When I was 7 years old I moved to Pennsville New Jersey from Delaware with my 4-year-old sister and my parents. I was excited to be moving into my new house because I thought it would be my forever home after moving throughout my life. But I was wrong. About six months into living there, a disaster occurred. 

I was in the living room with my mom and sister on a relaxing summer day. My dad was making dinner in the kitchen. I was sitting on the couch watching TV with my mom, and my little sister was playing with her dolls beside us. Then, I witnessed my sister stand up from the floor and exit through our side door, situated in the kitchen. My mom got up shortly after to help my dad in the kitchen and keep an eye on my sister, leaving me by myself. My sister soon stormed back inside and gathered everyone to watch her bike without training wheels for the first time. For the past two weeks, she had been outside every day, trying to ride her bike. So when she came inside, she called our names to go and watch her, my mom followed her out, then my dad, but I stayed. I stayed because I was in the middle of a show I enjoyed and the episode was about to end. A couple of minutes later, my sister came back inside, begging me to go outside to watch her. I remember telling her “no” and “I'll be out in a second,” but she convinced me to go outside anyway. Looking back, I'm thankful that she got me to go outside. 

As I watched her, I was surprised to see that she was doing it, considering I didn’t learn to ride my bike until I was six. I then hopped on my bike that was lying on the side of my house to get some attention from our parents. My seven-year-old self was jealous. I began to bike out of my driveway, and then to the sidewalk that led to the other side of my house. As I biked over I heard my mom yelling from a distance. I froze up. I was so scared to go back to see what was causing the yelling. I immediately thought something had happened to my little sister. Did she fall? Did she break a bone? I was clueless as to what I was about to witness. 

After sitting there for a moment, I rode my bike back over to see thick gray smoke coming out of the side door of my house. I saw my mom and sister standing beside our car in the driveway, but I didn't see my dad. I dropped my bike and frantically asked what was going on. I didn't get an answer, but I knew it wasn't good. After walking over, I saw my dad come out of the house in distress. As soon as my mom saw the look on my dad's face, she took me and my sister to our neighbor's house. I was scared and confused. I could feel my hands shaking and a lump in my throat. After ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door, our neighbors finally answered, and my mom was hysterically explaining to them what was going on. She had told them that our house had caught on fire and she needed to use their phone. My heart dropped as I heard my mom explaining what was going on to the neighbors. I finally realized what was happening. The neighbors then let me and my sister in their house while my mom stood out front on the phone with 911. 

Standing in the living room of a stranger's home with my sister, I could tell she was confused and didn't know what was going on, but I began to panic. My neighbors attempted to calm me down with a jumbo coloring book and some broken crayons, but all I could think about was what was going on outside. After my neighbors failed to attempt to get me to relax, they eventually let me go back out, only to see my house engulfed in flames. I started sobbing. I desperately tried to find my parents through all the people on the street who were watching our house burn, but my mom found me first. I then saw my dad attempting to get in the front door of the house. The only thing I could think about at that moment was my three cats inside. I soon learned that the reason my dad was trying to open the front door was so he could try to grab them, but unfortunately, he was unable to. 

A few moments later the firemen finally arrived, and they tried to extinguish the fire but it was too late. I saw my sister walk out of the neighbor's house and stand beside me and my mom. The fireman then explained that an electrical problem caused the fire, and at that point, the firemen could do nothing else to save the house. So me, my sister, my mom, and my dad sat in our neighbor's yard and all we could do was watch. 

Shortly after, my aunt arrived at our house to pick me and my sister up to take us to her house. I didn’t want to go considering both my parents were staying and I wanted to know what was going to happen. But my parents made us leave. That was the last time I would see my house standing. As I crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge to my aunt's house, I noticed the thick black smoke still billowing from my house.

After that day, I had a whole new perspective on life. My life hasn’t been the same since. I went through some challenging times after the house fire, including living with relatives, living in hotels, and living in motels before my family was finally stable again. We had lost everything. This experience has made me extremely appreciative of what I have in my life and now helps me get through tough times. It taught me that things will and do get better.