The blazing flames burned brightly in front of me from the scorched throat of the burning

dragon. The slimey, iron-strength scales glistened in the light of the fire of burning buildings. I

stared as a burst of fire rushed towards me. However, before it could hit, I quickly leaped to the

side. Looking up , another flame coil soared through the air in my direction causing me to stab

my Golden Sword of Truth into the ground and propel myself upward. In mid-air, I was met with

a hissing tail which I blocked with my Gladiator Shield of Truth. I twisted in mid-air around the

tail, and stabbed it with my sword; heaving myself upward. I ran up the smouldering scales of

the beast, dodging asteroids, and slicing flames in half. My Amulet of Tharsos glowed fiercely at

the sign of the dragon’s neck, giving me immense strength. Soaring through the air, I twisted

again to gain momentum and with a loud scream I slashed the neck of the dragon with all my

force. Blood spurted from the sides of my cut; followed by a sound… shattering glass?

My eyes widened and I looked around, completely confused. Saliva drenched my pillow,

an indication of a good dream. Another crash erupted from the hallways, and I saw shards of

glass sparkle from under my bedroom door. I climbed down from my water bed and hopped into

my Spongebob slippers, scratching my eyes in confusion. A barrage of screams came from

further down the hallway. I opened the door, semi-hazed at the bursting light. I was welcomed

with my own mother stumbling and hitting the ground with a thump. The stench of alcohol filled

the air, a far too familiar smell for me at that point. My father stood under the door post, dazed,

with bloodshot eyes chest heaving , and anger brewing. The two continued to scream at each

other and as usual, I felt the tears rest gently in the corner of my eyes, but I remember the wise

words from my cousin Brian, “Be strong, Junior.” I closed my eyes to my harsh reality, and used

my unfallen tears to go back into my dream world. I don’t remember very much of that night,

probably because I was too busy slaying more dragons. However, I do remember my father

moving out the next day.

Emotions and I just really don’t mix that well. We are oil and water, toothpaste and

orange juice, Mentos and Diet Coke - you get my point. But I finally found the solution - a world

in which you get to control visit, explore, and rule. But most importantly, a world full of hope.

Creativity has always been my favorite outlet , mainly because it was free, easy, and fun.

Whenever I was hit with the harsh realities of my life, all I had to do is shut my eyes and visit the

world that I wanted to be in. To this day, I still have doubts. How could I accomplish this when

my family barely has any money? I couldn’t even go to sport tryouts, or join the clubs that I

wanted due to the fact my mother was always working or didn’t have enough money to pay for

the gear. Be strong, Junior. I remember even watching my mom weep at the sight of multiple

bills contagiously forcing me to nearly shed tears of my own. Be strong, Junior. Instead, I closed

my eyes, trapped in the tears, and went back to my mind’s creation praying that one day I would

be given the platform to share my creativity with the world. That is what I want to do, I want to

put my mom in a new house, I want to succeed for her, I want to get my own father help, I want

to make my dreams become a new reality. Be strong, Junior. Same words I reminded myself at

the funeral of that same friend who gave me them, shot and killed. Be. Strong. Junior. (YOUR

ESSAY COMES TO A NATURAL END HERE)

The Dragon flew into the air in anguish, screaming until finally erupting in a ball of his

own flames. I stood up, wiping dragon blood out of my eyes. My fellow warriors gathered

around me, “How...how did you know that would work? Stabbing the dragon in the tail and using

it to get to the weak spot...brilliance! How did you even think of that?” With a huge smile and a

cocky chuckle, I tapped myself on my temple. .

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