Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted to be different. But my life was just so normal, so boring. I wanted something big to happen, something that would change my life forever. I wished this almost every night before I went to sleep. Be careful what you wish for is a saying that people should pay more attention to.

It was three days after Christmas during the year 2004. I remember waking up to the harsh barking sound of my miniature dachshund, Jimmy Dean, and thinking, Why couldn’t we have gotten a small quiet dog? Then I glanced over at the alarm clock next to my bed and groaned. It was 5:45 in the morning! I rolled over and tried to fall back asleep but he wouldn’t stop barking. I could hear voices downstairs so, after more groans and incoherent complaints, I let him out of my room and stumbled down the stairs. I stood blinking at the bottom of the steps for a couple seconds, adjusting my eyes to the bright glare of the living room lights. Both my parents were downstairs.

The clearest thing that I remember from that morning was looking at my dad and hearing him say, “Our porch is gone,” in a very matter-of-a-fact sort of tone.

“What?” I had to be dreaming. Regardless, I pulled back the faded pink curtain covering the glass part of out front door. My eyes turned into huge saucers as I took in the scene before me. I pinched myself and winced as I found out that this was no dream. Half of our indoor porch was covered in wood splinters, broken glass, and pieces of broken furniture. The walls enclosing that half of the porch were gone, and the debris trailed into our front yard, ending at a foreign car in our vegetable garden.

Here’s the short version: a sixteen year old kid got in a fight with his girlfriend and had been drinking. He was driving down out street at 60 mph at 5:30 am. When trying to turn, he somehow managed to propel his car over the hedge, up our front porch steps, and through our front porch, after which he landed in our vegetable garden. He tried to drive away, but his car was stuck so he abandoned the car and ran and hid in the golf course across the street. My mom, who had woken up first, said it had sounded like an explosion. But of course, I didn’t hear anything. The big event that changes my life finally comes and I manage to sleep through the whole thing.

I guess that could have been considered the first domino to fall. The kid did not go to jail, our insurance would not help us with the damage, and because the crash shook the foundations of our house, we weren’t allowed to go up onto the roof so naturally there had to be a huge blizzard that bombarded our roof with ice. When the snow began to melt, the ice built up on our roof also began to melt… into our house. Yep, we got toxic mold too. Luckily my grandma took us in, so for over six months we were a family of six, living in a two bedroom house.

I learned a lot during that period, some good some bad. Life isn’t fair. Not everybody gets to go on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. You shouldn’t just sit there wishing for something to happen; instead, make what you want to happen yourself. That way, you can somewhat control the outcome. Everyone has it in them to get what they want if they want it badly enough. I learned a lot about saving money that year, and when I saved up enough to buy something I wanted, it felt really good. But the most important thing I learned was about the meaning of family. It isn’t just presents at Christmas or money when you get good grades. It isn’t even blood relatives. It’s taking people in when they have no place to go, supporting them in every way, and giving things up, so that others can have more. Truly I tell you, that day changed my life forever.