The Green Light

In my experience, you can’t rely on the bus wheels to get you where you need to go. In the Eastern Coachella Valley, it means waiting in the heat from 45 minutes to an hour, since some bus stops don’t have shade and none have water fountains. One particular day, I had run out of water on my walk home from the bus. I had already waited for the bus in the scorching heat for about an hour. I felt my vision darkening like a tunnel, and I was sweating tremendously, feeling weak. I knew I was getting dehydrated, but I just wanted to get home and rest from school. I struggled to breathe as the sun beamed on my head, worsening my migraine in the suffocating heat. My nostrils dried up and began to bleed. My skin was clammy and pale. I felt as if I was about to pass out. I raced home with all of the strength I had in me, stopping my nosebleed with my favorite pink cardigan. Read more at Youth Leadership Institute.