Our picture 

It was a bitter, cold, sunny day. Laughing and smiling without a care in the world, and the only thing on our mind was where should our family go to get food and how many days until school starts back up again. The year had changed from 2015 to 2016 overnight, it was a new start, it was like a fresh new page had turned, it was New Year's day. 

The feeling of freedom and fun rushed through my sister and me as we continuously went up and down the sledding hill. My parents sitting on a bench on top of the hill, my dad laughing and having an unbelievably fun  time while my mom was driven with anxiety hoping we didn’t get injured. That afternoon felt as if it was never going to end and maybe, just maybe, it would stay like this for a while longer. But what felt like 10 minutes of fun had turned into 3 hours. The beautiful orange boiling sun hit the tree line and our unforgettable day of sledding had come to an end.

Every time I walk down the hallway to go to my room, I make eye contact with this picture. I can feel the smiles and hear the laughter from that day seven years ago, and I am reminded of life when there wasn’t a care in the world and there were no conversations of “What’s next”? or “What do you want to do for the rest of your life”?

I look back and reminisce on all the amazing times our family of four spent together. Snap!!! Back to reality, I am five months away from adulthood and my younger sister will soon be getting her driver’s license. So if there was one thing I couldn’t live without it would be this particular picture. To me it is more than a picture, it is a feeling. A feeling unlike no other. I can look into it and imagine how much fun my sister and I had, all the laughing and mischief we were causing and that currently having moments like these are close to none and just a faint memory.