I hate change. I moved ten times from the ages of one to nine and in the process, I developed a horrible fear of change. For nine years, on and off, I lived with my five siblings and my mother in a one bedroom trailer where the tub was falling though the floor. I lived in constant fear that I would come home from school to find the trailer crumbled into heaping piles of rubble. My Habitat home means security because I know it's healthier, I know that I can always come home and that Habitat for Humanity cares about what happens to my family. In our one bedroom trailer, a whisper in the bedroom at the back of the house could be heard in the kitchen at the front. When winter came I'd huddle with my two sisters under a pile of blankets, shivering if so much as a toe broke free. In summer four of us sat in a circle, under the biggest tree, while taking turns fanning the lucky one who rested in the center. I conveniently had sensitive skin, causing a heat rash for most of the summer and getting me a longer spot in the center. Inside the trailer there were holes in the rotting floor. One hole under our bunk beds allowed cold air and creepy crawlers in. After we moved to our remodeled, four bedroom, two bath, house I was relieved to find heating, air conditioning, no holes, and one roommate instead of five. I don't dream anymore about coming home from school to find my house condemned, with a huge wrecking ball quivering to turn it into scraps. It's true that I'm a born worrier, but now I don't worry about a safe home. Sure my home get dirty and Mom might consider my room a disaster zone, but I love my home. Sometimes I start walking to school, panic, turn back and check to make sure the coffee pot is off. I know that Habitat follows guidelines and meets safety codes the trailer would never pass. I know they put more love and care into my family's house then billionaires could buy. Habitat is like family. When I go to the office to volunteer or just say hi, they are always kind and caring. This summer I'm going to Europe with a student ambassador program. When I told my local Habitat for Humanity Executive Director, she became one of my biggest donators of time and money. Everyone at Habitat is so dedicated that, even though fear of change made me hate the idea at first, I feel extremely lucky to be a Habitat for Humanity family member. My Habitat home is more than just a house to me: It's a place where I am secure knowing that I will always have a healthy home because of people who care more about me and my family then just paychecks.
To read other winning essays, visit the main 2008 Homeowner Youth Essay Contest page.
