It was the middle of an away sophomore baseball game against DeWitt. My brother, Keegan, was up to bat. The pitch came, he swung and down he went. The baseball came off his bat and drilled him in the left eye. There was only one parent there, one of Keegan’s teammate’s dad. He drove Keegan to the hospital and called my parents. At the time, I was at a softball game working the scoreboard for the varsity West Delaware Hawks team. My mom called to tell me my grandma would pick me up when I was done and that her and my dad were on their way to the Iowa City hospital. My dad was at work at the time and met my mom there. They would explain more later. After they got down there and I got home with my sisters, I called my mom. She gave me an explanation…
About seven billion people live in this world, each beating heart goes through their own changes, whether it’s becoming a military personnel or simply running away from your home and experience the world through your own eyes. My significant change came at an early stage, without any hesitation my parents sent my sister and I to Nicaragua for 4 years. After we landed the only person I knew that spoke English or was from Miami was the flight attendant itself, after that it was my sister and I against a family that we briefly recognize.…
Four years ago, on a normal Thursday school night, I was sitting in my room doing my homework and my aunt came bursting into the door saying my brother was kidnapped. I did not want to believe what I heard and kept asking her to repeat herself. I ran outside of the house and screamed because my emotional pain became so hard that my stomach felt like it was tied in strong ropes and I was ripping apart, I was devastated because my only brother was gone, I didn’t know if I would ever see him again, I did not even have a chance to say goodbye. I was angry at myself, at the people that took him. Life seemed impossible to live during the days he was kidnapped. My family finally came up with the ransom the kidnapers were asking for and through a miracle…
Alex, and that tree. I’ve lived in two completely different places. For the greater part of my life, in Ecuador, and for the last 4 years, in California. Moving away from the place that I spent my entire life at, has really changed me. I had to leave all of the people I love and everyone I ever knew, and move to a strange place where I had no one except my mom, dad, and brother. Moving to California made me become a new person, a different person than who I was in Ecuador. In the following Vignettes I talk about what has made me into who I was in Ecuador, and what made me into what I am today. I talk a lot about the trip to California, and the first few months here because it was a very traumatic experience for me that pains me to think about even to this day. I’ll always miss the person I was in Ecuador, even if I don’t remember who I was. But I will always love the person that I am today and will continue to better myself and live the best life…
It started just as any normal Saturday would; December 8, 2012, I woke up, went through my morning routine and went to soccer practice. I was competing for a spot on the North Carolina ODP (Olympic Development Program) soccer team. Training was being held at fields about two hours from my house. I sat in the backseat of my dad’s car with my two sisters and as we rode to the fields I began to mentally prepare myself for how I would play my best and make the team.…
I came to the United States from Colombia when I was just 3 years old. I was brought into the country of bright opportunities because like every other parent, my mother and father wanted what was best for me. My mother had to give up her dream job in Colombia, which was being an accountant for an essentially important company, in order to facilitate my well-being and open up the doors for my future. As the years progressed, I began to acquire both languages, English and Spanish, but there was a point where I became tongue tied and had to assist in speech therapy. My parents would talk to me in Spanish at home but in school all I would hear was English, my mind was extremely confused to the point that I made my own language by using both tongues in one sentence.…
Living back in the Dominican Republic I used to have a very easy life. Then I was living in my grandparents’ house in the suburb; where everything was very repeatedly: Wake up, eat, go to school, go back home, eat, do homework, play, eat once again and go back to sleep. Weekends were my favorites though; every Sunday we would go out for lunch, which usually I would be the one to pick, and as an usual seven-eight years old child my favorite thing back then was Pizza.…
I would like to say I know Spanish, after four years of studying in high school and multiple trips to South and Central America, yet it seems every time I leave the States, I find myself in a frantic struggle to process the words I know and figure out the meanings of the ones I do not. Sometimes this simply means missing out on a few insignificant details, other times it can seriously complicate life.…
Think of what you had for breakfast, then lunch, now dinner. What if out of the three meals a day you only had the chance to have two, if that. What if you're still under the age of 13 and you had to take over the role of one parent, maybe both for the day because they work in the fields or cleaning houses to be able to pay rent and buy food. So you're stuck taking care of babies, cooking, and somehow still managing to finish your schoolwork. This is what life in the small community of Lake Worth, Florida is like. Knowing about this motivated me to get more involved and help the Guatemalan community through service.…
The year I turned six, my mom decided to migrate to Mexico. However, she was not able bring my one year old sister along. While my little sister stayed with my grandparents, my mom and I flied out to Mexico. I still remember the feeling in my stomach the moment I stepped out of that airport. I was an ocean away from my hometown. My first day of school was chaos. Everyone in the school was speaking in Spanish. I did not understand the customs and mannerisms. It was difficult to not feel as an outcast. The most complicated part was expressing my feelings, and my needs to the teachers. I lived in Mexico, Tijuana for six years, after becoming adapted to the environment, my mom came home one day and told me that we are moving to the United States.…
In March of 2007, I entered the United States illegally. Prior to this, I had been deported twice. Crossing the border was very dangerous, but I had to do it because in Mexico we are very poor. My father passed away 21 years ago, and my mom was left a widow with 11 children. My oldest brother moved out of the house, so I had to step up and help my mom raise my siblings. Where I’m from, there aren’t many jobs available, only on the fields and the pay wasn’t enough to support us. I didn’t want to cross the border, but I had no other choice. I ask for your forgiveness for breaking the immigration law by crossing the border and living in America illegally.…
I remember that cold November like it was yesterday. It was so cold that I felt the breeze going through my skin. I remember waking up to my mom and sisters crying. I can tell that my father was trying his hardest not to cry. I’ve always felt safe at home, it’s a place to feel peace and joy with family but this was different. I just wanted everything to be like the normal days where my mom fusses at me for not waking up earlier for school or forgetting to do the laundry. Everybody was so sad but trying there hardest to be strong in front of me. Everybody surrounded me as I was getting ready, it seemed like they were following my every move. I tried my hardest not to cry or just fall apart because I know that it would only make things worse and break everyone into pieces. I had to remain strong and remember that I’ve been through this before and that God is always by my side. Sitting on the dining table was pointless; the food was just there for show. Nobody seemed to have an appetite. It seemed as if they were the one going through this tragedy but I can’t blame them. If anything happened to them, I would feel the same way. I had left my house a billion times before but that morning was by far one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. I kissed my sisters goodbye and told them to be strong for me and regardless of what happens, that they’ll always be in my heart. I have 3 sisters and not seeing there beautiful faces again would destroy me. Getting into the car was like moving to a new house. It was so quiet driving to the hospital with my parents. It was the longest drive of my life although I didn’t want the drive to end. I had to be strong though and remember that I am no longer 4 years old anymore. I was only 17 and I already been through this life trial before. Everything seemed to be playing in slow motion. I started to remember every childhood memory I had. I remembered the first time I…
Last Summer, I visited Costa Rica on a kayaking trip with Falling Creek, a summer camp in Tuxedo, NC. Every year, 20 or so kids get invited to the program called HUCK, where you go kayaking in places around the world. Last summer, all of the kids that were invited went to Costa Rica where we would have a great time experiencing new culture and great whitewater. The First few days were great and those were some of the most powerful, best rivers I have ever kayaked.…
On a warm summer day in June, I received a phone call that changed my world in an instant. The voice on the other end of the telephone line was usually jolly; this time it was somber and sad. My step-father told me that my mother was found unconscious early in the morning. She was really dead and the paramedics revived her. After the paramedics revived her oxygen level was very level and they rushed her to the local hospital were the Doctors tried to get her stabilized. The Doctors told Tommy, my step-father that my mother is in a coma and if she comes out of the coma she would probably be in a vegetative state. When I heard this my emotions immediately rose to an unbelievable height.…
Back then, in 2012. We had a sleepover at a friend’s house and we were all enjoying ourselves. And well, that friend of mine he was having fun too! A few days later, after the sleepover I got a message saying that he has gone into the hospital as the stone located near his lungs were growing larger. Receiving that message I could only pray that he would be fine as I did not have the time nor a transport to go to the hospital. According to a few other friends of mine, his condition wasn’t getting any better. I remembered clearly, it was a Friday, 17th February. I went to school and went home after that thinking nothing about death. Around 3 something in the noon, I got a text saying that he has passed on. I was shock. Literally shock. It took me awhile to absorb what was going on. Was this a joke? But then, I thought again. Maybe this was better. He won’t have to suffer anymore. I went to his wake service and funeral and I cried a lot. We all did.…