I’m happy with who I am today, just as everyone should be. But if I could change anything about myself, I’d want to have more motivation to do things. In the mornings before school I can barely get out of bed because I’m so tired and don’t want to go to school. I’m exceedingly intelligent but I don’t have any drive. I procrastinate on most of my work, and sometimes I just don’t want to do the work. Right now I’m rank 14 in my class but I could’ve been higher if I had any drive my freshman year. I don’t think about how my decisions now will impact me later and when I do, I don’t really care. I also don’t have much motivation to do things in sports activities. Last year I played volleyball and I never had that much playing time. Never being able…
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…
Monday- I am ready to stat week 4!! I like being in the office but I prefer being in the back. It entirely too much drama going on in here today. The woman training me is really on her last strike and she just seems to be getting on everyone nerves (including mines). I look forward to a better tomorrow.…
Since I came to live in the United States five years ago, I being in Hialeah all the time, this is my city and my neighborhood. I have found the place where I fell like home a large part of my family lives here and I have found the best people and friends here and full the space left empty when I left my country. In the future I may have to change the city, State or maybe just move to another city but I doesn’t matter where I am Hialeah will always be in my memories and I will never forget it.…
A young Islamic lady suffered from constant bullying, stereotyping, profiling and abuse from Americans after the crisis of 9/11. “They came to bully us, many, many times”. The quote portrays that she has suffered from significant bullying and it has affected her. “9/11 changed everything and 9/11 changed nothing at all. America – I'm not going anywhere”. Whilst this powerful quote confirms her struggle to belong despite the negative influence of others and that she is willing to fight for what she believes in no matter what people…
Taking into consideration my Libyan heritage, one might say I was able to experience the best of both worlds as a first generation Libyan-American. They wouldn’t be wrong, growing up, I was influenced by the cultural aspect of a Libyan as an American citizen. I partook in many common Libyan traditions, for instance, I would eat couscous most nights for dinner and learned how to play the darbuka, a Libyan drum held sideways and played with the fingers. I was convinced that everyone lived this way, and I knew nothing outside of my bubble of comfort. It wasn't until my first trip to Libya, during the reign of Dictator Mummar Gadafi, that I realized not everything in the world was perfect and that my childhood was more Americanized…
In my early childhood, my parents moved numerous times back and forth between the Untied States and Iran. Eventually, my family ended up settling in North Houston, where my father bought a traditional two-story home in a typical gated community. Throughout the years, the house preserved many struggles, and witnessed many successes between my family and I. However, not only did our home observe our experiences, but it also embraced our culture. Throughout my life, my home has had a revolution of its own; transforming from a dreadful and dull place to a home that I now look proudly upon. However, what I truly value in my home is the fact that it acts as a safe haven for my Persian culture, something that is as delicate and as priceless as my…
I dislike being asked “Where are you from?” because I do not consider myself from any specific place. I have moved around several times as a child, which has given me the opportunity to meet different kinds of people each from distinct walks of life. Being faced with the challenge of meeting new people has taught how to come out of my comfort zone at any given moment. The experiences I have had in life has caused me to become an outgoing, hardworking, and very multicultural person.…
Success through struggle is a story of one young soldiers attempt at something great. Through the struggles that I endure in this story of my attempts of joining an elite military organization are a testament to Army Values and the warrior ethos. You will learn that even if you do not succeed at first you will find success in other avenues. This story is not for quitters it is for those who enjoy tales that show triumph of the mind, body, and spirit.…
Growing up in a diverse city, the culture around me has always been different. Every person that I see always has a different type of belief than me. I’m a 17 year old Muslim student who lives in Southeast Texas. My father is from the Middle East, and my mother is from Western Europe. My parents migrated as refugees from Croatia to Houston in 1995 due to the ongoing war in Yugoslavia. After they’ve migrated they’ve lived in peace here ever since. However that has changed a lot since 9/11, one of the biggest terrorist attacks in history to ever happen in the United States. Now everyone who originates from the Middle East has been looked at as an abomination, and how we're judged for everything that we believe in. It just happens to be that I was born in the time of all of this monstrosity.…
I remember the first time I saw Gene. I had just arrived in South Carolina after moving from New Jersey when my dad was offered a promotion. It was a rainy day, I spent most of it driving, trying to figure out my way around town. For lunch, I stopped at some sort of pub that’s been closed down for years now. When I walked in, it was completely empty except for one boy sitting at the counter all alone. I sat on a barstool, a few down from the boy and ordered a cheeseburger. Trying to remember which road I took to get there, I realized I had no idea how to get back home and the boy spoke.…
Everyday I yearn and look forward to the future. I have faith in myself to know that I can make my personal American Dream possible. As stated in my first American Dream paper, it is the government's responsibility to provide equality and security to each and every citizen. Thus allowing for every individual to be gifted various opportunities and experiences that will impact their life dream. However, after being apart of a government class that was focused upon learning the fundamental knowledge of America’s past and current federal system, the American Dream is seemingly more difficult to come by nowadays.…
Personal background starts off small, it changes and grows over time into something big, it grows into an identity. Walking down the hallway at school, seeing someone standing alone, my first instinct is to make conversation, compliment, or even just smile at him or her. This instinct came from someone once telling me an act so small could turn a person's entire life around. As a kid, reading encyclopedias about random topics, consumed my time. Many days were spent coming home to find an injured wild animal in my dad's arms waiting to be saved. My dad would sit outside and draw animals, trees, and anything else he saw. Nothing excited me more than trying to draw whatever my dad drew, and as good as he did. Any assignment that was handed to…
In 2013 I went to Israel with my family, cousins and some of the people who belong to our Temple to watch my cousin become bat mitzvahed in the middle of a dessert. It was the most wonderful experience that I had ever had and I will never forget about it. I was 11 years old at the time when I went.…
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…