Going to Southern California, no one would think of packing an umbrella. Why would they? California is in the middle of a drought. When someone thinks of California, they think of baby blue skies and palm trees along the streets. But, of course, the weekend my family decided to visit Disneyland, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld is the weekend Southern California experienced what the local news called a “tropical depression.”…
In my freshman year, I went to Ohio Mission Trip, which was led by Mrs. Lundquist. While I had an amazing life experience through volunteering, I was able to become closer to my friends and upper classmen. Darby and Sydney Lundquist also joined the trip, and they shortly introduced me about Washington and Lee University. I assumed the college should be very advanced since they were well-known for their excellence in intelligence and sports. This year I attended a college meeting with Mr. Webster to get to know more about the college. It was a great opportunity for me to grasp a big picture of the school as well as more specific details of admissions. I immediately fell in love with the school as Mr. Webster explained about the school in detail.…
I have gone to Camp Sierra Vista for the past eight years of my life. Camp has taught me many things. How to be myself, how to work well with others, how to have fun, and mainly how to be a leader. I was never really one to be a leader of a group at school, but at camp, I was.…
I grew up in a two small towns called Ruston, La and Grambling, La. I spent my childhood in Ruston and my teenage years in Grambling. The two towns are so small it's like 1 small town almost. I enjoyed my childhood there. It was a place where kids were free to run and play. Til this day it is still a place where kids can be free and mothers don't have to constantly fret about there child being kidnapped of the street. I remember being up the street outside playing jump rope, volley ball, kickball, football, softball, and basketball with all the neighborhood kids. When evening came and the sun went down I remember my mother standing in the yard calling my name for me to come home because it was getting late.…
A day in Memphis is not complete without the diversity in our community. As a second generation Memphian who has primarily lived in Midtown, I had the privilege of watching several different cultures in one place and especially now that I attended one of the largest public schools. Daily, I experience someone else’s world. The people I get to meet and see are from various backgrounds: race, religion, ethnicity, etc. that I may never comprehend, which is wonderful. In Memphis, it is normal to be an enigma, to have idiosyncrasies. I believe that is the heart of Memphis. What makes this heart surpass discrimination is the acceptance that follows years of diversity. My neighborhood has single mothers whose children play with the neighborhood adolescents.…
One day I came home from school and saw a moving truck in front of my home. The first thing I did was find my parents to ask them if we were moving. They both said yes, all of us are moving to Fresno California. I was afraid because I had lived in Modesto my entire life and was very comfortable here. I knew my way around Modesto and especially my school where I had many friends and knew the teachers well. Modesto, after all, is my hometown and now I'm transferring to a foreign place. When all of us arrived in Fresno we stayed there a couple of weeks and realized the house had a huge amount of issues such as with leaking water pipes, a broken heater and a variety of other problems. My dad said “Maybe we are not meant to live here”. Finally…
When I was ten years old, my parents told me we were moving the California. I was absolutely thrilled. California was purely an abstract and conceptual mirage-type of place, too far away to know where it was, and too far away to really understand. The magical land of celebrities, skyscrapers and colossal burgers. A place where everything was possible, where dreams could actually become true, and where you had the ability to do what you wanted and be happy. This naive and unrealistic vision of California has affected my childhood so much that it is, in many aspects, still is part of me today. I discover new things everyday about this place with the same childish enthusiasm that I did the first day I arrived. I still gasp everytime I see the Hollywood sign, enjoy going to…
The day of September 1, I missed class to be with my family in Memphis. My mom wanted everyone in our immediate family to gather together because my brother was leaving for the army. It was such an exciting week because I haven’t been home to see them in about year prior. My brother has recently graduated from high school and also turned 18. I am beyond proud of the person he has become, so to see him all grown up making the decision to leave home brought tears to my eyes.…
The day I found out I would be moving from Roseville to Alpena was probably the worst day of my life. I remember the day I found out about the move. Not only was I really upset because I would be moving away from my friends and family, but I was really scared. We were moving to the middle of nowhere, where I knew not a single person. I would be going into my 6th grade year in the fall, my first year of middle school. My brother and I did everything we could to try to sabotage the move, but sadly our plans failed. Nothing could stop this from happening. Everything I knew… was about to change.…
The first time I went to California was insane.The plane ride,the weather, and the beach was the best. So on to the story. One day my parents decided we would visit our frends in California. So we gave them a call. “Ring ring ring.” ”Hi Dee,” my mom said.”Hi, how’s it going?” “good good, you” “ I’m great, never been better” “We were thinking of visiting you, that is if it is ok with you?” “yes yes that is perfect with us.we’ll even pay for it” “really, I’ll tell the family.” “Bye.” “Bye”. Then it was for sure that we would go.We went to the airport.Getting on the plane was fun.When we got on the plane, it was a…
I am a Californian. I am a family member. I am a friend. I am a student. I am a book lover. I am a music lover. I am shy. I am a dreamer. I am ambitious. I am smart.…
When I first started at Napa College, I knew that getting involved was going to be very important. However, I didn't know it was going to be a lot more complicated on my behalf to do so. This is because, when I first came to Napa Valley college, I had also just obtained my first job. The job which would allow me to help sustain myself and help my family financially. I was not used to this type of schedule when I first came into Napa College. This Is because I didn't know how to manage my time, and simply didn't know what to make as my major primary. I was confused whether to make school or make work a primary. So, I ended up making them both as a priory, which meant dedicating half and half to each. Later on, I found out that I didn't have…
On Saturday April 13, 2013 I was walking through the parking garage on the USAA campus in San Antonio, TX to start my 4 hour work shift, I began to go through the turnstile and seemingly startled awake a bat. This bat began to fly and squeal in fear. It darted at my head getting caught in my hair a couple times. I started to scream and flail my arms about trying to fend off the nocturnal flying mammal in fear. During what seemed to be forever I was able to unlock the turnstile and exit the entry way but not before rupturing two discs in my neck. This incident caused quite the turn of events in my life. I had been working for USAA for 3 years and truly loved it there. I also lived in a beautiful apartment with my mother and two children and…
I’ll never forget having to leave my friends and family behind and having to move across the country. It was the summer of 2008, and I was 10 years old at the time. The huge brown boxes, indicated the progressive yet subtle hints of our departure. I did not know why my father took the job in Washington D.C., but I did know that I resented him for it. However, it wasn’t long before I realized the move was for my own good. Back in California, my family lived in a tightly cramped two bedroom and one bathroom apartment. I soon realized moving to Virginia gave my family unspeakable opportunities, those that some take for granted, such as being able to live in a single family home. Coming to Virginia was similar to coming to a foreign country. The roads were different, the people were different, and the atmosphere was different; everything seemed foreign.…
Parsons, Kansas, the place I were born and raised. I had been out of town before and went to another city and state but none to where I was willing to move when I got older. A large part of my family lived here, and this is where all my friends were from. My family was very close and we always spent the holidays together, so It wasn’t as if I was all alone at any time. Every one I needed was no more than a five- block radius from each other, so I could visit and have a good time pretty much all the time. Most of the friends I made in school didn’t leave, so I really had no reason to move when I got older. I enjoyed the country and all it had to offer I could go fishing, ride horses and make mud pies pretty much all day with the kids and go to the bars at night with my friends and family. I really could find no reason to leave, I worked at nursing home and had a pretty nice duplex that I never want to leave. I knew my way around like the back of my hands I had explored that town over the last 25 years; I could make a road map myself. My family was always having some kind of gathering on the weekend that I couldn’t be bored.…