school, never at home unless to rest. Why she did too much and all it did was tear her

away from her academics. Nevertheless, he knew she would find her priorities again, he always

saw potential in her. He said it himself, “Out of the three, I knew you would be the most

successful one.”

She then thought of her selfishness. She knew that at her age, her father had to fly to

Mexico hop the border, learn English, and serve our country. So on that car ride, she promises

him she’ll stay, stay and progress in her studies, focus on her academic side. She promises in that

in her last year at home she will also become apart of that change and revert to her sedulous

ways. A change. A change in her life that shaped who she is today and furthermore for her rest of

her life.