My greatest influences are my parents and my brother. My brother suffered from Guillain- Barre Syndrome when he was eight. He lived in the hospital on an artificial ventilation for 97 days and later he had to continue physical therapy for at least ten years as he was completely paralyzed. My parents and my brother devoted their few years completely for his treatment. Today, my brother is a successful engineer working in the bay area. I learned that with dedication, determination and diligence we can achieve our dream in life…
Have you ever had a reoccurring challenge in your life? The one that sticks out the most is my challenge to still get on and ride with my knee. Every time I ride it could be my last. I still get back on every time though.…
Over the course of my long life (or lives depending on how you look at it) I have been known by many names. And not all of them translate exactly. My latest and last one is Gracen. I do not know how old I am, nor do I really care. All that matters is that I get two square meals a day and a warm bed at night. An occasional pet behind the ears is nice too. It’s times like this, late at night in my bed, when I reminisce back to where it all began.…
My mother, “Regina Hopkins,” has been a positive influence in my life. She has raised 6 kids all by herself as well as earned a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from a City College in Gainesville, Florida. My mother has been through pretty much everything a person can go through outside of war and was still able to be there and provide for all 6 of her kids. In high school, my mother wanted to play football and couldn't because she was a girl and back-in-the-day women were not allowed to play football with the guys. However, she remained strong by raising 6 kids and independently took care of all of us on her own. My mother has several qualities that I would love to develop. The first quality she has is balance; she certainly knows how to make…
My whole life I have been a leader, the rule maker, the boss, a take charge and a "get stuff done" type of person. These qualities I attribute to being the oldest sibling, raised by a strong mother, and a stepfather determined to raise another man’s child as best he could. I thrive in situations where I can have control and can help guide a team or myself to the best possible outcome. I apply these characteristics to nearly every aspect of my life, sometimes to a fault. After dropping out of college eight years previously, to follow my dreams of being a makeup artist, I woke up one day and decided my life need a change. Not completing school had always weighed on me over the years like an unfinished task needing to be done. So, why now, what changed? My outlook on life shifted after meeting a special little boy named Jackson.…
Every day I wake up determined to do more than I did the day before. My past achievements include gaining leadership skills, being on a varsity sport, and learning outside of school. I have been in tennis for eight years and varsity for three years, where I have received two awards for most improved player. I was accepted into the program “Trees for Tomorrow” where I learned how to manage and use natural resources in a classroom and in field studies. I participated in a new sport, a cross country ski team, where it taught me skills and strengthened my mind set about myself. My early years of high school, I was part of the backstage crew for a play, performed at my high school. The theatrical plays were terrible, under equipped, with barely…
Throughout the years, billions of individuals have inhabited the Earth, each with their own lives and their own particular choices. With every choice made, these individuals have started to compose their legacy, which is the exemplification of who they are and what they have accomplished. I, like the majority of the rest of the world, am starting to leave a legacy as well, and plan to continue and enhance it along the shining stone path known as my life.…
“WHOA WHOA WHOA THIS IS BALONEY MAN!” that is something I say whenever I am frustrated. People have always told me sometimes the best way to learn something is through failure. People value things they have accomplished differently. Often the people whom are naturally adept at things do not realize how much of a struggle it can be for others. Many times when people have told me that if you are going to fall, fall forward. Do not let your insecurities, doubts, and pride get in the way of improving yourself. In brief, there can always be a way to improve yourself.…
During my childhood my teachers would always ask me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Without giving it much thought I would always say a teacher or a chef. As I got older I realized what I really wanted to be when I grew up. I became interested in becoming a nurse when I was around 12. My aunt, who is a nurse would always tell me stories about her patients and what was going on at the hospital she worked at. During my sophomore year I was privileged enough to job shadow my aunt’s friend Jana. It was a great, rewarding experience.…
My story beings like any other, at the moment I took my first breath on July 30th 1998 in Bilisht, Albania. I was born in a small town in the lower region of Albania where my entire family lived with my grandparents under one household. My parents soon came to the realization that the current living situation was incongruous for a new family, such as ours, to thrive. As the result, my parents chose to apply for the government program granting our family access to move into a completely new society with new laws, regulations, political aspects and that was tens of thousands of miles away. Our family, at that instant, had a struck of luck as my mother’s name was drawn for us to move to the greatest country the United States of America.…
Something that changed me and let me be the person who I am today is friendship. Friends can raise you high above the skies. Or, they can pull you down under the ground.…
Who am I? That has always been an essential question for as long as I can remember. I never really understood why we had to answer that question along the way, but I’m now a senior at SJPII and I still have no idea who I am. It really bothers me that for 16 years I still haven’t figured out who I am. Constantly going from class to class and making new friends I still can’t pin point who the “real” me is.…
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…
Throughout the past year I have endured several life changing occurances. One of my family members troubled through the treturous stages of cancer and unfortunately has passed at this time. If I have taken anything away from this, it is that family is the most important resource in a persons life. Without those people who tell you that you can, regardless of the circumstances, becoming succesful could be very challenging. After clearing my head, I was able to start thinking of a career choice that would make me enjoy going to work. I encountered an opening at a local CVS/Pharmacy as a Pharmacy Technician and applied. After being hired, I immediately fell in love with the surroundings, the people, the patient interaction, and the knowledge…
Most teenagers do not have a clue about what they want to be when they grow up. Most young adults also do not know where their path is in life. Even some full-blown adults are still trying to figure out their purpose. I was lucky. I knew exactly where I belonged from about the time I was seven up until now, at the decently young age of nineteen. I do not see my path changing anytime soon; in fact, I know it will never change. But, I did not just wake up one day as a child and know what my path was, while that would be impressive. Defining moments in one’s life defines who they are. There were lots of things I experienced in my life that made me realize my purpose, my absolute passion. I had four of these defining moments in my short span of…