The View From The Window

"Maybe I'm just not cut out for this..." I remember the look she gave me as I said this. Like I'd lit a fire in her soul, one of anger and maybe even sadness.

"You are the strongest person I know, Henry. You take care of your siblings and you deal with bullies." she spoke as if she were scolding me, "your apartment is surrounded by gangs yet you walk to school every morning. You've taken care of that camera for all of your life and refuse to let it break..."

"Yeah... but none of that measures up to how hard this is," I shook my head, not realizing then how important this conversation would later be to me. Her words running through my mind, night after night like a never ending echo of hope.

"Henry Thompson. You've had an awful lot of bad happen to you, let this little bit of good happen..." she had placed both her hands on my cheeks, making me look her straight in the eyes, "...take the risk, send the application"

That one look. That was all it took. The next day I sent in my application. This camera had gotten me this far, let's hope it could get me a little farther.