I always thought everything was fine and normal when I was little until the end of my fourth-grade year. My parents were my biggest supporters that I had in my life. I owed everything to my loving parents. They had been married for the previous 8 years and were supportive. Both of my parents were equally responsible for introducing me to my favorite type of music, rock. Rock had all the good bands but the one that spoke to me the most was Queen. Their music has always been there for me throughout my life. Even though they aren’t making music anymore, I love Queen. They were and still are the best band ever, impacting not just my life but many others. The band's songs kept me happy in any situation. Even though Queen was there, I never really realized what was going on between my parents behind closed doors. To me everything was okay.

It was Saturday, July 27, 2019, one day before my birthday. I was so hyped for my birthday because that's the best day of everyone's life. My parents seemed okay for the first part so I went on with my day playing video games. I played with my cousin until the night while my dad was drinking and got drunk. I heard my parents argue upstairs. I didn’t think much of it until I heard my mom scream and run down the stairs with our stuff. She took me and my siblings to her car. I didn’t know what was happening until I saw a bruise on her face and then I realized my dad had hit her. Mixed feelings came crashing through. On one side I was furious at my dad, but then the other side was sad because I always saw them together happy and I didn’t want to leave him. But I couldn’t do anything about it. We traveled to my Tia’s house and during the ride I was sinking in sadness. The only thing that kept me going was my iPod playing Queen. It was calming me down until we got to my Tia’s, where we stayed the night. But it just got worse.

The next day was my ninth birthday. When I woke up, I was bursting with cheer remembering it was my birthday. Then I realized where I was. I thought the night before was just a big nightmare, but it wasn’t. My mom tried to cheer me up by taking us to a trampoline park. Both my mom and Tia felt bad so they bought me a guitar. I'd been asking for one, but it still wasn’t enough to cheer me up. After my birthday, I spent my summer with my grandma until my mom found my step dad, which was a good decision for my mother. We went on to live with him in Texas. That moment still hurts, even to this day. I will never forget that night.

After a while life started to get better for me until the Coronavirus. The Virus trapped everyone into a space where you couldn’t get any socialization with anybody. This made school go online, which was terrible for my education. This was horrible for me but I kept pushing through. Eventually I was able to learn guitar, for real this time. I learned my favorite songs on my guitar and eventually started to get a better grip of myself in school. I met many friends and got good grades. My dad learned his lesson and is now a better man with a new wife. Also, my mom is no longer sad and is now happy with her life. I had doubted if I could ever get over the past but Queen was able to push me through. I'm thankful for the music we have today and how it has changed my life.

© Ivan. All rights reserved. If you are interested in quoting this story, contact the national team and we can put you in touch with the author’s teacher.