Daddy leaves for work at 9am

Kristi Huynh, 8th Grade
Madrid Middle School, El Monte, CA
Los Angeles Area

Daddy leaves for work at 9 in the morning and on most days, does not come home until around 10 p.m.

Daddy always seems fatigues and restless. He's not a workaholic, because he doesn't want to work, but has to. He works everyday to keep the lights on for my brother and me to study, and sometime- even though he tries to conceal it- I know that he really is tired. Daddy feels like giving up at times, but our success is that speck of light in the distance that keeps him going.

Daddy and Mommy always tell me that they want me to have the education they never had the privilege to get. They don't want me to end up like them: to have to worry about paying off this month's bills. I would like to have the opportunity to go to college- the opportunity that my parents sacrificed to give me.

I remember reading "Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire." we are all candles, with our own lights- some brighter than others, some almost burning out. As Matthew 5:14 puts it, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden." Candles are meant to stand out, lead the way, not to be made inconspicuous. Education is the wick to our candles; it is our support. Together we can build a fiery fire that can burn cancer, AIDS, and humanitarian conflicts into ashes.

When I graduate from high school and step into college, I am lighting the path for others. I am making the statement that I can do it and anybody- no matter what race, religion, or ethnicity- can make it too, if they have the will power and if they want it more than anything.

I yearn to be that drop of water that makes a ripple in the vast sea; I long to make a difference. I ache for my light to be seen, and as a result, liberate others' lights as well. I don't want to be a mere candle; I want to be a candle that will start an entire forest fire. I want my light to shine so bright, that my peers will thirst to go to college, too. Let my light shine brighter than any star has ever shone by saving me a spot in college.