A while ago,I went to school.which one?The law school,which i have come to find SO interesting!So,that particular day I met-among other people-this girl.We started our conversation with her saying she didn’t have a phone,how important a phone is in today’s world and stuff.she said her family didn’t get her a phone because her brother told her mom she’ll do bad things with it.I laughed at the silliness of their thoughts and how regressive they are.I asked her how she communicates with them without it.she said she doesn’t need to communicate with them because they all moved here with her,again because she might do bad things if she were left alone.I laughed again,because it was all seeming so cartoonish. She protested my laughter and went on to talk about her abusive mom.and man holly molly.the things people go through.her mom is literally a copy of Cinderella’s step-mother,only she doesn’t actually love any of her children or anyone at all and they are actually HER children not her stepchildren.So her mom beats the life out of her on a daily basis.she’s the one doing all the house work.her mom lays in front of tv all day long and makes her do all the work,look out for her siblings as well while not caring about her or if she has some time to herself.She said she calls her a cow,an animal,a nutcase.her mom tells her siblings, whenever they try to get close to her, to leave her alone because she’s “nuts”.what broke my heart the most was that she said she considered suicide many times.she said she had a brother who was in a relationship with this girl but her mom and brother were against it,they were telling him she’s an old woman who bewitched him to fall for her.So he’d go and tell his girlfriend this and they would fight over it a lot.she said they eventually found him hanging from the house’s concrete fence.He attempted suicide,but didn’t die on the spot.he died in the hospital.but her mother and brother were telling people that he died from diabetes,which he did have.It was her little brother who found him.you’d think this would’ve been a teaching lesson to her mom that she’d learn that she’s messing her kids up,but no.her mother kept being the same after that.She said her parents split about six years ago,they didn’t get a divorce or anything,they just separated,that she’s scared to see her dad because her mom threatened to throw into the street whoever dare defy her and see him.She said her mom kicked him out and that he now lives in the shop where he works,and that he’s very old and frail and needs someone to look after him.Her mom refuses to divorce him so that he can marry no other woman and have no such assistance.

you know the whole story just goes on and on and on like this and this is only the stuff she’s told me in like an hour and a half,so there must be more.I was listening to her and seeing it clearer and clearer: my life is perfect.you know, we all sometimes become blind and miss what’s exactly under our nose.we only see the grass on that other side,how green and pretty it is.That day was the day i REALLY got a glimpse of how fortunate and privileged i am.I always took what i had for granted.my parents love me,but they have to, right?they’re my PARENTS,they made me,i’m entitled to their love.turns out that isn’t the case for everyone.some people’s parents are more toxic than any enemy they can ever encounter.some people’s parents are set out to destroy them,while mine invested a fortune in my education after i barely graduated high school with a pretty shameful score.they paid for it all and didn’t even ask me for a thank you.They even insisted i get a tutor when I,so stupidly, couldn’t make enough effort to keep up with the teacher.The girl said she’s waiting for her scholarship to come out.she said her brother told her it’s not like she’d be getting any of it because their mom will be taking it all.she said she doesn’t even mind her mom taking it as long as it’ll help her financially and that she’ll no longer need her brother’s aid.I mean maaan.my dad set a bank account for me.i get a nice,comfortable amount each month.The other day i went to take some of it out and found out it hadn’t come in yet.and let me tell you i was furious.like it’s my dutiful right to find it there whenever summoned. i was mad at my dad,and thought about calling him to tell him about it.he also pays for my phone bills and i go and waste my data on stupid things and don’t even bother using it to study or to just call him that often!recently, i was starting to feel like a victim because my cousins had Iphones while i have a cheap phone.one that my mom bought for me,just before she took me and my sister on a trip to turkey.a trip that i felt entitled to, even though i had a miserable final grade that year.I also felt like a victim because my dad “forced”me to prepare two degrees at the same time.I was mad at him for wanting to ensure me a better future.i even avoided going home on more than an occasion just because he would roast me about my studies and how i’m not working hard enough.Also,i used to tell myself this narrative about me being a victim of bullying on the hands of my siblings,and i told myself that it explains why i’m insecure,why i was terrible to a lot of people.turns out,i’m just an asshole.You know, the way the girl spoke,she was talking so fast!like she was scared she might run out of time before she finishes.Just the fact that she even spilled it all out to me,a total stranger,made me feel like she’s been holding it in and bottling it up all this time,and she needed a listening ear.You know, one does not expect their parents to be out to sabotage them,and that’s what i found sad about this.The first time i saw this girl in class,she looked like she was in her thirties.she’s only 18.she said that it’s because of all the house work she did throughout her life,it has made her look so much older.she had a very apparent mustache,she had no time or will to take care of herself.and i couldn’t help but think of the day my mom took me,after she kept insisting for so long,to this fancy salon.she paid them a lot for my facial care because she simply loves me,because she wanted me to have the care she could want for herself.

Now,I realize that I painted myself out as this spoiled brat.I’m really not that bad of a child.I try to spoil my parents as much as I can,be of good use to them,and be as light of a burden as I can be.But I’m merely a human being,and I make mistakes.I have done my parents wrong many times.And although I’m a 21 year old person,I have the ability to act like a 6 year old sometimes. But now,whenever i feel like this quarantine is weighing down on me and that I want space from my family, I remember that girl.school was a safe haven for her from her family,and now she is forced to spend all day with them.I pray for her almost everyday,pray that she survives this hardship,that God gets her through this. Every time i slack,get lazy and feel no more like watching a lesson video some teacher posted,i remember her.She has no phone,no computer,her family never leaves her a chance to study.I only pray that she has enough strength not to crack and give up on everything.

As easy as it is to overlook the blessings and gifts we are given everyday.We must take some time to count them, appreciate them, feel grateful about them and try to help those less fortunate.

Image is from Pinterest, by Alexandra Nizhelskaya