I have always thought that time was unpredictable and the future was never planned. Time was made up so that people can keep track of the days as they pass. As time goes on, the mysteries slowly start to disappear and things don’t always go the way it was expected. The questions you have about the future are answered as new things are introduced or removed from our lives. I used to look up at the stars, amazed by how bright they shine; imagining my Papa who had passed early on in my life as the north star since it shined the brightest.

I remember my mother would bring me to my father's small apartment in Hackettstown behind the Weis. My sister and I would go there so excited to see him even if we had left the last time on bad terms. He had a temper,it would rub off on us, and was like fighting fire with fire. Going there was an adventure of its own. I was the tiniest of the group which made me impressionable and the main target for injuries. Everyday was full of friends and games. The amount of bushes I fell in by riding my bike, concrete sidewalks my knees bled on from tripping in the game of tag, and dumpsters I’d sled into during snow season throughout the year was innumerable. By the time I came home that Sunday night, I would be a completely different person.

Depending on what I went through while I was at the apartment shaped the outcome of the next week I spent with my mom. From healing my skinned knees to having my biological father’s attitude, the household was always interesting after being around different people than what was the norm. I would throw fits and tantrums, screaming at the top of my little 6 year old lungs to where the neighbors must have thought something was dying. Nothing was back to normal until after my biological father left for good. Most of the time I was out with friends without parental supervision, so the independent side of me was overbearing for a 6 year old.

Now that I have grown, there’s a social balance in my life and I can control myself in the present. As a young girl, I had a lot of instability and it showed in the way I acted which would affect my life. Currently, I am a senior in high school and think I have a good path for my future. I plan on going to get my college degree and create a life for myself by being a journalist or music teacher. Hopefully, my plans go well, but all I can do is hope for the best and surround myself with supportive people who will make me a better overall person. Whoever these people are, or wherever they take me in life, I can only hope for the best. Maybe I won’t be a teacher or journalist, but the mystery is always the best part of my life. I like to think of my life as remembering the past, controlling the present, and thinking of my future. The mysteries of tomorrow can only tell the person you’ll be a day from now.

"This I believe" is all it takes to connect with one another. Since before the 1950's, people have been submitting essays on what they believe in; Jackie Robinson, who was a huge idol for dark skinned Americans in the 1950's has contributed into this project. He started off telling about the emotion running through his colored body during the National Anthem at his first pro baseball game on the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was the first African American pro baseball player and had an enormous impact in America. Back in the day, there wasn't internet and computers weren't common. The 'This I believe' essays started on the radio as entertainment for others. They'd mail in their beliefs and if they were worthy of going on the radio, the writer would read their essay for the world to hear.