Some teenagers have homework to balance,

honor classes, and a job. Junior Crystal

Morales does that and more.

Not only does Crystal manage school

and work, but she also has to babysit her

nephew Michael Jr, who has Attention Deficit

Hyperactivity Disorder (A.D.H.D.), which is

another obstacle to her daily routine.

“I love my nephew, baby Michael, to death,

but sometimes it gets so frustrating when his

A.D.H.D. gets the best of him,” Crystal said.

“I’ll be trying to teach him one thing and his

head will be somewhere else; it’s always time

consuming.”

Hoping to become a certified anesthesiologist,

is difficult for Crystal because she can’t find

the time to devote herself to her studies other

distractions in the way.

“Some people don’t know how lucky they

are,” Crystal said. “Forget about having time to

hang out with my friends; I can barely find the

time to do anything.”

Money remains as another obstacle her

family struggles with as well.

“A lot of what my parents argue about is

money,” Crystal said. “Money for this and that,

to get my brother Michael out of prison, to pay

for my car, for this bill and for that bill. It gets

annoying after a while.”

Because her older brother Michael is in

prison, Crystal rarely gets to see him, and

when she does, it’s limited.

“I love my brother,” Crystal said. “He made

one mistake and now he’s in prison. I miss him

and wish I could see him more often.”

Costing a $10,000 retainer fee, it’s hard for

her family to find a good lawyer to get Michael

out of prison.

“It’s ridiculous the amount of money they’re

asking to get him out,” Crystal said. “It’s really

sad that just because of the money problem he’s

staying in there longer.”

But the Morales family is not just worried

about the money, but Michael Jr.’s relationship

with his father.

“He hardly gets to see him,” Crystal said.

“I’m not complaining or anything, but I end up

having to babysit him because everybody else is

always too busy.”

Being able to see herself in a big city, Crystal

and her best friends made plans to move away

from Texas in the future.

“We all want to go to the same college and

agreed on moving to California for school,”

junior Kristen Chinn said.

Even though college is in Crystal’s future,

honors classes are not an option right now due

to her drive to take care of Michael Jr. and the

need to work.

“I wanted to take all honors classes like I did

last year but it was really hard with work and

all,” Crystal said. “This year, the only honors

class I’m taking is Pre-AP Pre-Calculus.”

Since her older brother Anthony didn’t take

any honors classes when he was in school and

is also going the medical field, giving Crystal

hope that not taking honors classes won’t slow

her down.

“When I look at my brother, knowing he

didn’t take any honor classes, it gives me relief at

times that it never really stopped him,” Crystal

said.

Whether it’s taking difficult courses or not,

Crystal is astonished at how she is able to

manage things.

“Sometimes I’ll go to work, watch Michael

and do my homework all in one night and I

shock myself at times,” Crystal said.

Family and friends are also astounded at how

she manages to do well in school and balance

everything else going on in her life, and her

friends learn a lot by the way she handles

things.

“Sometimes I complain a lot and I feel so

weird because she hardly complains,” Kristen

said. “She makes me appreciate what I have

sometimes.”