Losing a parent is somebody's worst nightmare, especially when you're too young to understand what death really means and what is really going on in your family. It's one of the most traumatic things a child could go through and it's especially hard when you are so close with your mom or dad. When that happens to you, your whole world turns upside down.

I was 11 years old when my dad died. It was so unexpected, none of us knew how to react to it all. He was always flying to different places and he would always come home. We didn't think that when he got on a plane to go back home that it would never land at its final destination. That was the hardest part because the way he died was so unexpected. Having someone die in a plane crash, you never thought it would happen to your family.

My mom went through the ringer. She had four kids she had to take care of and two of them had autism. Me being the oldest, I had to grow up really fast because it was just the four of us. My mom and I really didn't have the closest relationship like I had with my dad but we turned into a team because we had to grieve while trying to make our new normal.

Ten years later, I and my mom are closer than we ever. We both had to help each other heal and keep our family together. There were some times where things got hard and there were some fights but that's what mothers and daughters do. As I got older, I realize that I'm more like my mom than I thought I was.

My mom has gotten me through so much growing up and she's taught not just how to be a woman but how to be a good human being in the world. Mine has done so much for me and my siblings. She became a stay at home mom after my brother and sister's autism diagnosis and took care of us and the house while my dad worked full time. We lived with a grandpa for a few years before we moved to a new house. She worked countless hours and continued to get promoted in her job and I'm so proud of her.

So to everyone who ever feels like their parents are the worst and can't stand them sometimes, remember that life is unexpected and you only have so much time left with the people you love.