...For the longest time, I felt as if I was not special at all. I felt that, although I had a talent for writing and I had above-average grades, I was not one to ever stick out from the crowd. I noticed that only my close friends ever found me fun and interesting, and that was only because we shared common interests (although our bonds were strengthened at a personal level later on). To others, I was just the quiet, weird smart kid with a snarky sense of humor, and up close and personal, to them, I was a boring kid with interests that swerved far from their own. I had struggled with this feeling of inadequacy ever since I was third or fourth grade, and I still do today, to a lesser extent; however, it is the truth that I shed most of it aside in pursuit of goals that aren’t...
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...The transition from childhood to adulthood is not one that comes from a singular event. Instead, it is a journey that is propelled by a set of circumstances or series of related events. In my case the story is not one I boast about or am grateful for, in fact, it is something I wish I did not have to experience even if it means I would live in childhood again. From the time I was young, my family was never quite whole. My mother was always facing a great number of problems: losing jobs, battling her mental health disorders, an unhappy marriage, etc. My father was dealing with a job that made him travel more than he was home, vertigo attacks, and a loveless marriage. These problems -- which my naive, pre-adolescent mind thought were common among families -- only seemed to grow worse as time went on. As selfish as I was, my biggest worry was that I was not getting enough attention. My mother had a rapidly fluctuating mental state and spent most of her time locked away in her room. My father worked and traveled more than he seemed to be home. As a result of this I learned to be independent from an early age. Getting ready in the morning, making breakfast, and leaving to school on time was all controlled by me. I made sure I brushed my teeth, cleaned my room, and got to bed on time. It was never a sudden shift into the role of responsibility, but rather a transition so gradual that it seemed as though I had always been like this. The climax of my transition occurred in the summer...
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...Throughout my life, I have thought of myself as an adventurous, hard-working, and, willing individual. As an adventurous person, I have always had the desire to explore the unknown. When I boarded a plane for my first trip, an unexplainable exhilarating feeling descended upon me when I heard the engines roar and sensed the plane quickly accelerated to take off. My heart pounded rapidly in excitement, and my brain savored the new experience I was going through. The aircraft was in the air when I gazed out of the window and a breathtaking view from above met my eyes. It was this moment, when I decided aviation was necessary to be a big part of my life someday. As I grew up, that memory of my first airplane ride never left me. Through school,...
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...The chapter that I enjoyed the most is the one on “death and dying”, which is the late adulthood stage. I know this may sound strange, but I have had experience with hospice in the past. My first encounter, of course, is that my mother has been and currently is a hospice nurse. She has been working in the hospice field for just over 19 years. As much as many hate to admit it, dying is a part of life. All people are going to, or will, experience the passing of a loved one at one time or another. My first personal experience with hospice and a person dying was when I was 16 years old; my grandmother was on hospice. She died at home with all of my family around her bedside. Looking back, it was a memorable experience to help her through this journey however, it was also very sad....
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...In the first few years of elementary school, I always felt in competition with other people in my class. I felt that being able to read more complex books would make me appear smarter, so I would check out books from the library, seeing a confused face on the librarian, asking if I could actually read it, and in my mind I was convinced I could but most of the time it felt like I was just looking at words not the story. Eventually, that did lead me to be more of an “advanced” reader in elementary school but that all went away when I hit middle school and my interest in reading went down a lot. My parents wouldn’t read to me after 1st grade because I thought I could just read on my own. I enjoyed the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, I started reading the series in 2nd grade but I didn’t finish it or understand what was going on anyway. I used to read the newspaper comics when I was younger and eventually get tired of them and read the Metro and State and Austin American Statesmen every morning. I loved reading the articles about the crime and events happening around the world and Austin. I used to draw all the time when I was younger and I would get in trouble most of the time when I was caught drawing during class. When I was younger I used to write letters to my cousins sometimes, we would just talk about our life and school. I actually used to keep a diary, my first one was in 2nd grade, it was a small black journal and my dad drilled a hole through the pages to fit a lock in...
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...Growing up, sports have always been a way for me to stay physically active. But as years have gone by, I realized that playing a sport teaches you more than just how engage in the game. I have always been very passionate when it comes to going outside and doing anything that involves exercising. With sports, learning how to manage time wisely became a lot more difficult for me. To this day, much of my personal development has been a result from my involvement in sports. My life had taken a turn once I held a basketball for the first time when I was four years old. Since then, I began playing on my elementary, middle, and high school team. Outside of school, I also joined a competitive team called the Eastside Elite Basketball League....
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...It felt as if I would never recover. I never realized how my body was such a great portion of my success and that repetition was the key. Swimming competitively was a major part of my life and it felt like I was losing my favorite stress reliever, my chance at success, and the only aspect of me that people could be proud of. My identity was slipping away quickly. My body continued to not improve or get any faster, while everyone else around me was. My chance of receiving a scholarship for college was slimming and I was starting to lose interest in my favorite activity since second grade. I could not accept the disappointment anymore. How was I to know that a month break between my high school swimming career and my club swim team would hinder my performances greatly and cause a chain reaction of events? One night I decided I wanted to change my struggles and turn them into goals. I craved improvement and knew what I had to do to reach my goals. I had to go to every practice I could. I would practice every night, even if I had homework, which was the main excuse I used to give, which was quite frequently, when I did not feel like swimming. I needed to get better. I did not want to embarrass myself in front of the people who believed that I was on the high school varsity team as a freshman. I was now slower than most of the girls younger than me. Every night I trained my hardest and regularly spoke to my coach about my concerns and how she could push me through this tough time...
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...A Beacon of Hope I have felt a heightened sense of dedication to my obligations as I grow older. By allowing myself to learn and grow, I continue to increase the value of my experience and evolve as an individual. Gradually, I began to seek out the opportunities to be of service to individuals less fortunate than myself. My sense of sympathy also became stronger when I come into contact with people struggling with health or personal hardships. I have discovered that I can help more people by joining a nonprofit organization--- Build On. My initial impression of Build On was simply a place for community services and I just wanted to gain more service hours for my college resume. However, my perspectives have changed dramatically after a significant...
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... I remember coming home from elementary school as a seven year old with my pink flowered backpack and my pigtails to constant fighting and crying from my mother. I would always ask “¿Mamí estas bien?”, her response was always the same “Si, son cosas del trabajo.” I knew there was more. One morning I woke up thinking that it was a normal day, instead my mom asked a strange question “¡Buenos dias! ¿Quieres ir a la escuela y despedirte de tus amigos O quisieras quedarte en la casa?” I didn't know what was happening. I decided to stay home because I thought I’d see my friends the next day. Soon I was at the airport with my father, mother, and sister saying goodbye to my family. The tears that fell down their face broke my heart, but I was still confused on why everyone was so upset. September 28, 2007 I was on my first plane to the United States. I was excited, I thought that this was a family vacation, I met my grandma for the first time, the tears that came down her face were joyful like the rest of the family I saw. The days passed and I realized our trip became permanent. Days after I entered third grade in Lamonte Annex in Bound Brook, New Jersey. Having to learn a new language made Making new friends and adjusting to the environment difficult. I has ESL class until fourth grade, crying day and night at my desk about how challenging it was to comprehend my classes, I saw no progress with the language. After four years of crying, I was able to accomplish my goal and...
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...As us three boys loaded into the family car we all were starving from the morning of not eating. We knew what was coming and it would be a very grueling process but hey on the other hand we get to eat a ton of food. As we walked into your basic Walmart we had a very specific set on our minds we went and acquired Ham,Mac n cheese,potatoes,pie,chips,green beans, and many more. Mostly Jacob pushed the cart as justis rode in it as we grabbed and go. We stepped up to the line and it was the biggest line I have ever seen. Walmart only has like 3 lines open at a time when you really need like 19. As we walked into Grandma and Pa’s house we could already smell the good food already being made. We came in brought our food and starting cooking. Many gathered around and everybody put in their advice how to make the food. Dax said we needed to add more cheese to the potatoes. Mom said we needed for salt on the ham. Dad said we need more pepper on the casserole. As the food started to become done we set everything on heat and started setting everything down on the table. We looked at each other and started picking pairs,I was lucky paired with Jacob who could eat a whole cow if he wanted. The pairs consisted of Justis with Dad,Pa with Dax,Mom with Grandma, and Aunt Brenda with Delaney. The pairs were perfect no one was to under powered and no one was OP. Pa and Dax had the plan of trying to eat giant handfuls at a time. Mom and Grandma wanted to be polite and use silverware and everything...
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...As a child, things were extremely unstable. I grew up in one of the poorest cities in Tulsa, Oklahoma. My childhood consisted of moving from place to place, surrounded by chaos, and intertwined with the world of gangs, drugs, and poverty. My experience of a normal life was nothing short of horrible; I would even consider it horrible for adults to live. With a father who was heavily involved in the use of and trafficking drugs like Methamphetamine, it contributed to part of the reason things were so hectic as a child. As the father of the home, he was supposed to be a stabilizing force yet attributed to most of the instability. Consequently, his involvement with drugs resulted in our family moving from house to house- either on the run from the cops or due to eviction as bills were not paid. He would sporadically leave home for weeks at a time and then return randomly. It is no surprise that this type of upbringing almost forces a child to look for stability in other places. For a period of my life, I found that stability in a local gang. At the age of 12, my father was incarcerated for driving under the influence and sentenced to 3 years in prison. Just shy of entering 7th grade, I had now become the man of the house and needed to find stability and protection for my mother and sister. Eager, I turned to the guys I was following in my neighborhood. I love how God has such a sense of humor. As I reflect on the background of my life, it is only to show how God allowed me to...
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...From the time we are old enough to walk until our pubescent years we are like sponges constantly absorbing things from our surrounding environment. Television, books, movies, and most importantly parents have a huge effect on who we become as adults. Just as most children have it engrained in their memories to always brush their teeth before bed or to make it home before curfew, my parents placed a high priority on continually pursing a Christ-centered life and a Christ centered household. My religious perspective has been the center of my life and is the reason for all of the morals and values that I believe in and follow today. One of the hardest moments in my life was when I was faced with the realization that not everyone shares those same values and sometimes we will be faced with the harsh reality of choosing to believe in our values or lower our standards. As a young middle schooler raised at an elementary school with a class of twenty six I experienced a bit of a culture shock walking into a combined building with every school in my district combined for the first time. If you think about all the changes a middle schooler already has to go through, the thought of this big of a change of scenery seems just downright cruel. As I walked into the building on my first day I repeated the same advice my mother had given me the night before, “youll be okay, you can do it. Theres much more freedom and a lot more people to connect with. Youll make so many new friends.” I kept my...
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...Although I am part of the same family, I am not typically what you think of when you hear the word, “rodent.” My fur is usually found in various different shades of white, grey and black. While my body is small, my ears are a bit larger. I am a ball of fur with a frayed tail always sticking up behind me like the tail of a squirrel. Unlike other rodents, I am not much of a threat; however, I still have a very odd relationship with humans. While some enjoy having me as their everyday household pet, others have hunted me in the tree tops for many years. Without realizing how lovable I can be, it is my thick, soft fur they kill me for daily. While I am native to the Andes Mountains in South America, these days my herds are mostly limited to just the tree tops in the mountains of Chile. Due to years of being hunted for my cloud like fur, I recently made the endangered species list making it illegal to hunt my friends and I. However, this has not really stopped the humans. They continue to hunt, farm and breed us. They typically use our fur to make things like coats, vests and shawls. It is, also, great for the lining in coats as well because it is so thick. Unfortunately, because we are so small, it takes nearly 150 of us to make one single coat. Aside from being hunted and farmed, humans have, also, made me domesticated household pet. I make for a very lovable, but energetic pet requiring a great deal of physical exercise. Exercise wheels and balls are very necessary for me to get...
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...On October 7, 2014 my friend Caitlin tried to kill herself. It was an impulsive decision that was preceded by months of daily ridicule and bullying at school. She didn’t even have the time to write a proper note before she found a razor in her garage and hastily fumbled down the stairs to her room. As she sat on her carpeted floor, for a brief instant she believed that a cold piece of steel could slice away the pain that she was feeling. However, she hesitated and wondered if she could actually go through with such a thing. Her mental battle didn’t last long, because she pushed her uncertainty aside and furiously swiped at her wrists in an attempt to dull the worthless feeling that was building in her chest and flowing out through her forearms. Droplets of blood slowly spilled onto the carpet as she continuously cut away her insecurities. In an ironic twist, she said she felt so alive in the moments she was trying to die. But as she looked down onto the bloody mess she caused, she thankfully realized how silly she was being. She thought about how she could sit in her room and feel sorry for herself when so many others had it worse. After deciding that she did not want to kill herself that night, she hastily tried to wash off her wounds and prevent an infection. Panicking, she ran upstairs, covering her forearms in toilet paper, and went to the bathroom closet that held the antibiotic ointment and band aids. Laughing, she said she probably put more work into saving herself that...
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...All throughout my life I've had to undergo and fight through situations that were either difficult or frustrating for me to accomplish. The one instance that stick out to me the most is the case with my birth mother. I was born to a couple that were both lower class, lived in towns of extremely small populations, and both with little education in high school. This gave me little to no grounds to succeed in my life. Through the course of my childhood, my birth mother was either barely or never present, making it hard for me to understand common things a child learns while growing up. My father wasn't living with us for they had separated not long after my birth, giving me no strong male figure present on a day to day basis. This hindered my social development slightly, but never stopped me intellectually. Around the age of ten or eleven a new situation presented itself to me. By that time I had been used to not seeing my mother. It was common for me to have to feed and take care of myself. But while visiting my father here in the great state of Texas, he received a call that my mother had been arrested and taken into custody for possession of illegal drugs. This began a whirlwind of events that led to my mother losing custody of me, having to move from Oklahoma to Texas, and having to adjust to a completely different life than I was used to. I had to leave from a town with a population of approximately four hundred and fifty, to a city with a population estimated at about three...
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