“I don’t get to live the life of a seventeen year old. My mom...

“I don’t get to live the life of a seventeen year old. My mom is always working and I have a six-year-old brother. So I have to do everything that a mother would do. I take him to kindergarten, pick him up, feed him, clean up after him. I don’t get to take breaks. I can’t play sports after school. I can’t get extra tutoring. But it’s not my mom’s fault. She’s trying to save money for me to go to college. And she tells me every day that I’m a wonderful daughter. But it’s been very difficult for me. The only good thing is that I can understand adult problems already. I don’t take anything for granted and I know that life is not easy. It seems like my friends aren’t even studying to get knowledge. They’re studying to get an allowance. So I think I’m more mature than most seventeen year olds. But at some point I would like some time to take care of myself. Or maybe even have someone take care of me for a change.”

(Moscow, Russia)