This morning when I blinked the sleep from my eyes, I saw the red of my blanket, the white

of the sunlight streaming in my 5 by 4 window and the blue of the sky.

Red white and blue.Three colors that now constitute me and you.

When I saunter lazily into my bathtub and the water eases the knots from my flesh, washed of everything from yesterday, i am filled with the cleanliness of a second chance, I do not stop to think.

When I drag myself through the shallow several feet down my stairs, I treat myself to warm pancakes topped with strawberries, sugar, and blueberies.

My biggest concerns are what I am going to wear for the day and if anything good will be on TV.

What I do not know is that in the same spot that I kick my feet up on my leather couch. A battle raged. A battle for independence farther than my battle to get the car keys from my parents

A battle for rights farther than my battle to convince my parents that I can go to that party

A battle, where the warm blood smeared into the whites of their eyes as and mixed with the blue of their tears as life was passed to me: feet up on the couch watching Kim Kardashian complain on the big screen.

Red White Blue.