I walked into the doors of Statehouse Expo Center, my feet walking with the sound of my bag rolling over the little cracks on the light floor tile, my white uniform as crisp as a fall breeze. With every step further, I could see more people. Lots more people. The mats filled with people. People who spend their whole lives working to be where they are, on those mats. Sparring, combat, weapons and forms. XMA in one corner, Black Belts in another corner, everyone else in a corner and staging in a corner. All surrounded by a Sr. Master or the occasional Master. When we get to a tournament, our team always meets up. Then all the kids go explore. We found our team and all the kids put away their IPads and Kindle Fires.…
It was spring break,my family and I went to Galveston.It was amazing.We had a lot of fun,and these are just some things that we wanted to do.…
One of the oldest questions in philosophy is whether humans have free will. When I look in retrospective, my journey to Miami makes me wonder is everything predetermined. Ever since I was a kid, I had vivid dreams about a sunny beach, soft golden sand, palm’s waterfall, and beautiful girl who will love me unconditionally.…
My rite of passage was coming to Randolph-Macon. As I arrived at Randolph-Macon College on September 1st to begin my freshman year of college, I could not do anything but shake from being so nervous. My parents kept telling me that everything would come together and I would fit right in. I had never felt so out of place. Coming from a small private school, with a graduating class of 30, I could not bear to meet a freshman class that was as bigger than my hometown or my k-12 school. It was like I was a nightmare and no matter how many times I pinched myself, I could not wake up. I was trapped here without any friends or a vehicle to escape.…
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…
My Carolina story is one of perseverance. I grew up in a prominently white and underrepresented area, being a multicultural male it was very hard to fit in. However, with the backing of family and friends I was able to overcome many of the obstacles that plagued my area. Through hard work and dedication, I believe that anything is possible. It can be said that as long as you believe in yourself nothing is out of reach. For me this was the key to my success, however, upon applying to UNC-CH I was waitlisted. This greatly hurt my confidence as I felt as if I wasn't smart enough, but to my surprise I made it off the waiting list and enrolled in UNC. Nevertheless, the effects of being waitlisted lingered over me a long period of time. I found myself contemplating whether I was smart enough to attend such a prestigious university. Although soon enough I began to get involved on campus and through this I realized UNC was the best place for me and that no matter what I could make it at a esteemed university. The diversity that UNC offers was a vital key in helping to understand my place, I heard that "diversity creates identity" and this has been one of the strongest statements I have ever heard. My Carolina story is one of struggle and perseverance to fit in, yet, with hope and hard work you can accomplish anything.…
My dad always told me that my imagination and ideas are wild. I never quite knew what he meant until a few years ago. Even though you may be terrified of certain things it is important to face them and widen your comfort zone and become fearless.…
There is no doubt that South Carolina is one of the few states making progress down south but to fulfill my wants/needs I needed to move here to New York. After months of contemplating I realized that for a chance to be treated as everyone else that I would need to make this change, I needed the money that work would bring, a chance to showcase my talents and living conditions near the plantation were harsh and unfair. I feel that this was the best decision to make at this point in time. Times are changing and we deserve to be, act and live better.…
Going into my senior year I still had the idea of, I can make it into a Florida school, I wanted to go to a Florida school to play baseball. So my senior year starting the baseball season with a new coach, I made my mind up, I’m going to work hard to stay in Florida and change my coaches mind. Through my senior year I was by far the best pitcher my ERA was under 1, I had 27 pick- offs in just one year. Also this year I was interviewed for being the hot shot of the week, an article in the newspaper. I was nominated for picking off 7 base runners in one game. I learned my pick off move from my coach in middle school before I knew my summer league coach. So I was still working with my summer league coach every once in a while at this point, but…
I am sure it happened as easily as this: We were sitting around the garage shooting the bull during a cold winter snap. Thoughts turned to motorcycle rides and things spring and summer. For once, it wasn’t me. Mrs. K was the one to mention going to California. We hadn’t taken a trip the summer before, and she said, “We ought to ride to California and take the PCH along the coast.” Probably, no one jumped up and started packing, but several certainly starting thinking. One mention leads to another mention which leads to final plans. For me, it was a dream I have had since I watched Then Came Bronson and spent my time reading On the Road. For all of us, we researched the trip and found places and things…
One day, while I was laying peacefully on my bed, my mother came in with a letter from Florida A&M University. I didn't really want to speculate anything because a few days before I received a letter from another college saying that I wasn't accepted. Nevertheless I was still excited when I opened it and even more so when I read that I had been accepted. So without much hesitation I packed up and headed to Tallahassee. When I arrived my mother and I took care of registration and a plethora of things you have to manage as a new student. After all the hassles of college registration were completed my mother departed for home and I was left by myself to attend college. What a great feeling! Little did I know what I had on store for the next day, my first in college.…
Let me start off with my mother's journey to America. It was 1985 when her parents decided it was time for a fresh start. It was very difficult to come to America legally, so they made their journey by traveling to other countries. They left Cuba and traveled to Spain where my grandfather found a job as a farmer. They lived in Spain for almost 2 years before they gathered enough resources to travel to Mexico. The journey from Mexico to the USA was very easy for them because they had a family member who knew their way around. They struggled for many years in America but soon became legal citizens. My mother later on went to college and completed her bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Miami. My grandparents purchased the…
Every year me and my family go to Gatlinburg Tennessee and have fun. We have lots of fun riding rides and doing things together. This is a tradition we have done for four years and all of our family has had fun doing this except my grandma she say’s she’s to old. But she did go one year when we went to Elvis’s house.…
“A simple life is good for me. I don’t need a whole lot. For me, a T-shirt, a pair of shorts, barefoot on a beach, and I’m happy, “ once stated musician, Yanni. That quote describes one of the best weeks of my life in the spring of 2016. When I was invited to travel to the beach with the Evans’ I was ecstatic. The youngest kid in their family, a 3rd grader named Jason, who has dark brown hair and freckles dotting his face, and his baseball team was leaving for a team trip. Jason’s older sisters, Halee and Hannah, are friends with me and my sister, also named Hannah, so they decided to take us along so they have more company than a bunch of third graders. We were set to leave for Gulf Shores, Alabama on Spring Break of my seventh grade year.…
“We finally get to leave for South Dakota today.” Brody said. “ I know I can't wait to get there, but it's going to take 13 hours to get there.” I said. “Yea but we can sleep the whole way there and when we get there it’s going to be lots of fun.” Brody said. “That is true, well ok I am going to sleep I will see you when we get to South Dakota.” I said.…