The morning of my 15th birthday. It was the day were I prepared to flee from the faceless foe that had hunter me for years. I was determined to stay in the mold that time was desperately trying to break and have my family look at me the same way they always have. For weeks my parents bombarded me with the idea of a Quinceanera but despite their best efforts I broke tradition and refused the grand party everyone had in mind. Sensing victory at last I felt a sense of relief, a weight lifting from my tired shoulders. However, a little less than three year later, my sense of relief was replaced with realization. I realized that growing up was not the end of me but the beginning of a new chapter. It is the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly that is the true meaning of a Quinceanera. With this realization I finally allowed myself to complete my transformation without fear of being seen different or forgotten. Now I find myself preparing to face, instead of preparing to flee, the new chapter of life…