“Her Sixteenth Year” by Edrea A

They say a girl's’ sixteenth year is the most important; and I would understand why. Typically that year, a girl goes on her first date, prom, has her first boyfriend, first job, first heartbreak and a number of all sorts of “firsts” that supposedly happens your sixteenth year. They even make movies about it.Well her sixteenth year started like any other cliche story would. It was a new school year and new opportunities. She was always a good girl, everyone's friend, the teachers favorite and loved by many. She was on the varsity cheer squad, her body stance looked like she came from a magazine, her hair was lush and she never failed to drop her smile. She was flourishing; her grades were on top, confidence like no other, and she never had a dull moment. She was as perfect as a cookie cutter and as organized as a planner. There was no such thing as a red light to her. 

As the school year went on by she noticed something was odd. Her makeup wasn’t quite the same shade and her clothes didn’t fit right. As soon as you know it she was gasping for air after cheer practice and when she gets come, her body is covered in bruises. Bruises that hurt so bad to touch.
One day after practice, she was walking to her car and suddenly she collapsed. 

The moment she wakes, the first thing she sees are bright lights. A voice came over and asked if she had remembered what had happened; and she simply shook her head in confusion. She glimpsed at her arm to see an ivy injected in her, and with her other hand she adjusts the oxygen to fit just under her nostrils. In the same hand a blood pressure and heart rate monitor is clipped on her finger and she hears a continuous amount of beeps. 

It was not long until the doctor came into the room to discuss what had happened. Maybe it was dehydration or simply fatigue. Looking at her parents the doctor says “You daughter has systemic lupus.” The doctor then explained she must be confined for further examination; there is no cure but there are treatments The room was not silent for long; her mother starts to weep in the corner and her father has his head down. Then they rushed her to a private room. 

And there she is. Who was once present in class everyday, now lays with an ivy in her for the next three hours. Her head filled with lush and healthy hair dies slowly with each and every round of chemo. The girl who can tumble perfectly is now losing her eyesight because the 8 prescription drugs she’s taking three times a day is raising pressures in her eyes that can be tumorous. And not to mention her kidneys are going through dialysis. 

But the one thing she never lost was her smile Her award winning smile, a smile that masked every needle and every drug. Things eventually got better for her. She may never tumble the same way or even have hair that will be as full but she will always have her smile. She will continue to be a good girl, everyone's friend, the teachers favorite and loved by many more. 

Her sixteenth year was everything but sweet; but she’s seventeen now and her “firsts’ are ones no one can beat.