The One

Chapter 2

Transforming from eighth grade to high school was a bit of a struggle to me. I knew right from the start that what happens in high school is going to stick with me for the rest of my life. My grades, my ACT scores, my attendance, everything was going to make a huge impact on my future life. However, I did not know what it was going to impact, or how it was going to impact my life.

I grew up in Wisconsin and went to F.J. Turner High School in a little city called Beloit. It was a quiet little city where everybody knew everybody, and the whole community was impacted when something bad happened. It got real bad in 2012 when gang related activities, like shootings, had started happening all the time. We didn't know when it was going to happen, or who, but everybody always showed support to others when it was needed the most.

Living in a small community with not much to do, my family and I traveled a lot. We went to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, visited the arch in St. Louis, and Brewer games in Milwaukee. We were a happy family, but this was all six years ago before everything changed. Not many people went to my school, so everybody knew that I had divorced parents. The divorce took a major toll on my sisters and I. After losing two grandpas, a great-grandma, and living in two different houses, it seemed like our world were just flipped upside down.

After a long week of waiting and excitement, my sister and I were finally traveling to Lake Geneva for an ice sculpture event. We walked around and looked at amazing artists sculptures that had so much detail into them that they almost looked real. It was a cold and brutal night, but so many people were out looking at the sculptures it was amazing.

On our way back home, my dad's girlfriend, Melissa, told us that she had a special announcement to make. My sister and I give each other a look, hoping that she's not going to tell us that she's pregnant.

"I have a cousin named Andrew who lives in Iowa. He's getting married in two weeks from today. I know what you're both thinking, and you're absolutely right. We're going to Iowa in two weeks!" Melissa exclaimed.

My sister and I had started cheering since we hadn't traveled in so long. We had never been to Iowa before, and we were excited for a new adventure that was awaiting us.