I remember that it hurt. It was if someone struck all the air out of my lungs. I tried with all of my might to breathe but it seemed as if I were incapable.I looked for something, anything to hold onto for support. Everyone watched in horror as I sank to the ground and the sob that was stuck in my throat escaped. I was feeling emotions I never felt before, that I didn’t know existed. The two Marines in Dress Blues who stood at attention looked on, their faces mostly emotionless, except their eyes which were filled with pity as they said they were sorry for my loss. My best friend rushed over the office to wrap her arms around my shoulders. The only way she could hold me seeing as I was on my knees crying into my hands. I could feel her sympathy,…
To begin, I wasn’t the most popular kid in school, but I did manage to have quite a few friends. It wasn’t until I got introduced to…
I had a beautiful conversation with one of my clients the other day, we were discussing the "natural hair movement" that has occurred over the last 10 years.…
After all the research I did, I have decided maybe not to do this job when I’m older because I personally just don’t feel like it's the right thing for me, even though a lot of people tell me that I’m good at styling hair, I just don’t feel like it's right.…
As I entered homeroom, I noticed I was the only latina present and that there was only one other person of color. At first this did not bug me, but as the week went by, I realized that we were the only two non-white students in the whole middle school. This made me feel very out of place, because I had never been the only Latina at a school, so I did anything I could to fit in. I was willing to let people make me their own personal dictionary, for inappropriate language, or to translate their readings. As a person of color, I was always taught to put others before me or else I would be seen as rude and uneducated, so I complied. Throughout my life, I have witnessed that many upper class citizens take their privilege for granted; they do not…
One of my most defining experiences to date has been my involvement with the colorguard squad at my school. The colorguard squad is an auxiliary unit that is part of the marching band. We perform with the band at Friday night football games during halftime while spinning flags and rifles to the music. To me, colorguard is so much more than that. Freshman year when I went to tryouts I was terrified. I did not have any friends trying out with me; I was walking into a gym full of older girls whom I had never met. To my surprise, being on the squad for the past three years has been such a defining achievement during high school for me. Without the squad I would have had a completely different experience in school. I learned the value of hard work…
Your appearance is a part of who you are. It helps to make you unique from others. Changing your appearance can be a nerve-wrecking experienced. Like most people in the world, my appearance is important to me. I like to look my best, as much as possible. Most people have a favorite quality about their appearance, such as their eyes, teeth, etc. My favorite quality of my appearance was my long hair. I loved my hair, but I was growing bored with it. So, I decided to cut my hair short. Cutting my hair was a nerve-wrecking and an interesting experience, that dramatically changed my appearance.…
My actions are always a direct showcase of my personal characteristics. A few that are particularly important are having patience, being non-judgmental, and thinking creatively. I learned a majority of my patience through my position as a research position. Research does not have immediate results; a good experiment takes time. My seemingly menial tasks, such as entering data, eventually contributed to the final product. I learned to be non-judgmental in my time shadowing an obstetrician, where I interacted with patients with so many stories. To judge them would cause a disservice, and potentially harm them. Finally, I learned to think creatively during my time at the Guild for Human Services. Each student was unique in his or her problems,…
My goal for this year is to be a risk taker so I can be fearless to anything that comes in my way.I am going to work on being principled and honesty, doing the right thing.…
Another thing everyone considered conforming is wearing makeup, I literally cannot go into public without doing my makeup. The little make-up that I do wear is nothing too fancy. I mean, I don’t want to get noticed or stand out or attempt to make my face look better than anyone else’s. Really, my only goal when I wear make-up is just to make myself look presentable. When I put on the make-up, I am not trying to be like everyone else, I am just trying to make myself feel better about the way I look. Because of how I was treated when I was younger, for the way I look, I changed the way I thought about myself and the way I felt I needed to look in order for that not to happen again.…
I can remember all the way back to when I was a young child in elementary. I didn’t think much about the kids around me or how they lived and I can honestly say that very few kids stick out from those years maybe because it seemed to me at the time that we were all pretty much the same except for our physical appearances. What I can remember about the kids in junior high school was the need to fit in and be liked at all costs. Making fashion statements were much more important than answering the question about the meaning of life. High school though became a stepping stone into the complex and dynamic reality of the world around me that I had never investigated nor even identified. Beginning with my freshman year I encountered many more students than I ever thought I would. I started to notice quite quickly that the school population was extremely diverse and segmented. Groups were everywhere; jocks, nerds, gothic kids, trouble makers, and of course the ever present popular kids. This was the first time I could see with my own eyes the fact that we were actually quite different from each other. Kids that I had befriended in junior high slowing began to change and pull away from me for reasons that were not understandable to me at the time. In actuality, not only were they going through changes but I was going through them as well. My taste in clothes, music, sports, and my views on certain topics began to expand and diversify. Yet I started to realize that in doing so meant leaving my old friends behind and meeting new ones. My family had always been a cornerstone in my life who established my belief system as far as religion and values and therefore the perspective on the young life I had led up until that point. That upbringing enabled me to be able to compare and contrast the beliefs and ideas of others with my own and so the journey into the world of high school led me to come face to face with that very opportunity. One example which stands out in my mind…
Something that I am the most proud of is when I made my fist cosplay. All my friends from high school are into cosplay; some of them even won awards for it! I had thought I was too unskilled to join in, and procrastinated dabbling in the art. However, this Halloween I finally decided to try it out by dressing up as Professor Layton (from the Professor Layton video game series). The most important aspect of the Professor was his signature top hat, which I had to figure out how to replicate. I consulted some online sources, some of which cited places where one could buy similar hats, but in the end, I decided to make the hat myself. I found a few tutorials on how to do it, but I ran into a problem: both tutorials required sewing, and I didn’t…
I didn’t think I was different until I was told that my Father didn’t stay because I was too light and my Mother didn’t want me because I was too dark.…
Everyone tells you to be normal and do not act strange or draw any attention to yourself. They say just go with the flow and be the person that everybody expects you to be and not the person who you feel like you should be. I do not believe in this; I believe in being weird and expressing yourself in every instance possible. Do whatever makes you happy whether it follows everyone’s standards or not.…
When I was fifteen, I had my first hair cut. I was too anxious because my parents didn't want me to have short hair. I was the only girl in my family so they all consider on me to be more feminine. I told the hairdresser, my situation and she said don't worry I will try my best not to cut much on your hair and I trust which I shouldn't! Unfortunately, she did cut it as much as she could. When I looked it in the mirror, I found myself so different and I didn't know how to show myself to my family and how their reaction will…