One rainy day two girls named Lisa and Erin were driving to Colorado because they rented a cabin for the weekend. When they got to Colorado they stopped at the gas station for so gas. Lisa asked the cashier if they were going in the right direction to the cabin? The cashier said that they were going the right way but would take a will to get there. They spent three hours driving and then they see a sign that says Summer Lake Forest on it. Erin checked her phone to see if they where in the right spot and it said they were.…
In 2008 I moved to Bluffton to help start a new aluminum remelt facility called Alexin. I was one of three invited to make the move from western Kentucky by the presidents of Alexin because of my knowledge of the industry, my reputation as a hard worker, and my positive attitude. In the past nine years a lot has changed. Even though I know longer work in the aluminum industry, I still pride myself on my knowledge, reputation, and attitude. The job has changed, but what it takes to be successfully in any occupation has not.…
I remember the day vividly: the sizzling of food frying, children yelling, my tears running, it was the first time I adventured to Six Flags. The uneasiness of my stomach while swaying tens of feet from the ground on the Texas Giant petrified the adventurous spirit out of me. However, I did not realize that moment `would shape the next eight years of life, emerging in my memory at every unfamiliar experience I faced. It was my senior year when I declined an invitation to go camping with my friends an epiphany struck me. How many of these opportunities was I going to skip out on due to my reluctant manner?…
On our trip to Cedar Glen, I learned numerous things that will benefit me in the future and assist me in making crucial decisions. One of the things I learned is group dynamics and working with other people. My group participated in various activities, such as logs and marshmallows, which taught us that we shouldn’t just focus on ourselves when completing a task, but also everybody in our group. In both logs and marshmallows, our group made sure each person reached the other side instead of just themselves, which the reason why we accomplished the activity is that we worked together as a team. I also learned that in a group, there could be people who lead a task, maintain a group, or focus on themselves. In low ropes and high ropes, we learned…
I live in DeMotte with my Mom and Step-Dad. My real father lives in Ohio. I only get to see my actual dad three times a year. I see him in fall, spring, and summer. Obviously, I saw him this summer, and this time I was staying with him for a week. This was the first time I stayed this long at his house before. Although he lives in Ohio, and is only two hours away from Sandusky, he’d never experienced Cedar Point either. We didn’t explore the roller-coaster portion of Cedar Point, we went to the smaller segment called Cedar Pointe Shores. That’s just the highlight of the trip, though.…
One Monday night my dad and I were fighting about who was going to win the Super Bowl. We fell asleep and lighting stuck our house. I woke up in my dad’s body. I screamed and he came running into his room. We stood there and just look at each other like what do we do now.…
The holiday season, a time meant for the celebration of chilly weather and cheerful greetings, is perhaps the most celebrated time in America. Each year, millions of high school students embrace the promises of the holidays as an opportunity for rest, relaxation, and freedom from the confines of scholarly pursuit. I, being one of many students weighed down by the stress of finals and academia, eagerly anticipated my holiday break that would begin the second week of December. For weeks, I planned out what I would do with my abundance of free time so that I would enjoy each day to the maximum capacity. I resolved to travel to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, where I would experience the scenic snow-capped mountains, bustling village towns, and adventurous…
A day in Memphis is not complete without the diversity in our community. As a second generation Memphian who has primarily lived in Midtown, I had the privilege of watching several different cultures in one place and especially now that I attended one of the largest public schools. Daily, I experience someone else’s world. The people I get to meet and see are from various backgrounds: race, religion, ethnicity, etc. that I may never comprehend, which is wonderful. In Memphis, it is normal to be an enigma, to have idiosyncrasies. I believe that is the heart of Memphis. What makes this heart surpass discrimination is the acceptance that follows years of diversity. My neighborhood has single mothers whose children play with the neighborhood adolescents.…
Have you ever been to some place that was more of where you wanted to be but also didn’t want to be at some point of time? Try taking a vacation somewhere you have never been. When I was fifteen years old, I went on a vocational trip to Tuscan, Arizona with my favorite uncle and his amazingly cool wife. We attended many different things and went to many different places. I also got to ride on the tall mountain which at that point was a cool thing. There were some things that made me unhappy and some that made me dramatically excited.…
Imagine being stripped away from everything you knew: your childhood friends; cousins you thought you'd always have with you, and places you called your second, third, or even fourth home. That is exactly what I went through when my family decided to move to Albuquerque, New Mexico. What's different about my experience was that it wasn't necessarily the move that flipped my world upside down but everything that happened in between. I was an awkward, shy, midget-like twelve-year-old when my family and I lost our home during the California money crisis. From that point on it was like a tumbling circus act. My parents ended up losing their jobs until finally my dad moved to New Mexico; leaving me and my family for almost a year. The last thing…
On Saturday April 13, 2013 I was walking through the parking garage on the USAA campus in San Antonio, TX to start my 4 hour work shift, I began to go through the turnstile and seemingly startled awake a bat. This bat began to fly and squeal in fear. It darted at my head getting caught in my hair a couple times. I started to scream and flail my arms about trying to fend off the nocturnal flying mammal in fear. During what seemed to be forever I was able to unlock the turnstile and exit the entry way but not before rupturing two discs in my neck. This incident caused quite the turn of events in my life. I had been working for USAA for 3 years and truly loved it there. I also lived in a beautiful apartment with my mother and two children and…
It was a surprisingly warm night during the summer. Everyone in the house was sound asleep in their rooms except for me. I was watching a show on the laptop in my room when out of nowhere I hear a bone chilling scream from the neighbor’s house next door. Before I knew it I was out of bed putting on my shoes to see what was happening. When I opened the front door I saw a bunch of other neighbors turning on porch lights to see what was going on too. What I saw next I could never un-see, it was the sweet old man that lived next door crouching over his blood stained wife. The problem with this image though is what he didn’t do. He wasn’t crying over her body in sorrow, nor was he standing in shock, instead his face was covered in blood and…
I ride my bike to my grandma’s house on a warm sunny day. Then I knocked on her door, and I got in. When I got in she told me that she was going to make a cake, little balls with sugar on top, and really good bread. Then she she told me if i wanted to help her i said yes for the cake i helped putting the eggs in the bowl. I also helped her get the rest of the ingerdens and she put them in the bowl.…
One significant experiance in my life has been my dad being in the Millitary. My dad was in the Millitary for a short time of one year before he decided it wasnt for him. But in that one year we moved two times. We moved from my hometown of Anacortes Washington to California. I started school and things werent that bad, I made friends and had a park right across the street from my house! life was good. But then we had to move again, to Arizona. We moved from sea side California to the Arizona Dessart. This is where I was really challanged, I didnt make friends as easy as the first move. We moved from a spacious town house with a park to a tiny appartment with no backyard. I distanced myself from my parents and everyone else in my family, I…
It was a cold and stormy night. My brother and I were walking in the woods with my grandpa. We could see the steam coming out of our mouths and the sound of leaves crackling beneath our feet. We were deer hunting on opening day of the season with our bows in draw. The plan was that my grandpa would drive the deer to either me or my brother. I was at one end of the woods with my brother at the other. Well what was supposed to happen didn't.…