The age 15 was a very awkward age for me. That age was not only awkward for me because of the typical teenage things though. Yes I was going through my not a kid, I want my freedom thought process... but I was also living with a little sister who had a brain tumor. She fought through and is now living the life of a normal happy little girl. However, 3 years ago she was a scared little girl; and with her was my scared family.

My parents had a friend named Dennis Carrol. He had lost his wife, job, and home all in the time span of two months. He was staying in our house free of charge, and my parents opened their doors willingly to him. Not many people that I have known do stuff like letting someone live off them for free, eating their food, using the electricity, but my parents did. I never understood why they were letting someone take advantage of them like that when we needed every cent we could scrape up to pay medical bills to keep my sister alive.

Life got really stressful when we found out that my sister needed a procedure that they couldn't afford. That is when karma came back around. The next day Dennis disappeared, leaving only a $5,000 check which allowed my sister to get what she needed. When my family saw Dennis again he told us he had been working 2 jobs and saving what money he hadn’t been using to pay off his debt for my sister. He refused to let us pay him back. All he wanted was for my parents to remain the people that they were. He said they would have their chance to return the favor. I told him that I could never thank him enough for his help and he said that our good deed of opening our home when we weren’t in the position to is what had triggered this whole event.

I learned then that helping people and unselfish acts are one of the most important skills that a person can have and they are important to hold on to.

Kelsey
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