Before I started ninth grade, I was extremely depressed. Every time I went back and forth between my parents' two homes, it just constantly reminded me of the division in my family. It's upsetting to see other families that are functional. I just thought there was nothing else to life. 
I used to have a pet turtle, but it was boring, so we got rid of him. When I went to my dad's house, there was a stray cat that came up to me every weekend, but they wouldn't let me keep him there, so I brought him to my mom's house. He was very malnourished and also very skinny - you could feel his spine when you petted him!  My mom surprisingly let me keep him, and he helped with my depression by being by my side and helping me through everything. Since then, we've moved away from the first home we had him in, and he was meowing the entire night because it was an entirely new environment. The move was hard because we were on the fourth floor, and it took a lot of power to move all our furniture upstairs and in a small elevator that didn't work very well. Eleven months later, we moved again, and I didn't want to move again!  I felt like I was trapped in this small little house. But I realized it wasn't that bad, although it sucked - moving from a 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom apartment to a 2 bedroom place. Many apartments don't allow any type of animals, but luckily they accepted cats here, so I was extremely happy because my cat truly makes me happy, and he loves sitting in the window guarding his home. This is why I appreciate my cat because we have been through so much together. 

– Justine Guerra

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