A Scar to Remember

Waving goodbye from the backseat of the car, as we pull out of my parent’s driveway. Looking out the window at the oddly, white shaped clouds. Thinking, I had never been away from my parents and my younger sister for so long, even though it was only for two weeks. I was excited and scared all at once, but I wasn’t too thrilled about the whole 29-hour drive there. Hoping that the trip would go well and nothing bad will happen to us.

Could you ever imagine driving twenty-two hours in a suburban with eight people? Although it was incredibly cramped, and tortuous, I was going to my favorite place… Florida. We were going with our neighbors, who I grew up with, traveled with, and basically did everything with. Our moms had decided to do a last minute trip to Florida and planned everything out the night before. We always did vacations on spring break, but this vacation my mom told me by surprise, at seven A.M.

I never knew this would be my last day here… in Chicago. I hate my dad’s job, this is why I'm moving. Moving cities every year is hard and I hate it. My parents don't seem to bother all that much, they do it mostly for the money. As all these thoughts ran through my head, time went by and I finally arrived at my new house. As I out, all I could feel was the cold wind hitting my face and leafs attacking my fresh new j’s. Looking ahead of my was the fourth and certainly not the last house of mine.

It 's a tradition that my moms side of the family come to my grandmas house for Thanksgiving. The cool air and falling leaves is a sign of fall and Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday. I don’t like my cousins very much and I 'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Thanksgiving is not that cheerful for me. Years ago at Thanksgiving, I was not excited for it, just like every other year. My grandmas basement is very much underground and quite dark without the lights on. My cousins were running around the basement playing around. I started to try to scare them by hiding and popping out saying "Boo!". Evening approached and the moon starts to come out of hiding and the night starts to set in. It’s a cool night outside and the sun starts to

Over the summer of 2017 I did so many things that I can barely remember all of them, the sun shone brightly over us as we did something different everyday, a smile never leaving our faces, not a single cloud to abrupt to the vast blueness that stood above. Nights were short but felt like they could last a lifetime as we creeped back into the dark folds of our houses, careful not to wake the sleeping parents who would cause chaos if they found out how late we were getting back in. All the memories I created with my friends will last me forever, not only do I have

Ever since I was a little girl, New York City always seemed like a place that was magical. My family’s TV on Thanksgiving was always broadcasting the enormous balloons, extravagant floats, and millions of people lining the streets of the city for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Freshman year, excited squeals and giggles erupted from my brother and I after our parents told us that we would be visiting New York City for the first time to witness the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After several months of waiting and lots of turbulence, our plane hit the landing with a thunk at Laguardia airport and reality set in: we were in the city. Walking out of the airport was absolutely surreal. The sights, sounds, and smells surrounded my family and

This summer, in the first week of August, we went to Brighton, Michigan. I along with my grandma Sharon, my same age uncles: Logan and Cole, and my brother Hayden were all going. At 10:30 AM we left, getting into her in her car piling our stuff in. This consisted for me of 3 books, a deck of cards, a stick of deodorant and a few changes of clothes. I finished the first book, Rangers Apprentice The Lost Stories, about three hours down the road and halfway through it we stopped at the Iowa I-80 truck stop, the world's largest truck stop, for lunch. After that I talked with Cole for another two hours. We stopped at a rest stop just out of Chicago and stretched out our legs. from there it was a straight run up into Michigan and from there into

I walk into the room my cousins trailing behind me, I walk into the room and go to the bed closer to the door. I put my stuff on the bottom bunk and go to my closet and tape a sign on the front so they know this is my closet. A few seconds later Iris, Alicia, and Pastel walk into the room. Iris walks over to my bed and moves her arm across my bed swiping everything on the ground.

My family and I went to Colorado Spring for christmas break. We packed up all of our stuff then we put it all in the car. When we got done putting all of our stuff in the car we left we got on the highway. As soon as we got on the highway I took a nap. I woke up when we were in Colorado we were almost there. I was talking to my parents until we stop to get gas. I sat in the car until my dad got done filling the car up. We drove for a little bit and we were in Colorado Springs. We drove to my Aunt's house when we got there I took my stuff in the room I stay in. My cousin came from downstairs and said “Hi ” then he went back downstairs. My aunt put on a movie to all watch together. My grandma was cooking something for all of to eat when the movies was over I went to the kitchen to eat. I went to the kitchen table to talk to my dad. When my dad got done eating We heard a knock on the door we answered it and it was on of my uncles and aunts then my cousins walked in.

The 14-hour flight felt short maybe due to the excitement or the fear of feeling alone, but as soon as I opened my eyes we had arrived. I saw my mother immediately as she came to give me a hug, she was with a man who I had not yet met, he familiarized himself with me stating himself as my mother's boyfriend Neil. Carlo left with his wife soon after and Neil drove us to my new home. We stopped over for food at an In-N-Out, my first attempt at eating at an American fast food restaurant. Hearing and seeing the faces in that restaurant sent a startling shock to my spine, sweat slowly accumulating inside the palms of my hands. We approached the lady behind the register as she asked for what we wanted to order. Her voice seemed almost unnatural to me, her hair looked seemingly blond, and her eyes were blue, features I had not before seen. When the food arrived the portions of the burger were unlike the size of those in the Philippines, strangely this to me this made the world felt as though it was larger as I compared it to the fast food I enjoyed daily back home. When we finally arrived at the house I had noticed it was already past twelve which was odd as I left the Philippines around a similar time. I was not yet tired and my mother did not want to leave me alone to sleep by myself so she set up a bed for us in the living room. It was when we laid down that a greater realization struck me as to why my aunt was crying. My aunt and cousins were gone. I do not

My dad and I had always lived in New York City. After 15 years of experience and the guidance of my older brother, you could say that I knew my way around town. The coffee shops with the best lattes, the highest swinging swing sets in every park, and most importantly, the buildings with the best views. You would think that after living here for so long I would get sick of seeing the view of the city every day, but it just never gets old. The best spot is at the top of my apartment building, on the far northeast corner, looking over the horizon and onto the Hudson. There was no other way of completing my day, no matter the rain, snow, or blazing heat I sat on that rooftop every night as the sun disappeared, along with the overworked New Yorkers for the night. The most interesting part is, every single night, the color of the sky is always slightly different. No sunset was ever the exact same. Anyways, as I was walking back down the stairs to my condo, 7B, I got the jitters in my stomach, I was beyond excited for tomorrow, the first day of Winter Break. My older brother, Todd, was taking me and my best friend Hannah up to Vermont to go skiing. I opened our apartment door, took a quick shower, and fell asleep with Cooper on my lap while watching Full House.

Red lights, traffic lines, students walking or dragging, I could hardly tell. Today marks the day of my first day of high school without my best friend who may not connect to me blood-relatively but a family in my heart. I thought to myself, what if I can’t find any of my friends? What if I can’t find any of my classes? What if everything doesn’t turn out the way I want it to? Anxiety and panic roll in my body as soon as my mom stopped the car. I hesitated to open the car door, making little movements to even try to get out the car. I waved goodbye and shut the door closed so lightly that I think my mom had to properly shut it again. As I make my way to the front entrance with the gated black fence that shines so dimly, I looked up randomly at the sky, noticing that the clouds appeared very cloudy and immediately assumed that the rain will start sprinkling

It was a luke warm day in the summer of 2016. I was in my moms car for almost 2 hours I was not alone I was accompanied by my mother how planned this whole trip for me and my brothers friends, also my brother who would leave my family in a month to go to college, he had his girlfriend Mary she is really cool, and then there was my friend Cole. Cole was in the same year as my brother he did not graduate, and he formed a small colony of kids who were kicked out of their parents houses off in the hills of mount diablo, he was like a real lord of the flies.

So finally we reach my grandma’s house after a nine hour car ride with two slobbery dogs, two grouchy teens, and one fed up aunt. When we got out of the car there were millions of endless hugs and kisses, and you can’t forget about the “How are you? I missed you so much”es. But I’ve been sweating like a pig for way too any hours and all I could think about was how cold that pool would be when I plop into it. After cooling down we had family time and managed to stay up till the crack of dawn late instead of taking our behinds to bed. The next day my New York family flew down, but they were way too tired to take on the adventures the next day would bring us.

After the last bell rang we walked to her apartment from school and I realized just how close we actually lived to one another; her apartment complex was directly behind my neighborhood. When we walked through the front door of her home, her mother smiled at me at said "welcome sir and who are you?". I explained to Mrs. Wells why I had just walked her daughter home from school, nervously at first, I thought maybe in her mind she believed that I had more explicit