The sky is bright blue, the birds glide in the air like airplanes in flight.

Like a cloud in the

sky, I am weightless, no strings attached. I am free and I am floating. When I jump into the pool,

I slowly push my chest out over the edge of the water. I kick my legs up so they too are lying

over the water. Yet, my face lies slightly beneath the water's surface, but just enough so I can

still breathe. Sometimes when I’m swimming, I like to float to an entirely different universe.

Somewhere calm and peaceful, a place where I am not being held down by the uncertainty of

tomorrow, just simply living in the security of, now.

Born into an immigrant family who came to this country knowing nothing and no one. I

was raised by the intellect of two distinct languages. Primarily Spanish at home, and English at

school. As a child, I was never blind to the hardships my parents suffered to raise my brother and

I. So they did their best to ensure I lived up to the expectation that my education is the most

important thing I will ever hold. And, that this aspect of myself is the only thing in this world

that no one can take away. These ideas encouraged me to always try and stay focused on my

education. Though sometimes I ask myself, what is the most important thing I hold in life? What

do I want to do with my life? And I think back to moments where everything seemed clear. A

time where I could float, like a free spirit full of weightless wonder and freedom.

So again the bright blue sky and the birds, return to my mind. Though they are not as

clear to me as they were once before. For so long I have been worried about my future, my next

step, my tomorrow. Instead of floating I have been slowly drowning. It is as if my feet have been

tied together by bricks of solid cement, causing me to sink deeper and deeper with every passing

day. And I am tired and I am afraid. What is the point of fighting if I am still sinking? But the

real question is why am I sinking? As a teenager who is well aware of the fact that she is
currently living the very last moments of her childhood, I am terrified. I am scared of the idea of

growing up and moving on. I am tired of constantly trying to prove that I know what I want

when in reality I have but the slightest idea. I panic at the thought that next year by this time I

will be in college studying my future profession. And it makes me anxious to think that once I

leave my small and safe pool, I will have to learn how to swim all over again.

But as I drown I realize, the water is not my enemy, my mind is. So I stop fighting, not

because I have given up but because I know who I am. I am the girl who fights for what she

believes in. The girl who does the impossible to achieve her goals. I am the girl who is not afraid

to admit when she is afraid. Therefore, I am once again floating, because I've come to the

realization that everything will be okay. Although I still feel overwhelmed by the uncertainty of

tomorrow, I know that I have made the most out of today. And, I float higher and continue to

float so that once again I am over the edge of the water and I am now breathing. Except, now I

can imagine the future of my dreams and although they may not be clear, I am still floating. At

this moment I know everything will be okay.