5:45 a.m., Wednesday, Boxing Day, 2013. I was sleeping soundly in my bed when the phone rang. I could hear the sound of someone getting up to pick up the phone. Shortly afterwards, I could hear the sound of weeping. I heard my Mom tell my Dad that Oma had passed away. Two days ago we had received word that she had fallen on her back and suffered a concussion. The fall might have been caused by her struggle with Alzheimer’s.…
Two summers ago, I went to Croatia with my family and, aside from where we were staying, we had no plans day to day so we just explored the country.…
Today I left for Yosemite with my friends and our parents. It took us about 5 hours to get to get there. We took about 10 stops on the way. When we arrived I popped open the trailer and too a nice long nap because we got up at 3 am and left at 4 am. After my nap I met up with a couple of friends who were also staying in the campsites next to us who were also taking naps . We went hiking to Yosemite Falls with a guide to watch the water flow down. It was beautiful and there was a sunset which made it even prettier. Our guide who led us there told us we should make a list to follow every day we were staying. We asked what were the greatest thing to see. He said Half Dome, Ansel Adams Gallery Tuolumne Meadows, Mist Trail and Vernal Fall,Glacier…
The day had come, as usual, I woke up in the morning and it seems nothing different. It’s around 8 o'clock. I found my cell phone; however, the time was show 23:00 pm. Due to the different time, I realized, here is Arizona, certainly, I with my friends arrived last night. Since that time, I was worried and felt excited. Everything for us are unfamiliar, we should to fit into this new circumstance.…
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…
Shortly after my father’s departure, I received a call from my Mother asking for money, I depleted what funds were saved, not having any to send her. Lashing out a serpent's tongue, cursing began and names she insulted me with are not surprising, as anticipated. Both my mother and sister returned to California. Pam left her two daughters in California, the girls were separated somehow. I truly don’t know how it came roughly to their living arrangements, although my elder sister, Cynthia had the newest child, she was possibly two at the time. The middle child disappeared, living with friends, a pre-adolescent. Discovering by accident the situation by visiting my sister, Cynthia. A few weeks later I ended up holding the newest child and locating…
My family and I arrived at the Death Valley National Park at the Mohave Desert in California, and saw the sign that said “Homeland of the Timbisha Shoshone”. We got out of the car to find it scorching hot. I hadn't realized that it would be this hot in the afternoon, even though it was July. We checked into one of the many hotels there, which was the Inn at Furnace Creek. It was one of the most charming hotels I've ever seen. My mom said to the friendly attendant, “Could we please have a glass of water, it's extremely hot out there”. The attendant replied, “ Of course; the weather does get very hot in the summer; springtime is the most popular time to visit because it’s not quite as hot, and lots…
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.…
Going to Catalina was a very fun trip. Although it did have to get cut short because of the incoming storm. Luckily, there was still time for us to do some fun activities while we were there and while it lasted. The most exciting event that was at Catalina was the snorkeling because I wanted to explore in the water to see different types of fish, and to just have fun.…
As I walk over to the man at the ticket booth, I can feel my face start to turn red.…
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…
We stopped again closer to the bridge at Fort Point to take more pictures. Then up we went! More steep hills awaited our climb as we followed the bike path. Finally at the top we learned bikers were only allowed from 3:30-6 PM. Again we were blessed to have waited to ride later!…
In July of 2015, my family and I took a vacation to Destin, Florida. It was my first time to ever see the ocean. The first peek of the ocean we got to see was when we got on The Mid-bay bridge to cross the ocean. It was the longest bridge that I have ever been on in my life. We took many pictures from the bridge because the scenery was beautiful.…
This past summer my family and I decided to vacation in Florida. Like any other vacation, our plan was to have an enjoyable time and destress. However, we experienced a sudden, nerve-racking situation. It did not compare to anything we had experienced before.…
In the frosty month of January, my family and I arrived at Beaches Resort. Beaches is an all inclusive resort with various activities and recreational amusements to participate in. It was the first time I had ever left the United States. Our trip to Jamaica required my family to get passports in order to leave the country. We received our passports on January 8th, which was the day before the big trip. I remember it being one crazy day because we all had to pack for a week’s worth of vacation. The next day we woke up bright and early to catch our flight to Jamaica! Normally I would not be to enthusiastic to wake up so early, but I was a ball full of energy and excited. I have always been fascinated with air travel, and I couldn’t wait to board the airplane. We flew first class; therefore, it was a very calm and enjoyable flight experience all the way to our resort in Jamaica.…