My parents divorced the summer of 3rd grade, so I was about to turn 11 years old. I always knew that something was off, and then that fateful day my mom sat me down and gave me the heartbreaking news that mom and dad weren't going to live together anymore. I like to think that the divorce could've been much worse than it was, but it had its struggles. I remember the day my mom sat me down and had a serious conversation as best as possible to where I'd still understand. I feel like this divorce was just the beginning point in my life. Like my life is a roller coaster and I'm just arriving at the top about to fall and hit rock bottom in hopes of one day climbing back up. I was a kid. I thought that mommy and daddy were going to live happily ever after just like in TV shows and movies. I was wrong. Mom and Dad fought a lot, I was just lucky that they chose to fight outside rather than right in front of me. I could still hear them even outside. The walls were thin as paper and I could still vividly remember hearing both yelling at each other just trying to be louder than the other, I couldn't help but cry silently. My dad didn't necessarily want a divorce. He didn't want to be away from his kids, so he proposed just staying married for the kids. My mom wasn't having it, rather she sat me down and gave me to option of whether I wanted to leave with my mom that night, or stay and live with my dad. That was probably the hardest decision I've ever made. I looked up at my mom with tears filling my eyes and said "I don't think I could live without my mommy," now were both in tears crying silently while my dad was at work, fully unaware of the fact I just crushed his heart by his little girl choosing to live his soon to be ex-wife. Later that night my dad got home from work and it's quiet in the house.. A little too quiet. My dad comes rushing into my room to find me and my mom packing anything and everything that could fit in my mom's tiny little van. I remember hearing my parents fighting yet again, only this time the fight didn't make it outside. Here it was, the biggest fight I think I heard my parents and it was right in front of me so it was twice as loud. I'm crying, my mom's crying, and my dad is fuming with anger. It's time to leave. Everyone's calm down for the most part and it's time to say goodbye. My dad was standing in the driveway in an old cut-up band t-shirt and baggy camo pants. His arms were crossed with one hand around his waist and the other hand covering his mouth as he was sobbing in the driveway. I'm in the front seat of my mom's van as I see the headlights slowly back away as we're reversing and I'm sobbing because as much as I saw my dad cry, this was like no other. This time was different, and I cried the entire way to my grandma's house, and while I was sitting there crying, my mom was sitting right there next to me making sure I was okay, and comforting me for however long I needed. I didn't think my parent's divorce affected my behavior really, but rather my grades. Before I knew it my grades started slipping lower, and lower. It was tough. Bouncing back and forth between my parent's houses and the fact that no one else knew or understood how I was feeling because I didn't even know how I was feeling. I thought this was all a bad dream and that I was destined to wake up to see Mommy and Daddy happily married again, but eventually, I realized that there was no chance my parents would ever get back together and it was just reality. It's something that I'm going to have to just accept and move on with my life.