Growing up, I have always heard the saying, “Everyone is going through their own struggles that others don’t know about.” A simple smile can send so many misleading messages. Does someone smiling really mean that they are happy? There is always more to a person than what is seen by the outside world.

When I was 10 years old, this saying became something I witnessed first hand. One of the men that works for my father had always been around for my childhood. He worked for my father for as long as I could remember. Not only was he my father’s colleague, but a good family friend as well. He was a divorced man with two children, a daughter who was in her 20s and a son about 18 at the time. On holidays, birthdays, and weekends, he would always be around, never without a smile on his face. He was always happy and outgoing, cracking jokes. This man felt like family to me.

One day, I needed a ride to school as both my parents were busy at work. My father asked this man to take me to school. I remember him picking me up in his white pick-up truck to drive me to school. After a few minutes of awkward small talk, he began to tell me the story about his son. His son had taken a few wrong turns in his life and landed him in prison. He started using and selling drugs at the age of 15. After getting kicked out of high school at 17, his father had no choice to kick him out of his house as well. When he got to be 18, he needed money to live. He returned to both his father and mother’s house, the one he grew up splitting time between, and robbed both of his parents. He stole and sold his mother’s diamond wedding ring along with other valuable items. A few days later he was arrested.

My dad’s colleague told me that he looks after me as his own son. He didn’t want to see me make the same mistakes his son made. This news was shocking to me. I had no idea what was going on in his life. He was always smiling, always making other people smile. This story of helped me to realize that everyone is facing their own battles, some worse than others. I also realized that there is so much to live for and life can change in an instance.