I stepped out of the hotel and walked to the rental car with my older brother Sean. Me and my family are in California for summer vacation. We’ve never been to California, so it’s a nice break from Washington. I’ve only left Washington two other times, the first time was my Aunt’s wedding in Georgia. The second time was when we took my brother to Boston University. Usually, my family comes to Washington to see us, so it was weird to leave.My parents were already in the car when me and Sean got there. We were going to see my Uncle and his new wife and kids for dinner. Their house was about an hour from the hotel. We would have stayed with them but we wanted to stay somewhere that was closer to the city. We haven’t seen my cousins in a few years. They haven’t been able to come up to see us because either Jeremy goes to camp or they decide to go to Europe for vacation. And we don’t really leave Washington that often. There’s no real reason why, we just don’t leave. It’s not really that big of a deal but I do miss seeing them. My uncle’s gotten remarried and had two more kids since we last saw him. My cousin, Jeremy, is the oldest and the last time I saw him he was 10, now he’s 15. The other two I haven’t met, which is really weird to think about. I’ve seen pictures of them from Christmas cards and on Facebook but I’ve never really talked to them. The second oldest, Laney, is 5 and the youngest, Presley, is 3.On the drive over I listened to music but then my mom tried to get my attention. I took out my headphones and said, “What?” “We were just talking about how school was going for Sean.” “And? What does that have to do with me?” “You’re going to be a senior next year. You should have an idea of where you want to go. You need to sta... ... middle of paper ... ...know you guys aren't lying because Jeremy lies all the time. Like one time he said Santa wasn't real! But I knew he was lying because I left Santa a letter under the Christmas tree once and he wrote me one back!" She looked so happy. It was absolutely adorable."You know I've never told anyone this but I've seen Santa before. When I was eight, I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard something on the roof, so I went downstairs and I saw Santa putting gifts under the tree." Both Laney and Presley had their mouths open in shock. "OMG! Did you get his autograph?!" Jeremy said mockingly. "Yeah, did you?!" Presley asked wide eyed. "I did but then Sean thought it was just a blank piece of paper and wrote all over it." Clare called us over to have dinner. When we all sat down, Uncle George asked Sean if he liked Boston University. “Yeah, it’s great, I love it.”
As I reflect on my college life, I wonder about the choices I have made that have led me to where I am today and that will guide me into shaping who I long to become. The things I have had to sacrifice, the support and experiences I have had with family, friends, strangers and work colleagues. I don’t know what I will be doing three months or thirty years from now but I do know that I want to have new experiences. When I graduated from high school, I knew I didn’t want to be that person that moved back to the same town and stayed there for the rest of my life. I even contemplate leaving the United States in my adult life. Who really knows, maybe those cards are still in the deck. For now, I know my immediate goals include focusing on completing my college education the best I can, and moving away from my comfort zone, broadening my horizons and taken risks.
“I plan to get my GED before my class graduates and to start taking a few college courses in the fall.”
Seeing my parents in the crowd has always been very soothing, especially in stressful situations such as this. My parents and I have always been outwardly enthusiastic with each other, no matter where we are. Whether at a football game while I cheer on the sidelines or at a banquet where I receive an award, every time they catch my eye, they throw their hands up in the air and begin to wave frantically until I wave back. There were only two girls left in front of me. One stuttered as she tried to finish her speech, and the other swayed back and forth unable to keep still. It was at that time that I looked into the crowd and just as I had anticipated, I spotted my parents. As expected, they waved their arms wildly to catch my attention. I smiled and waved back, though my wave was much smaller than theirs as I was doing my best not to draw attention to myself. For a moment, I was at ease because of their presence. But just as the girl in front of me stepped forward to take her place behind the microphone, my heart undeniably started to race once
know, college isn 't for everybody…. Yeah, it isn 't, but it is for some of us… Don’t limit our choices
Before, I could even take note, it was already October. It was time for me to pack everything in my room, and say my final goodbyes to my family members. I was going to leave everything that meant a lot to me behind. Previously, before October, we picked up my dad from the airport so that he could help us load all of our belongings to the U-Haul truck. Lily, ‘my cousin’, (we aren’t related, she is just a very close friend who I consider family) was staying with use because she want to see her father, who was also living in Denver. My mom and dad, sister, uncle, cousin, and I all stayed at the house one last night. I remember that my sister said that all her friends gathered around my mom’s car to wave goodbye to her. Her closest friends got very emotional and they started to cry. Not only did the move affect me, it also affected my sister greatly. It was like someone had given her a punch in the stomach. By the next day, we had everything in the U-Haul truck, and it was time for me to leave my precious Vegas behind. We had now started the drive to
My family had moved to Oregon when I was 7 into hunter’s run apartments and we moved AGAIN when I was 9 to SW Bonnie Meadow Ln, into a fairly nice house. Now, as older children do when they have younger siblings, I didn’t get much attention, but I did have many more responsibilities. Most of which were chores or keeping an eye on my brother, John, and my sister, Mikayla. Mikayla was by all means the closest to me at the time and John was just my younger brother whom my mother adored. Our relationships, however do change but that’s
Costa Rica is a very beautiful and unique place. It was my first time going there and I loved it! It was much different than the United States in ways I didn’t mind or even enjoyed. We saw many things and went many places while we were down there. I am ready to go back again already and do new, exciting things. However, we did a lot while we were down there.
This plot continued through elementary school and into the summer before our sixth grade year. Our lives had been relatively simple until that time. School. Choir. Friendship. That was all we had to worry about. That is, until that fateful day when my mother told me that she had met someone. It had always been just her and me. So once Jack came into the picture, life took on a completely different aura. Not only did I acquire a new stepfather, but two stepsisters as well. This sudden multiplication of people created chaos. I began spending more time with my family, getting to know the newest members. Savannah quickly became friends with my step siblings. We all spent time together ...
It’s been a couple days actually almost a month now and I haven’t done much. The boys would either do activities without including or they would be working so I decided to hang out with my mother and Susannah. My brother also recently left early for college trips with my dad, so now it’s just Conrad, Jeremiah, and me. Since Steven left, I have been included in more things. Jeremiah took me a ride in his stick shift and let me drive as well. The night my brother left, Clay Bertolet was at the beach house hanging with Conrad. Clay was obviously drunk and I think Conrad was slightly buzzed. Conrad had changed in a way that made me think he was no longer good. He was smoking and drinking a lot and always spending time in his room alone. Well
“Jackson, I’m scared! Wha-What!” I cut him off telling him everyone thing will be okay and we fill find a way to get out of here. Zac is 3 years older than me and can do harder work, but I am definitely more calm and can handle difficult situations easily and without panicking. My cousin and I were out hiking with my mom until we said we were going to going to go check out a cool waterfall about a few hundred feet away. I don’t know what happened but when we went back to go see my mom she wasn’t there, either that or we took the wrong direction back. I quickly took out my phone and tried to call my mom, but there was no service.
Everyone who has ever been to Disney World thinks it’s going to be the vacation of a lifetime but when we went it was the vacation from Hell!
The day they were leaving, I went ahead and packed everything I needed, and since I really had no experience on babysitting, I spent the night before searching fun activities I could do with the kids. I headed out to Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s house with all my belongings in hand. They greeted me at the door and explained everything, and introduced the kids. There was five year old David, and four year old Kaden. They looked like sweet boys to me and I wasn’t too scared about them not liking me. First, I had them sit down and I explained that there was going to be no hitting, kicking, punching or whatsoever. They agreed and I ...
As you finish up your sophomore year and begin your journey through junior and senior year there will be many decisions that you will have to make. Also on your journey through your junior and senior year you will have to be more responsible, gain more power, have more freedom, and see your true potential. As you become more responsible, gain more power, have more freedom, and see your true potential you should consider this quote “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; Watch your words; they become your actions; Watch your actions; they become your habits; W...
I’ve just entered my senior year of high school. I know that this is a very important year. I have a lot of decisions to make and not much time to make them. These decisions will either make or break my life, and I want to make sure that I make them to the best of my ability because there is no turning back. I need to make sure I definitely want to attend college. The decision is totally up to me. There are many positives and negatives of attending college. Go over them, and then decide. I know myself better then anyone else, and I won’t let anyone else tell me what to do. I will make sure if I am going to attend college that I have something in mind that I will want to do, to succeed in. Choosing a major can be a very stressful situation so why not sit down and take some time to do it? Be creative, don’t rush, give yourself plenty of time and really think about what interests you in life. My major is something that I will want to enjoy, something that I will be doing for the rest of my life. Why would I want to be miserable at something I do in life? In two short essays: “College? What’s in It for me?” by Steven M. Richardson, and “What It Means to Be Creative”, by S.I. Hayakawa, I can relate to my major very well. Athletic Training is something that takes skill, as well as being creative in your own way. No two Athletic Trainers are the same. The more creative I am at whatever I do, the better off I will be. I hold the keys to all the doors that can ...
I have two young cousins, one is 4-year-old girl and the other is 6-year-old. Long story short, the parents had a divorce and it just astonishes me how the children’s attachment might change before and after divorce. I can’t imagine how my life would be if my parents got divorce. Growing up I would see them fight a lot because of money issues and I did my best to ignore it. They are still together despite money issues, although sometimes they argue about getting a divorce and I told them to promise me not to get a divorce until my youngest brother goes to college. They fight a lot but at the end talk things out, if they get a divorce it won’t affect me. Moving on, I love a lot of my young cousins because they all see me as their big brother. I had the opportunity to play with them a lot when they are young and taught them many things. For example, I had one aunt who was very cautious of her child and I understand you need to be cautious when he is an infant but as he grew older he would be treated like a baby. He was not allowed to eat by himself, even though he had the capability to pick a spoon and fork. His exploration was limited to only his home. It was not until I had the opportunity to babysit him and I taught him how to eat using spoon t an early age and read to him occasionally. His father also did not like the way the mother treating him as a baby but he couldn’t do much because he would work all day. Sometimes the family would come over and my aunt did not like dogs so she did not allow him to pet the dog. At first he was scared of the dog only because my aunt would tell him that the dog would bite but it does not. It wasn’t until I had to babysit him one day and I properly introduce my dog to him. He wasn’t scared anymore. I enjoy spending time with my cousin and watching them grow up at the same time enjoy playing games with them.