I was in 3rd grade when it all happened, my brother was too young to understand what was going on but not me. A 3rd grader shouldn’t know anything about it. They shouldn't even be going through that at a young age. My parents separated two weeks after my birthday. It really affected me and changed my perspective on some things in life.

Before they separated they would fight a lot. And I mean a lot. There were nights that I would still be up because of them arguing and my brother would be fast asleep. My eyes were watery like a pool being overfilled by a hose. Sometimes those nights I would cry myself to sleep. It stopped after a while and my thoughts were that all of us were still gonna live under one roof together. No going back and forward to each parent every weekend and that my parents were happy and nothing would change at all. Then two months later everything just went downhill from there once again. Fights became more constantly and sometimes it was over stupid things. Parents trying to explain to their kids that one parent is leaving the house for a bit but they probably aren't gonna come back, is something they don't want to do to hurt their child or make them think that it was their fault one of them left. My mom was the person to move out of the house which is kinda surprising because it’s  the dad who usually moves out the house and not the mom. Moms usually don't move out of the house because they want to be there for the kids, make sure they have everything they need before school, and dress nice. After my mom left it just kinda felt weird. I mean she would come to the house and make us breakfast, get us ready for school and take us. But all of it just really felt odd in my head. Her leaving the house had changed me a lot because I hardly ever had an appetite and hardly ever talked to anyone. My family on both sides were not happy about the whole thing. There was a huge argument between everyone because they were mad at my mom because wanted to leave my dad and they were mad that my dad didn't just stop her and tell her to stay for my brother and I.

A couple months later my mom moved to the other side of town with her boyfriend. My brother and I would visit my mom on the weekends starting on Fridays after school. Us going back and forward was tiring because there was always a specific time for us to get picked up and to be dropped off. Even though it was like a 10-15 minute drive it always felt like it was longer like time was going by really slow. Later on the year my dad was moving out of town and my brother and I went to him. It was even worse too because we had to figure out the dates of when we would go with my mom if she even wanted to have us on that weekend. There were times where I stayed in the living room waiting for her to come and it would be 9 o'clock at night and my dad would tell me  “She isn’t coming.” and I would look at him and I knew he was right . Moving was really hard for me because I had to go to different schools every couple of months because of the move. I was always  the only new kid. As I started to get older, making friends was really hard because I was very shy and antisocial and never really wanted to talk to people.

As my mom was moving out of state my brother and I decided to follow. I think that's one of the regrets I have because I had to start at a new school being the only new kid and not knowing anyone. I mean after a while it got better, than it did not . My dad’s regret was us letting go with my mom. I mean who doesn't have regrets? Having regret sticks with people for a while though, it never goes away until that person can accept what happened. I've learned so many things from them splitting up and it really changed me. 

I always thought people were happy with their significant others and there were never arguments or any drama whatsoever. But living with my parents changed that whole perspective for me. From this I learned that blaming others for a mistake that is made isnt always the best because the truth always comes out no matter what.  I learned from my mistakes throughout the years. When looking back at all the mistakes that I made when I was younger and not knowing that they were bad, I'd try to learn and understand why I did that. So not only I can be a better person for everyone but also for myself. Also, I learned that I couldn't keep my parents together forever if they didn't love each other anymore,  and that separating wasn't my fault and it was for the best for everyone. From that part, I've also learned that friends aren't always forever because they always leave even if they say “We’re gonna be friends forever.” even though that's not even true. I learned a lot of things from them separating not just about people don't stay together always, i also know that even if putting your time into others and they return that back, then it's not worth being with them whatsoever. When kids' parents separate, they change into a different person that sometimes their family doesn't recognize anymore and I feel like that all the time. Going through this made me understand a lot of things and showed me how to handle it. 

Younger me was sad for months trying to figure out how to fix everything thinkin it was her fault and how to bring her parents back together. But as I see it now I realize that it all happened for a reason. Not just to teach my parents something from this but also taught me something from this. From all of this, I can help someone that is going through this. It will be hard for the first couple of months or years. Depends on how that person will handle everything at once. But it gets better later on down the line. Plus you get to understand something very important from all of this. Never blame other people for the mistakes that happened from the past because it will always come back years later.