Though it may be something that I would normally dismiss as junk mail, for some reason I took the time to read the e-mail that was forwarded to me from a friend. It was titled, ‘What I Am Makes A Difference’. I sat and read it, marveling at the absurdity of my actions. The e-mail, I decided, was rubbish. After all, what I am does not make a difference to my life or others. I am merely a wallflower whose existence is barely noticeable.

The e-mail was about a class project that a teacher held to pass around blue ribbons that were handed to each student to give an individual that had made a difference in their life. As one ribbon was pinned to another, the rest of the ribbons were passed on to that individual to pin on the next individual that made a difference in his or her life. It went on until the last ribbon was one that a father had given to his son. The father told his son about how important he was, how he had made a difference in his life and that he was sorry to have pressured him too much. The son started crying. Apparently, he was about to commit suicide secretly with a letter left behind for his parents. He said that it was because of the pressure from his parents, but the ribbon and his father’s revealed feelings had saved him from doing so.

And so, I thought that it was pure rubbish. After all, such a thing would not have happened in reality. It was cruel, but that was how reality was. I shut down my computer and headed downstairs for dinner when I heard my maid calling for me. I walked into the kitchen and stared at the table laden with food, but there was no one there to sit and enjoy it. I was alone again. My parents were late as usual, having to work until near midnight and my sisters were always having their meals in their own rooms. I sat down and started to eat my meal. Halfway through, I heard the slamming of car doors and shouts coming from outside. My parents were arguing again. They always do; they have been for almost three years now. My sisters were not aware of it, being locked up in their room most of the time. It had hurt me to always hear them shouting to each other about a divorce, but I am practically immune to it by now.

My maid rushed to open the main door to the house to let my parents through. They were still shouting when they got in and I set my half-eaten bowl of rice down. I had lost my appetite. I went up to my parents and waited for them to stop shouting. When they finally took notice of me, I wished a ‘Welcome back’ and went straight up to my room. The shouting had stopped and I went back to my homework. I had to write an essay about the happiest thing that had happened to me this past week, but nothing came into my mind. It was due next week, so I set it aside for later and went on with the rest.

Three days had passed and it was already Saturday. I slowly opened my eyes drowsily from sleep and stared at the ceiling. Saturday... It was my birthday today! Although I expected nothing, I was still anticipating what I would get for my sixteenth birthday. Then I suddenly noticed the book that was to have my essay written in it still sitting in a corner, untouched. I shrugged it off and took a quick shower. I went downstairs and I could smell the delicious aroma of pancakes wafting from the kitchen. Hungry, I headed straight to the source of the smell. All at once, I was disappointed again to see the table empty except for a plate of pancakes. I sat down dejectedly and started poking at my food, my appetite lost. I was forgotten again.

It seemed as though everyone was out today, including my sisters. So I went back up to my room and immediately booted up my desktop. It was around evening and I was in the middle of playing an online game when I suddenly heard a door slam. Thinking that my sisters were back, I went downstairs to have a look. While walking down the stairs, I thought that everything was suspiciously silent. Trying to be cautious in case it was a thief, I walked stealthily down the stairs. When I was about to reach the last step, the lights suddenly went off. I nearly sprinted for the nearest thing that I could use for a weapon when I heard singing coming from the kitchen.

The singing got nearer and nearer and soon, I could see lights. I realized then that the song sung was actually a birthday song and that the lights were coming from candles on a cake. A birthday cake. A tear trickled down my face and I smiled. How could I possibly not? They remembered! It had been a long time since I was given a sweet surprise such as this. It had been three long years ever since the fights first started. I quickly brushed the tears off of my face and went towards my family. Family... How sweet those words sounded on my lips now.

I blew out the candles on the cake and proceeded. I hugged and said a tearful but happy thank you to each of them. I then cut a few slices of cake and served each person a slice, including my maid. As I sat at the table with my family, happily munching away on my cake, I wondered aloud about the sudden change. Realising what I said, I quickly glanced at them, scared that the atmosphere might suddenly change back to the bad times. But all I saw was them giving each other a nervous glance and a smile. All of a sudden, they all looked at me at the same time and gave me a grin. They cleared their throats and everything became silent.

I became confused, but my silent question was answered when each of them stood up and said something that I never thought I would hear. Something that I had considered as rubbish a few days ago. They each took turns, telling me how I had made a difference in life for them, about how important I was to them. My parents thanked me for always being there, even when they were fighting, as it made them realise what a stupid mistake they had done. As for my sisters, they thanked me for staying by them, even though they were not by me. And as for me, I thanked them for just being my family.