“You are the sum of your experiences” (Carrie Karkut) Ironically, this is the second paper I have used this quote in during the course of this week. I am happy about my past experiences and do believe that I am the sum of them. I grew up as an only child with extended family miles away, which for me, meant my parents were my best friends. My mother taught me how to study and how to behave, while my father taught me how to laugh and how to play. I have developed into what I consider to be a perfect mixture of both of my best friends. I suppose every child thinks their family is weird, but I can not imagine a family with more inside jokes, unique terminology (ie ‘bob’ for remote control or ‘screenage’ for sun-screen), or odd behavioral patterns than mine. The atmosphere surrounding my home growing up was full of laughter and love and ever present were quirky mannerisms giving my childhood character which inevitably affected my own. I felt very treasured growing up and spent time alone. Being alone as much as I was in my early years enabled my imagination to grow. In my free time, from around the ages of four to eleven, I loved to play with Barbies and American Girl Dolls as well as on websites like Club Penguin, Poptropica, and Webkinz. Being an only …show more content…
My elementary school closing suddenly was traumatic for me as it was all I had ever known. I realized that letting go and moving on is very difficult for me and taught me that I place a deep emphasis on loyalty and commitment. In life, I hate to day goodbye and have trouble disconnecting from things and people even when I know I should. Going to a separate school than my elementary school best friends, the ones I had gone on camping trips with, was difficult. I do believe this strengthened me in my individuality and prohibited me from being shy in my new
Family, education and a person’s opportunities are significant elements that collectively define an individual, as demonstrated by both Wes Moore’s. Depending on the opportunities offered to you and whether you decide to take advantage of them through hard work and persistence will result in your success or failure in the end. Wes Moore explains “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his” goes to show that certain factors affect how you will be as an adult regardless of similar or differentiating backgrounds. (Moore xi).
When I was a child I thought everybody’s family would be the same, just your average family like mine and yours. My life as a child was a carefree life, I didn’t care for much, except stuff like doctors or dentist, I’ve done pretty much what an average kid did, I thought we had a good life going. When I went to my classmate’s house or meet their family they seemed like they were average to me. I never thought about how us as a family would have any trouble in the world, I was wrong.
Graduating from high school and attending a college where I knew no one was a fearful thought. I was the only one from my close-knit group of friends to attend Missouri Western State University. Only a few days into the college experience and felt lonely. I had no one to do my homework with or eat with in the cafeteria with me.
My most life changing experience was when I moved from the sunny skies of North Carolina to The Blizzard, more formally known as Germany in the middle of my second grade year. My Step-Dad was active duty in the military. Of course, he had to drag us with him. He flew out to Germany first so for about three weeks it was just Mom and I. Just about every day Mom would say “Two more weeks till Germany, Tarix”, “One more week till Germany, Tarix” (Rich), which I never took to heart. I was too caught up in deciding what my Barbie was going to wear that day and riding my new tricycle to have time to process her words. Ignorance was bliss until the movers came to our house and packed up all my memories into big brown boxes. The night before
The thing I believe affected me the most was moving from Monterrey, NL to Laredo, TX. I was born and raised in Monterrey until I turned 10 and my mother decided to move to Laredo. Since her family was originally from Laredo and she had been living in Monterrey for about 17 years of her life she decided she wanted to be closer to her family. Getting close to August my mother was still not completely packed, so she only sent my brother and I to Laredo to live with my aunt for a while. Moving changed everything in my life, I had to learn a new language, I had to get new friends, and I had to move
That experience basically instilled in me that no matter how good things are going it could change in an instant. I also stopped taking the small things in my life for granted. I live by the phrase, “It could always be worse”. It helps me stay positive in even the most stressful situations. Things don’t affect me like they used to because I can have that positive perception of just about any problem I
This time I moved to Warren, Michigan and I attended my last year of elementary school with brand new people. The process of getting to know people took me a long time. I became the shy student that did not take part in any school activity again because I was afraid I would be judged on everything I did. As the years went by I started meeting new people each year. It is now my Senior year of High School and I attend three different schools: CPC, Cousino, and Macomb Community College, I can finally say that I am gaining my confidence back.
I had to go back to my country and come back to campus really feel the change I went through during the first year in college. I had to observe and interact with the first years to perceive the similarities between them and my old self, to see how I have changed and the extent to which humans are all alike. We might face the same struggles, but the ways we deal with them vary from person to person. I will try to tell my version of growing up in Lafayette.
It was very hard moving to a new town in the summer of 1996. This event meant having to attend a new middle school and re-establish myself in a new environment. Even though I had moved a couple times before, that did not make this time any easier. I still had to make new friends and ground myself all over again. Yet I had no idea the positive impact this move would have on me.
That one’s self are built off of experiences that come from events that have taken place over a period of time.
Throughout people’s lives, many are tested, in which they are pushed to their own limits. These personal experiences help the person to realize what makes them different from others, what makes them unique and stand out from the crowd. Even, sometimes with these experiences, people learn more about themselves, push themselves to their limit and test their abilities to work under pressure and other times adapt. In my case, the most important experience that I went through that helped me develop skills that I use to excel in my academics is something that most people don’t go through until late in life, the loss of a parent, in this case, my mother.
...uccessfully. I’m still pushing myself in higher level classes and getting my work done with effort and not giving up when I’m not good at it. Math is still a struggle for me but instead of quitting and not caring like I did my freshman year with Geometry I ask for help and take the necessary steps in order to pass with at least a B. This event had a significant impact on my life during my freshman year in more of a negative way but I have learned from that mistake and it has made me push myself more in school to make sure I’m giving my full effort at all and getting the grades I desire and deserve to get. Also it has made me appreciate my family more and to give more time into building closer relationships with them. Overall, I’ve matured and grown from the experience and even though it was a horrendous tragedy I’m thankful for what I have learned because of it.
My parents sensed my troubles and we moved. Adjusting to a new high school took time. It was not easy making new friends and I continued to be lost. These incidents weighed heavily on my mind. My anguished heart refused to see beyond my own woes. A recent disturbing incident changed my purview of life.
Upon reading the essay prompt, I took a few moments to introspect. I thought back to every experience that helped mold me into the person I am today. As human beings, we are influenced by many aspects of our surroundings. Even as children, we develop certain attributes through observation, or through conditioning by our parents. These attributes may not be always positive, but the combination of both positive and negative qualities form the people we are today. No one is perfect; nevertheless, some are fortunate enough to have their strengths outweigh their weaknesses. I believe I am one of those lucky people.
Throughout our lives we will always find in ourselves patterns of the men and women that raised us. Next, when we are finally able to branch our innocent eyes onto larger horizons, we meet our peers, who will become our precious friends. They will hold our hands on our first days of new adventures, and wipe our tears when our delicate worlds are rocked. Some will be our friends of the moment, and some will stand by our sides, on our sports teams, on our graduations, at our weddings, and during our retirements.