I walked down stairs to see my dad pacing in the kitchen while on a phone call with the vet. His eyebrows were furrowed as he talked about rabies. Finally, when he got off the phone, he said that nothing serious had happened, we just needed to bring our dog to the vet to get her shots. I felt a wave or relief run though my body as the thought of our dog being sick left my mind.

At a very young age, my life changed. When I was 3, I moved to Florence, Italy because my parents wanted me to be bilingual, and that wasn’t the only benefit I gained from living in Italy.  For 6 years I thrived there. I made friends, I loved my school and my house, I learned a new language, and most of all, I loved the environment. But when I turned nine, the only life I knew disappeared.

Everyone has a different experience with their family. Sometimes it’s a positive experience that leaves you with good memories, sometimes it's a bad experience that leaves you with irreversible scars, or maybe it's a mix of both. Assia shared with me the experience she had with her family, and how it was like growing up in her family dynamic.