Hearing my sister say “dad” and “heart attack” in the same sentence was all that it took to make it seem like my world stopped. Although at that moment we were under the impression he was still alive, I had a knot in my stomach that felt like I knew that wasn’t true. The drive from color guard practice to the hospital was a blur. All I remember was telling the service desk my last name before being escorted to a personal waiting room followed by the doctor who informed me that my dad had died.…
Monday- I am ready to stat week 4!! I like being in the office but I prefer being in the back. It entirely too much drama going on in here today. The woman training me is really on her last strike and she just seems to be getting on everyone nerves (including mines). I look forward to a better tomorrow.…
As I walk in through the swinging glass door of my grandparents house, the instant smell of fresh white baked bread hits me. The sweet dough crisped to golden-brown is now in sight. I see it sitting there, on the smooth kitchen table to the left of where I just entered. I know that as soon as I say hello a piece of it will be offered to me. As I continue straight into the open living room I notice my gray-haired grandpa sitting comfortably in his cushioned lazy boy rocker. With every slow rock he makes there is a slight creak that overpowers the sound of the Twins game on their T.V. On the crest of the same rocker lies his favorite dog, Lucy. Her white and black, furry belly expands and compresses at the same rate of the slow rock. My grandma,…
While on one of the US carriers, the Japanese attacked used with torpedoes. I have always thought I was prepared to be be injured or even killed in battle, but today I was actually scared out of my mind. One moment I, sitting on the carrier deck looking at the ocean and the next the sirens are going off and we are under attack. The only thing I could think about was my wife and son. I just wanted to make it out alive, to be with my wife and son. In the process of the attack I was hit by a piece of the decking, it cut pretty deep into my upper thigh. The doctor says that I am lucky to be alive and I should be able to walk again in due time. As for me, my military career is now over, and I plan on taking up politics, like my dad.…
People have several different ways in which they tie their shoes. I have tied my shoes is…
Who could've thought moving states could cause such a change? I never knew it could… this much. As the for sale was ripped out of my yard, we returned back into my previous house. This was the day we moved to hot and big Texas. We hauled all our boxes, big and small, short and tall, into the moving truck. “Let's go,” my mom yelled. We started our journey to Texas, and I could already feel sorrow in my heart.…
Growing up the melanin in my skin had always been darker. As a child you start to pick out the differences but you never think anything of it until those differneces are coated with the venom of hatred. When they start dripping out of someone's mmout…
I knew from a young age that I was different. I may have been popular and had beautiful eyes and curly blue hair, yes blue hair, it’s a long story. Anyway I just never really enjoyed doing everything everyone else loved doing. Most girls where at home watching Titanic and were crying at the fact they can’t have Leonardo DiCaprio whilst I’m at home laughing my butt off watching Psycho.…
Moving on is easy but what you leave behind is what makes it hard. Once you get to a certain age in your life you know you have to move on sometime. I know times are hard but you have to push yourself toward what you really want in life even if it means moving away from what you love.…
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.…
I always keep this poem and picture in my wallet. I take it everywhere with me because it means quite a lot to me in two very different ways. One of those ways is because it holds sentimental value. When I was younger I learned to read very late in life and I was always so embarrassed of that. My father knew that I was struggling and bought me the book, Where the Sidewalk Ends. It is a book full of poems and little pictures written by Shel Silverstein. I remember opening the book to ta random page, and it was the page with this poem. I then remember my dad asking me to read it to him. I was so uncomfortable, even thought I was just going to be reading to my dad. He gave me some words of encouragement, and even thought I was not able to read…
Growing up with divorced parents from two radically different cultures was at first difficult. My mother’s family was from Peru, while my father’s was from Bangladesh. In my young mind, there was an internal struggle with what my identity actually consisted of. I wasn’t wholly from one culture or the other, and felt like a black sheep when interacting with either side of my family. Due to this, I attempted to keep these cultures partitioned. At the time, they were different portions of my life that simply couldn’t intermix. This mentality in turn led me to foolishly shy away from my joint heritage. I kept myself enclosed in a box, blind to the beauty of my surrounding culture. However, as time progressed, I knew I had to make a change in my understanding.…
when the one who gave it to you says you shouldn’t have it in the first place.…
It became clear to me in 8th grade that I was capable of leading others. I found a fault in the dress code. I found that the BJHS was enforcing a rule that was not stated clearly in the handbook. Administrators were punishing female students for wearing shirts that didn't cover their whole shoulders. I also found that the measurement for shorts and skirts was inconsistent on every student. Perhaps the most frustrating part; BJHS’s administration openly shamed young girls.…
I was exhausted, my wool blue uniform was heavy on my shoulders. I was terrified, looking around I saw millions of men lying dead or wounded in the grass. I was hoping that I would make it out of this battle alive. Even though I wanted to go back to my home in Vermont I knew I had to stay at my post on Little Round Top. I wondered if my brother and father were still alive and what would it be like for my mother if we never returned home. I hated the feeling I got when I fired my rifle and knowing that one bullet might kill someone but then on the other hand if I didn’t I would get shot at and maybe would be killed.…