Moving Forward (Completed)

Epilogue

MJ stepped onto the stage when Dr. Gabriel motioned her forward. She took a deep breath as she scanned the audience, her nerves settling when she spotted Rafael and Katherine sitting sandwiched between Natalie and William on one side, Lucia and Catalina one the other... the row behind them filled with the detectives she'd come to think of as family.

"There is love enough in this world for everybody, if people will just look." MJ smiled when Katherine did and shifted her gaze back to the classmates she was speaking to. "I was extremely stuck while trying to write the perfect speech and decided to reread Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle instead. These words in particular stood out inspiring a speech that is far from perfect, but encompasses something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Family.

"My mom was taken from me at age ten, the same age her parents were taken from her. She grew up being shuffled about foster and group homes, barely making it to her own graduation... and she definitely didn't attend the ceremony. Her priorities in life shifted to survival the day my grandparents died, but life would never be easy for her. She turned to drugs an alcohol as an escape, an escape that became an addiction. I wish I could say that she never took her frustrations out on me, but I can't. I love my mom, I always will. When she was sober we would spend hours walking around the city, sneaking into movies, museums, or anything else she thought I would enjoy. When she wasn't she would alternate between a manic state and laying listlessly around our apartment. Her moods were unpredictable and I learned at a young age it was best to remain unseen. If I had had my own room becoming invisible would have been easier, instead I resorted to reading by flashlight in our coat closet. That became my escape.

"Countless books were read in that tiny closet. I don't know if I was naturally inclined to want to learn or if my chosen form of escape fostered my thirst for knowledge... my guess would be a combination of the two. By fourth grade I was angry and isolated. I felt I could learn anything I wanted from books and desired nothing more than to disappear into whatever world I was currently submerged within. School was there to make my life harder and I was that student all teachers dreaded seeing the name of on their roster at the beginning of the school year.

"All that changed when my fourth grade teacher refused to let me be a voiceless body in her classroom. She challenged me... forced me to interacted with other students. It wasn't a quick transition, but sometime toward the end of that first semester I began to look forward to going to school... if only to see if I could complete what she'd found for me to work on that day.

"That teacher took me in when my mother died. Kate and her husband, Rafael, gave me a home and never once made me feel as though I was anything less than family. For the first time in my life I had my own room, a place to read and study—to invite friends over. Through them I've acquired a grammy and grandpa, an abuela, and an abuelita; an extended family within the NYPD whose kids I've more or less grown up with; and one amazing little brother—all of whom are here today. It's been a six year long lesson on this idea of family being a mixture of people randomly placed in your life and those you choose to keep around. I miss my mom everyday, but I sometimes fear the life I might have led without Rafael and Kate.

"I tell you this today, not for sympathy, my life is one person shy of perfect; I tell you this because we all face hardships. Some of you are facing those trials and tribulation now, a few of you have been facing them for longer than anyone should, and good portion of you will encounter your impediment in the years to come. We all struggle. How we respond to those hurdles is up to us. Take a look at the people you have in your life, not only the ones that are born to you, but the ones you have put there by choice. Rely on them. One of the best examples the adults in my life have set for me is their ability to depend on the strengths of those around them. Whether it was intentional or not, they've built a network of people who look out for one another.