I woke up to the sound of traffic and cars honking, we’ve been driving for about 3 hours. We moved to Colorado from Japan to live with my uncle. My father had died and my mother thought my younger brother needed a male role model. We moved to Denver but, the part where all the homes are broken and abandoned and the alleys are full of broken glass. In 4 years of time I saw more cracked walls then I can count and more broken families then full stomachs.

My mom and Uncle worked overtime so much for me and my Brother that overtime seem like a normal work hours.  Sooner or later I had to get a job, and when I did i was expecting us to finally have money to get new clothes new anything. Just something new that didn’t make my life feel like it was the same endless cycle that it’s been. I got a part-time job at the Local 7-11, even though my mom told me time after time not to. One night during my shift a man robbed the store and I had this flashback of the heated convo me and my mother had. “You Shouldn’t take that job, You know what happens in that store!!”, “Mom I know what happens I’ve seen countless of them, I’ll be fine”. I find it Ironic now being in that Situation. Life for my family hasn’t been picture perfect even with three jobs in the household. The broken walls the broken windows and the Broken families. Broken homes all because of the lack of money.