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Most little kids grow up with a lullaby, mine was Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Those were the words I heard every night as I was drifting off to sleep. As a child my older sister Ximena took care of me. As long as I knew she was nearby I felt safe. As a five year old it was comforting to have my sister with me and I couldn’t imagine a day without her by my side.
Even though she was so loving and caring with me, Ximena was struggling with the pressures of being a teenager surrounded by negative influences. Shortly after she began middle school she became involved with a rebellious group of students and was pressured into joining a gang. Because she was surrounded by people with very little regard for right and wrong, she was manipulated into doing things she otherwise would never had done. The most impact thing being the day she was convinced to run away from home with a fellow gang member. As young as I was, I didn’t really understand what was happening, all I knew was that my sister was gone. Her absence drastically changed my life, I immediately became depressed and began losing weight. During the time that she was missing my life was in a state of turmoil.
I was with my parents every step of the way as they searched frantically for her, following every lead they were given, no matter how small. About a month later we found Ximena living in a run down apartment, she was in an awful state and her health was deteriorating rapidly. For a short time I was overjoyed that my sister was back, but I quickly realized that things were not the same. Even though she was back with her family the situation was not completely remedied, and the only way my parents saw to fix it completely was to send her to live in Uruguay. I had hoped the move would only be temporary, but it soon became permanent and I realized I had to learn to live without my older sister who I missed so much.
Now looking back at the situation I still don’t fully understand what...