Orianna "Ori"
"Mija ,look at the camera" my mother exclaimed as I held my diploma towards it.
Today was graduation day and I was more than excited to move on to college and become something in life. I was the first of my mothers 3 children to actually get a diploma and finish high school instead of dropping out like my two older brothers.
Living in the roughest part of Brooklyn without our father caused continuous strain among our family, but my mother and I always remained humbled and optimistic towards our situation unlike Trevor, my oldest brother. At just the age of 18,he turned to the streets and after only two months to running these wild streets of Brooklyn, he was killed. The murder of Trevor scarred my mother for the longest and hurt my brother and I to the core. For months she kept me and my second oldest brother Chance on house arrest for the longest, in fear of loosing another child. After about 7 months she began to return to her normal self and loosened up on Chance and I a bit. That little freedom we did have was short lived. One night, about three years ago, I was awakened by the sound of screaming between Chance and my mother. I was only fourteen at the time but I knew exactly what they were arguing about; Chance had began doing the same thing Trevor was doing that lead to his death which caused my mother to go into overdrive. My mother refused to watch another one of her children go down that path, so she gave him a choice and I'm guessing you can guess what he chose: The Streets. That night he was kicked out the house and I haven't heard from him since. I think about both my brothers everyday. Sometimes I wonder what would life be like if Trevor was still alive and whether or not Chance was still living. They would be so proud to see there baby sister walk the stage, but sadly neither one of them were able to.... But hey, I'm used to it.. Just me and my mom.
Orianna in the media.
