Sometimes in life you are thrown curve balls. In these situations, you decide whether you should duck out of the way to evade the consequences or hit the problem head on in its entirety.

Life was constantly coming at me hard; no matter what I tried to do, it just wouldn't slow down. Lately, all I seemed to be doing was stepping up to the plate and striking out.

It was a Wednesday morning just like any other. I had gone through my morning routine and made it to the studio with some time to spare. I quickly ran through my warm up exercises and prepared my voice for whatever Hannah and Dylan had in store for it today.

"La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la."

"Morning, Santana. We will meet you in the recording area in five."

I gave my head a small nod and continued with my voice preparation. When I was finished, I took a sip of water and pushed all the negative energy out of my mind.

Ever since I was little, I had dreamt about being a star. I sang in talent shows, school musicals, and even was a part of my high school's glee club. After graduation, I decided music was what I was passionate about. I spent some time at college, but realized it just wasn't for me. That's when I met, Hannah, my manager. She and her husband, Dylan, owned a record label and this recording studio. I had been working with them for a few months, now. My album was coming together slowly, but surely.

I opened my eyes, took a deep breath, and entered the recording room.

"Hey, sunshine," Hannah called out, "you ready to lay down your next track?"

"Yeah, I hope so."

"You hope so?" iterated Dylan. "Where is your confidence, Santana?"

"Oh, I don't know. Could be anywhere with all the things I've had to deal with in the last two weeks."

"Don't dwell on it. I know things are a little up in the air right now. This is your career, though, you need to be professional."

"Hunny, go easy on her, she has had a lot of changes in her life, recently."

"I understand that but, if she doesn't put her effort into her songs, her album isn't going to sell."

Great. Right when I needed support and encouragement the most, I wasn't going to get it.

"Come on, let's see what you've been working on."

I opened the door and slipped into the tiny room. My heart was racing. I did not want to disappoint Dylan anymore than I already was.

I put on my headphones, walked up to the microphone, and waited for my cue.

"Alright, 3, 2, 1…" Hannah called out.

"When your heart is heavy and you don't know where to turn. I hope that you find strength, my friend, so the tears will not return. Life may have its ups and downs, but you will see. If you open up your heart and just believe…."

"BELIEVE that you are BEAUTIFUL. BELIEVE that you can beat this struggle. BELIEVE that you are STRONG inside. BELIEVE that you have kept your pride. If you just BELIEVEEEEEE…miracles could happen"

I was so caught up in my singing that I didn't hear Dylan's voice.

"That was a little iffy for me, Santana."

"Excuse me?"

"The words…I don't know…they sound weak."

"Weak? I poured my heart out into this song, Dylan."

"Wait just a minute," Hannah interrupted. "I happened to really like it. You sang it so sincerely. It was very believable."

"At least we have one other sane person in the room."

"It was the chorus. The chorus isn't working for me. We need to revamp it."

"I do not revamp my songs."

"Santana, I am trying to help you."

"Well, then sit your ass back down and let me finish my song."

I don't know what set me off, but I was livid. How dare Dylan say that my lyrics were weak. This song helped me overcome one of the hardest parts of my life recently.

"You've seemed to have lost that spark with your writing. Where is the passion and the creativity you always give us?"

"If what I just sang isn't passionate enough for you, then, I don't know what will be," I said dejectedly.

I was about to walk out of the studio. I couldn't take all the harsh words and criticism. It was exhausting.

"I think we should take a break from this song. We can always come back to it. Let's focus on the songs we know are set in stone," Hannah said, breaking the tension in the room.

Dylan looked at her, annoyance clearly written on his face. "Fine. Let's do a run through of My Heart."

My Heart was one of the dance/pop tracks on my album. It was going to be my single. We were all proud of the way it had turned out.

I nodded my head in agreement and pulled out the lyrics. I knew I had to clear my head and get back in my zone. Still, I couldn't help but feel let down. I wanted the first slow song on my album to be perfect. Clearly it wasn't perfect at all.

"And a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…boom bat, boom bat, pop, and turn, and right foot, bing, bang, pop, and down, twist, dip, dap, dop, left foot pop, and step, step, dum dip dap"

I completed the last step of the routine and attempted to catch my breath. This choreography was definitely going to kick my ass.

"That was great, Brittany!" my friend, Mike shouted clapping his hands in excitement. "Nearly flawless."

"Nearly?" I said sighing.

"Your twist was a little off, but you pushed through. Other than that it was perfect!"

"I'll work on the twist. I have to get it down pat."

"Still no call backs?"

I shook my head too ashamed to tell him, "no". I had choreographed all my own routines. They were all creative and magical in their own ways. Yet, none of them had secured me a job offer. I danced my ass off every audition I went to and still nothing ensued from all my hard work.

"Hey, keep your head up! Someone will call you, I promise."

I tried to smile but Mike saw right through me. He knew it was forced. I had been auditioning for months. I felt like a failure. Surely, someone had noticed me somewhere.

"Want to run through the routine again?"

"Sure." The only way I was going to get better was to keep practicing.

Forty-five minutes later, I had finally performed the twist properly and executed a perfect routine.

"You did it!"

"That felt really good. I persevered and took all the pointers you gave me."

"I'm proud of you, Britt! You did well."

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Almost 3:00, why?"

"Shit. Shit. Shit. I'm going to be late for work! I have to run."

I grabbed my dance bag and water bottle before slipping my shoes on and running out of the dance studio.

"Brad is going to kill me," I said before turning the corner and running down the street.

I clocked in ten minutes late. Brad gave me an earful about how I was never going to succeed if I couldn't even show up to a normal job on time.

I walked into the back room of Wee Care Animal Shelter and was greeted with many barks and howls.

"Hey my loves, I'm here. I didn't forget about any of you."

I opened their cages one by one to give them fresh food and water.

"Dasher have you been biting your tail again? What did I tell you? You're going to turn into an alligator."

"He already is like an alligator. He chews on everything in sight, including his tail!" My friend Mercedes exclaimed.

"Hey, Cedes. How's everything going today?"

"Oh, it's going. These monsters have been driving me crazy. All they want to do is run around and play. I sure am getting my exercise in today."

"Haha. I bet. How's Aristotle?"

"He's doing pretty well. He was actually running around with the others today. His appetite is back to where it needs to be, too."

"Good. I missed him being my little cuddle bug."

I moved over to where the cats were and started making my rounds there.

"So, why were you late?"

"Ugh, please…I was so worried about acing my routine that I lost all track of time."

"Damn, girl. Did you end up getting the routine down?"

I smiled genuinely before saying, "It's the best it's ever been or going to be."

"That's awesome. Congrats!"

"Yeah, well, Brad doesn't think it is awesome. He told me that I am wasting my time with this silly little dancing dream. Then, he said that I need to get serious about my future and start showing up to work on time, or else he is going to have to fire me."

"Brad's an ass, don't listen to his bull crap. You're going to make it BIG one day, girl. Just you wait and see.

"I hope you're right. I really do."

After spending the rest of morning and afternoon recording, Hannah decided that we should call it a day. She figured Dylan and I would both need a break from each other before we resumed again tomorrow.

I gathered my things, left the studio, and headed towards Millbrook Elementary School. School was just getting out when I arrived. I didn't see my niece, Lily, waiting for me in her usual spot, so, I parked my car and went inside.

When I reached her classroom, Lily and her teacher, Ms. Applewood, were seated at their desks.

I knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter.

"Hello, Ms. Lopez. I bet you were wondering where Lily was. I had asked her to stay here so that you and I could have a little chat."

"Is something wrong?"

"Why don't we talk in the hallway."

I looked at Lily before following Ms. Applewood out into the hallway.

"Ms. Lopez, I am afraid Lily still isn't talking. She completes the majority of her work, but does not answer when talked to or asked a question. I am becoming very worried about her. I think she may need some help."

I looked into the room at Lily, and saw her head lying on the desk. She looked absolutely exhausted.

"How would you feel, Ms. Applewood, if your mother left you on someone else's doorstep? How would you feel if the only other person that you called "family" was overseas fighting in the army? Lily has had to go through so much change in her life in such a short amount of time. For her, not talking about her feelings, or anything for that matter, is how she is deciding to cope with this."

"I understand that, Ms. Lopez. I feel horrible about this whole ordeal myself. The truth is, however, that this is just the beginning. Right now, she isn't talking. We don't know what could be next. That is why I am worried."

"Nobody ever knows what is next. Life is constantly changing, Ms. Applewood. Lily would be the first one to tell you that."

I turned and went inside to get Lily and take her home.

"Come on peanut, let's go home," I said stretching out my hand towards her.

She lifted her head off the desk, grabbed her book bag, and grabbed onto my hand.

"Hey, Aristotle. I missed you buddy!" I said giving his head a long scratch. "Mercedes said you were a good boy today. I am so proud of you!"

"Ruff," Aristotle barked.

"Someday, someone is going to come in here and fall in love with you. You'll finally have a family of your own. No more living the wild life. No more scary adventures."

He licked my face and wagged his tail. "Oh, okay, you can still go on your adventures. Just do not go out of state, you hear me!"

Aristotle had quickly become my favorite animal at the shelter. He was a two year old, Jack Russell Terrier who was sweet, friendly, and adventurous. He was constantly running away from his owners who would tie him up outside all day. He just wanted to be loved and played with.

Brad received the call from a neighbor saying that Aristotle was getting very skinny and not looking very healthy at all. So, with the help of the local police, Brad seized him and brought him to the shelter to nurse him back to health.

"You're such a smart boy, Aristotle, aren't you?"

He stood up on his two hind legs and jumped up into the air.

"Haha, okay, yes, your new trick deserves a treat," I said laughing at him.

I felt in my pocket for a treat and handed it over to Mr. Greedypants.

"I'll be back later after I check on Lord Tubbington and his family."

It was going to be a very long night.

"How was school today?" I asked once we got in the car.

Lily stared straight ahead and didn't utter a word. I decided to try a different approach.

"Want to go get some ice cream?"

Again, Lily didn't respond or even budge. I didn't know what to do. I never signed up for this. I didn't know the first thing about being a parent. Yet, here I was, two weeks in, and still getting nowhere.

"Lily, sweetie, you have to talk to me. Please, tell me what is on your mind."

She turned her head away from me and looked out the window. I wanted to ask her so many things. I wanted her to feel safe with me. It just wasn't happening and I felt terrible. Maybe she did need help.

Then, the craziest idea popped into my head. I knew what I had to do.

You see, when I was younger my parents paid no attention to me. They were always traveling for business and pleasure, leaving me home alone. It was then, that I decided, I needed someone in my life that I could count on. So, one day, I went into town and used my father's credit card to buy myself a lifelong friend. Sammie was, indeed, my best friend and protector. She was always there for me, no matter what.

I had a feeling this was going to be one of Lily's solutions. I pulled over to the side of the road, made a U-turn, and headed back down the road into town.

Lily must have been confused with the abrupt change in direction because her head turned back towards me.

We continued driving another five minutes, before we pulled up in front of a neon green building.

I turned the car off, unbuckled my seat belt, and looked straight into Lily's eyes.

"How do you feel about getting a pet?" I asked.

Lily seemed to ponder the idea for a minute. It was only when I saw her read the sign Wee Care Animal Shelter and give a gentle shake of her head "yes" that I complemented myself for finally getting something right.

I took Lily's hand in mine and walked up to the man at the front desk.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, I sure hope so. We are looking to adopt a pet."

"What kind of pet do you want, ma'am?"

"A dog…or a cat.."

"Hold on please."

He took his walkie-talkie out from behind him and pushed the talk button.

"Brittany we have some people here interested in adopting a dog or a cat. Please see if you can help them out."

"10-4," came back the response.

"Alright, you can go on back."

"Thank you."

We walked through a set of doors into a room with at least fifteen dogs and seven cats. It felt like a zoo.

I turned and looked at Lily. "Okay, sweetie, you can pick whatever dog or cat you like the most."

Lily looked up at me, let go of my hand, and started looking at all the animals in the room.

I stayed put and let Lily have her moment. I watched as she went from cage to cage inspecting every dog and cat there was. It was quite adorable.

A moment later, a tall, blonde haired woman entered the room. "Hey there, is there anything I can help you with?"

Lily looked from the strange woman then, back to me and stuck her thumb in her mouth. This was a new thing she did when someone she didn't know appeared out of nowhere.

"It's okay Lily, this nice woman is going to help us pick out a pet."

"That's right. Is there anything special you are looking for?"

Lily didn't answer. Instead, she just kept sucking on her thumb. The blonde haired woman turned to look at me to see if Lily was okay.

Wow. She had the most amazing blue eyes. They were as blue as the ocean. She was also very beautiful. It was like looking at an angel.

I felt Lily run over to me and hide her face in my side. Maybe this wasn't going to help her after all.

"I'm sorry. She's going through a rough time right now. I thought buying her a pet would help her. Perhaps, this was a bad idea. Come on Lily."

This poor little girl looked terrified. I didn't look that scary did I?

"Wait…I think I can help," I stated before they could leave.

"You can?"

"She needs a friend, right?"

"Yes, she does."

"Well, then a friend is what we are going to find her. Come on."

The look of relief that washed over the petite brunette's face caught me off guard. It was like a silent thank you. I couldn't help but wonder what was going on in these two lives that was so heartbreaking.