Throughout our lives, we all go through a fairly similar story where we start off making our own ordinary world full of predictability and comfort, that we all eventually get taken or drawn away from. Many will attempt to refuse this call to adventure, and many others will have no choice and get tossed into an unknown, difficult world. In this new world, we’ll have to go through at least one supreme ordeal, if not much more, being hindered by our own demons and by the demons of others, and getting help from allies. We'll go through various tests and learn crucial lessons from all of the mistakes we'll make along the way. This story we go through is professionally referred to as the Hero's Journey and my older brother, Preston, is a terrific…
With Amber in dance, Emmett and I decided to enroll Marci Jeane into something different. We gave her a bunch of options from gymnastics to football. We were glad that Marci chose gymnastics over football, considering she was more into football than anything else. With Marci in gymnastics and Amber in dance, Emmett made sure that Ivan was enrolled in athletics as well. We signed Ivan up for T-ball and PeeWee Football. It was time for him to make his mark.…
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” my friends, guidance counselor, parents, college applications, ask. When I was six I wanted to be Hannah Montana. When I was 12, nothing had changed but I reasoned I could have a second job too – just in case. I’m 17 now and I’ve been exposed to a deluge of astounding things: timeless authors, transformational historical events, jaw-dropping scientific discoveries, emotionally riveting political and social revolutions and at the fringes of it all - sometimes in the center - I’ve imbibed the powerful influence of the female voice in a world historically dominated by men.…
"Before death I hope to obtain life." This quote reminds me of my Michigan Hero Danielle Nash. Danielle was my cousin who was diagnosed with stage four Melanoma and Brain Cancer at age 26. Before cancer, she opened her own Day Care/ Preschool in Whitehall called Bright Futures, she was only 21. She also started the first Middle School Competitive Cheerleading Team in Reeths Puffer and was also the head coach of the Varsity Reeths Puffer Competitive Cheerleading team. She lived in the Whitehall area her whole life, and had a husband named Jake and two kids, Brady who is now four and Addisyn who is two. Danielle did so much for her community, and impacted my life and so many others, and even though she isn't with us anymore she is still my Michigan…
“I got this! I got this! Just calm down and take position. You have prepared yourself for this race all morning.” “Just take your position and breathe.” “Why is my heart pounding like this?” “Inhale and exhale.” This is normal for UWA freshman Sarah McMillion on race day. She constantly overthinks and worries about her performance. Her nerves even cause her to wake up early to prepare.…
One time when I challenged my own beliefs, I questioned my own skills. It was one of the most crushing and confusing moments of my life. I was indecisive, hesitant, and most certainly doubtful. I couldn’t even imagine myself, an inexperienced sophomore, working in a career major that I’ve never even thought of doing in the first place.…
Walking into the locker room about to get ready to go to our last football game of the season. I could smell the sweaty equipment from the kids who never take their pads home. The Hempfield Spartans 7th grade team would be ending their season 0-7 if we didn’t win today. As I was changing into my pads my friend mike walked in the room. I said “you ready for tonight”. “Heck yeah” replied Mike.…
As most of you know I am Brandi Fennell and I attend William Carey University in Hattiesburg, MS. This weekend was such a “God moment” for me. On Thursday night I just had an urge to go home. So early friday morning I left with a duffel bag with enough clothes to just stay a weekend because I thought I would be leaving to back to school today after church. Early Saturday morning around 3:45am my university was hit by an F4 tornado. The tornado did not save anything. Every building including our dorms were damage, we had cars flipped every which way. But luckily we had no deaths just minor injuries. We are closed immediately and are not to allowed to come onto to campus to even get our stuff.…
Have you ever wondered where you would be if you would have chosen another path? Have you ever wondered how that choice could have changed your life if you would have made it? Often I look back and think about my past and look at the places I have been and the things I have done. Some things I’m not proud of. Some of those things bring back vague memories. Whether they are good or bad they still come back to me. Everything we do is based upon choices. After we make those choices there comes consequences. We can never decide our consequences, they just come.…
My heart is pounding in my chest as I am in complete awe as I realize that finally she is coming. It is one of the most thrilling events that has ever happened to me in my entire life. I don’t think one can ever be completely ready for what I was about to endure as well as the pain my body was about to be put through. The pain begins to become more alarming as stronger waves of torment flows throughout my body down to the deepest core of my being. I have to say no matter how many books or classes I have taken, nothing could prepare me for what was about to happen next. It is not something that one could ever be mentally qualified for until it is actually happening. Fourteen hours of agonizing discomfort and yet we are still waiting for her to enter into this nonsensical, yet wonderful world. At that moment, I realize once she arrives she will be completely dependent on me.…
Have you ever took a step back and realize that your life is about to change for the better? The first day of being a Quinnite I met a man who could make or break my career. He is a hard ass and will show you that you are the only one who is going to take the necessary step to a powerful move. President Michael J. Sorrell was that man, I was given an assignment on the first day meeting him and it was the first time I have ever received an F on the first day of class. He teaches Introduction to Quinnite Servant leadership and he is very political man. This is also the same day that I met a teacher that makes a class come to life with one single word: Reverend Dennis Williams. Reverend Williams teaches Christian Ethics, which is about the model of morality from a christian's perspective. This helps me to understand the way the christian’s see the things that goes on in the world. I also have a class that teaches me how to go into your own businesses, which is taught by Professor Gant. I thought that this is not the class I…
During the past four years of attending Newark High School, working on MLA format was something teachers worked very hard on to teach students. Every essay written by each student had to be correctly written in MLA format or else you would fail a writing assignment. This has been taught since the start of Freshmen year of school. There was no way around this rule. From just graduating High School, I am very experienced with writing essays. In many different classes we had to write essays. We did not just write essays in English. Students had to write essays in Math, Biology, Psychology, French, History, Government, and many more classes.…
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.…
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “To be yourself in a world that is trying to make you something else is a great accomplishment”. A question such as “who am I”? Really gives me the opportunity to differentiate and express who I really am and who I can be. I am not a complex person who thinks the world is against me, nor am I overly sophisticated “know-it-all” who doesn't take time to pay attention to my surroundings. I can't say that I am like every other person because there are certain things that make me a unique individual. What I can say is that I am progressing towards a brighter future.…
Throughout my life I have encountered many circumstances that have shaped me into the person I am today. I was born in Moroleon, Guanajuato, Mexico. I attended school in Mexico all the way to second grade. In the summer of 2006 I moved to Cumming, Georgia. It was the hardest thing to do because I left everything that I care the most about. We lived in a trailer which was not the nicest place and in the middle of the forest. I started school at the beginning of August. I had always loved school so I was so excited for the first day. I knew it was going to be hard because I would have to conquer so many obstacles on the way. At this time the only English I knew was probably counting from one to ten and some of the colors. My Father knew some…