Sleep was rare and I saw things no kid should have to see, so when my father passed there was a deep sense of loss. Life became a constant race — a race to help my mom get better and brother grow up, a race to stay on top of both household bills and schoolwork, and a race that left little time to deal with my own trauma. The only breaks came when Summer Search literally took me out of my environment, both physically on summer trips and mentally through weekly mentoring.