High school: a major transition in many teen’s lives that poses some confusing, yet important, questions. Who am I? Where do I belong? What am I going to do with my life? I was caught up in all of these questions, and quite frankly, life didn’t seem so simple or easy anymore. Day after day I would struggle with keeping everything in balance and worried about all of the little things. My life seemed to slowly slip up until I couldn’t seem to handle everything. I needed answers, and I needed them quickly.…
vWhen I was very little about three I had walked out the front door of my house. I had thought my mom had went outside because the front door was open but the screen door was shut. I was crying, so I went outside to find my mom. My neighbor had been outside, she saw me. My neighbor had come over, picked me up and brought me to the house.…
My grandmother, Jeanette Flager, answered this way because of her stressful childhood. Moving several times while under a certain age can be hard. But, when those hardships passed, she was starting fresh with her family.…
I believe that moving around while growing up has shaped me into the person I have become. Moving has made me able to adapt to things quickly and being able to start with nothing and have a successful…
Many people in my life have prepared me for my future and have taught me how to handle any obstacle thrown my way. My parents have inspired me to never settle for anything but the best, and have taught me the value of hard work and perseverance. Both of my parents came from families without a strong financial basis or a stronghold of people who believed that they could excel; moreover, this led my parents to becoming doctors and providing support in every aspect for my sister and I. My parents’ determination has led to my belief in the veracious message: nothing is going to be handed to you because you must work to make something happen. As I have gotten older and realize the little time I have left sheltered by my parents, this idea has prepared me for the real world due to the fact that I know not to take anything for granted, but to work for what I want to accomplish in life.…
The first house my father built was constructed room by room and took more than 25 years to be built, a continuous work in progress. The original house was built in the standard square format without standard electricity and started with just four rooms: living room, dining room, kitchen and bedroom. The bathroom was located about 70 feet away in a little draw or valley from the house, which during the winter could be cold as the wind blew snow in during the most inopportune moments. New square rooms were attached to old square rooms as the house expanded outward to accommodate our growing family.…
Never in my outright life would I have fathomed life to have thrown me a curve ball like the one pitched at me in August of 2012. The person I once knew, Tammy, had gone missing until she found herself. The transition to a puny town from an immense city completely changed who I was. Let’s start from the beginning.…
A couple of years ago I got kicked out of my house. Homeless, I had literally no where to stay or anyone to turn to. I had never opened up to anyone about my home life situation. Due to my upbringing in a predominantly rich, christian neighborhood I didn’t feel like anyone would understand my abusive parents or try to help. When I got kicked out I was sure that was the end of the line for me.…
However, my family moved to Tucson, AZ and that is when I went to school for the first time. The transition from being home schooled to a place where I did not know anyone was never racking. I was not around people I knew . Now living in a different state, my mother and grandmother found relief from being able to send us to a better school. While my mom worked at a hospital, my grandmother was our caretaker. My grandmother relied on my aunt whom also lived in the area to drive us to school every morning and pick us up. But occasionally that would be an issue, because my aunt had a job, went to college and had her own children to take care of. One year later, my grandmother became sick and we moved back to Philadelphia because there were better…
I come from a world where the only thing that is constant, is change. Changing states, changing houses, and changing schools. Unlike most other kids, I don't have a childhood home where I made countless memories, in fact, my earliest memories as a child all consist of cardboard moving boxes, along with unimaginably long car rides to foreign places. I don’t have a door marked to show how I've grown over the years, and I don't have a bedroom wall thick with paint covering over colors I chose as a child. Truthfully, often times when I was younger, and would see someone with these things, I was tempted to be envious and couldn't help but to think how lucky they were to have such stability. As a result of this, I spent a large portion of my childhood…
I didn't grow up in the most conventional household. My parents both worked and we consistently had babysitters and nannies taking care of us most of my childhood. My mom was the “breadwinner” she had always made significantly more than my dad and there was really no reason for my dad to work in the first place, he really just did it because he loved it. As my 4 brothers and I got older it got progressively harder on my parents being away from home so much. When a job opportunity with less hours and a sizable amount of money came to my mom she was quick to consider it. She eventually made her decision, consulting my dad very little, she made the decision to move across the country to a place we all had never been to.…
Shouts and laughter echo throughout the kitchen as my grandparents recount stories of growing up in Mexico as young adults. Everyone’s eyes light up with animation as family members contribute to the conversation while eating homemade tamales and menudo. At each of my family holiday gatherings, the dinner goes beyond the consumption of a home cooked meal. These family gatherings are very important to me and have contributed to who I am today.…
When I was born, my family started to struggle with bills and payments. So we had to make a hard choice and to move from California all the way to Cresco. And I haven’t seen my family since I was a baby which, I have no memory of them and I haven’t seen them since we moved. I use to always think of my family or be listening to a song that reminds me of them. Then soon or later I started to cry and ask my mom about my family. And they would say “It takes time”.…
When I graduated high school I knew I was going to attend college. It wasn’t a question. It was instilled in me as a child that I would be the only one of my siblings to go to school. My brothers would be forced into the military. It was never a desire of mine to attend college. It was more like the expected next step. Needless to say my passion for school was null and void. I attribute my academic standing to this fact. Maybe if I'd thought about what I wanted to do with my life versus just going with what was expected I would've done a little better.…
Growing up as a kid in the 21st century, you are always being told to make something of yourself. “Never let your talent be wasted.” “Do something with your life.” These are the ideals that my dad instills in me every morning as I prepare for school. He saw the potential in me but knew that there would be obstacles that could get in my way of my future, if I did not overcome them.…