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…
When asked to write about a childhood experience most people think of the time they lost their first tooth when they were 6, or about the time they started school when they were 5, however, I’m going to write about summer. It wasn’t just any summer it was the summer that I went to the lake with my Dad and Papa. I was about 4 and couldn’t be any more excited about what was going to happen…
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…
I interviewed a family friend, Hope Engle. I researched the top films, television shows, music, and fashion.…
I chose to interview my mother. Her name is Barbara Lee and she works for the Riverside County Office of Education. She is an infant teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing. She has been working in her position for about 30 years and she still loves it!…
All of my aunts and uncles just showed up. Nobody has said anything about Teddy, so I am thinking that he is at the other hospital with Willow (pg63). When I walk in the hallway I see Kim (pg 63).I am so happy to see Kim, but her mother came with her. Kim’s mother is very emotional, Kim says it’s just being a drama queen. Kim finally couldn’t take her mother's crying any longer, she yells at her mother to get her to stop crying. After Kim’s outburst she leaves her mother in the waiting room while she walks around the hallways. When Kim yelled at her mom, it reminded me of when i became her friend. When we were younger we hated each other, now she is my best…
Some nights I dream about Michael. He’s coming home from college for christmas break and he’s brought a girl with him. Our family is sitting at the dinner table and he’s giving my sister’s new boyfriend a hard time. He’s sitting in the audience, whooping and hollering as I walk across the stage and receive my diploma. Other times, he’s standing in a waiting room, introducing my sisters and me to his little girl. I dream about all of the moments my family and I never got to have with him and my heart breaks every single time. Michael has been gone for almost 16 years and yet he is still with me every day. I dream about him and what could have been; what should have been. Michael’s death teaches me something new almost every day. I have learned what loss is, how to deal with it, and how to grow from it.…
My mother, “Regina Hopkins,” has been a positive influence in my life. She has raised 6 kids all by herself as well as earned a Bachelor’s degree in nursing from a City College in Gainesville, Florida. My mother has been through pretty much everything a person can go through outside of war and was still able to be there and provide for all 6 of her kids. In high school, my mother wanted to play football and couldn't because she was a girl and back-in-the-day women were not allowed to play football with the guys. However, she remained strong by raising 6 kids and independently took care of all of us on her own. My mother has several qualities that I would love to develop. The first quality she has is balance; she certainly knows how to make…
My family environment has influenced me a lot especially when my siblings were born. I am the oldest out of five, so I'm always look up to. I always had to make a good example and never show that I was scared. When my mom and stepdad had to work, I would take care of them until they came back while getting my schoolwork and practicing my instrument done too. I never really had a chance to be a kid, I always had to be a mother to my siblings. I would always wish for more time in the day for myself, Although watching them grow up from when they were small and started school for the first time made up for that loss time. I live up to a quote, "Be the master of your future, not the slave of your problems." My senior year I had to stop being…
My mother’s parents would always share stories with us about how their parents came to America from Italy and Germany. They would bring out old photo albums and tell us all about how different life was for them and how they held on to family cooking recipes and every Christmas we make the same dishes that their parents would make. My father’s parents would also share stories about Ireland and my grandpa would talk about what he experienced when he was in the war. Unlike the family I interviewed, I was brought up in a Christian household. Every Sunday the whole family would attend church together and then go out to eat after to talk about what we had learned. We would also pray every night before bed and were always told to give thanks throughout the day for the life we have been blessed with.…
time for me to begin my 10 minute warming up. I move my head side to side, stretch my legs, and I begin to walk briskly. I drank my water because I need to stay hydrated. When I was ready I sprinted out like a rocket. My brother began to time me. It took me 12 minutes to finish my one mile. Once I felt that my heart was pounding, my stomach started to develop painful cramps, and my My throat was as dry as a bone. I stopped and took deep breaths in and out. I took a five minute break and finished my 3 miles by walking. Once I finished my three miles I felt proud of myself and motivated for the next days to…
I don’t blame myself for what happened to my parents. I may not be the most buoyant about it, but who would be? Going through your high school years without complete parental support can end horribly in more ways than one. High school is the time when you need your parents the most; you are growing up, maturing, and starting your life. It can be hard to know where to start if you can’t even recognize where your parents have gotten in their lives.…
The advice that was given to me about writing my personal statement is that whatever I wrote, it must be a statement that came directly from the heart. I’ve found that in order to do this, I must actually write about my heart. When I was born, doctors discovered that I had a ventricular septal defect. The defect needed to be repaired, or I would have been wheelchair-bound and not lived past my fifth birthday. The experience of my heart surgery was not only life-altering for me, but for my parents as well. I was their first-born child, and they had just purchased their first home. It is hard enough to learn the ropes of becoming a parent - but to be the parents to a very ill child was something they had never prepared for. They always…
A good portion of college students bring their parents to school with them every single day. “Taking my parents to college” by Jennine Capo Crucet, is an article that talks about her experience as a first time college student and what she soon realizes about how often her parents were actually with her throughout the experience. There are many different ways that students bring their parents to college with them. A few ways that I bring my parents to college with me is by bringing their beliefs, values, and advice with me, as well as taking them with me by using social media websites. I know for a lot of other students, they carry their parents to college with them as well. Maybe it’s a little bit different for them, but for the most part it’s…
Finally, when I moved to New Orleans I started volunteer work at the Children’s Hospital and helped with pop up clinics for the Latino community twice. Overall I found that helping others shouldn't be something seen as duty or mandatory, it should be spontaneous. Through others experiences and hardships we learn and grow as human beings, not only did I enjoy helping others but I felt that it helped me with my problems. Having moved around so much and meet so many people and living by myself so many years I came to truly be thankful for my blessings and specially for my hardships. Hermann Hesse once said, "I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value." Helping others made me realize that we all need help and that my way to help others would be through their health. It also taught me not to judge anybody, especially if you don't know what they have been through. I am hard believer that everything happens for a reason, and all the weekends I spend watching my parents help others helping others myself made me the determined person that I am today. Finally, the most important lesson I learned was to never give up, no matter how hard the task is or how bad the problem is there will always be someone willing to help and you can always be both sides to that, the helper or the one who needs…
