How I Changed My Life

Life normally doesn’t go the way you plan when you’re young. When I was little, I figured that when I was at the age of graduation I would be totally prepared to go off my own. As I sit and think about the topic of how my life is going, several thoughts pour into my mind. First, I think of how lucky I am. The past two years could’ve changed my life because of bad health. Through weeks and months of hospitals stays and hours spent in the doctor’s office and in the emergency room, I’ve come out lucky and I have almost returned to good health. Second, I think of those friends who I thought would be there for my whole life that are no longer a part of my life. I also look to the people who I never thought would be there by my side and realize

Unlike most people, I did not get to be a carefree child for long. Even though I always said that I could not wait to grow up, now I wish that it all did not happen so fast and early in my life. From eleven to twelve years old—that would be the period I describe as the time I had to put my big-girl pants on and face the real, cruel and unwelcoming adult world. In that time period, I can specifically pinpoint two major events that ended my childhood: my move from Russia to the United States and the birth of my baby sister Toma. To some those might not seem significant enough to change someone’s life to the extent that they changed mine; however those events molded me into the person I am today.

I haven’t been alive for too long and I’ve lived a pretty normal life though I do know of one specific event that changed me forever. On January 12 2010 I came home from school like every other kid in Haiti. It was a completely normal day. My mom was cooking in the kitchen, my aunt was holding my little sister while watching TV, my dad wasn’t home yet and I was by myself in the living room playing games on my dad’s computer. Then out of nowhere I hear a deep low loud rumbling noise. Right when I start to wonder what the noise was, the shaking starts. Being a normal eleven year old kid I just sat there in shock and fear and just watched as my whole world came crashing down around me. Paintings, vases silverware, my moms china set, they were

I’ve always felt that growing up is the most difficult part of life. Letting go of the past and moving on sounds scary. Just imagine living with the parents for so long and then it being time to fly away from the nest. Now it’s time; it's time to embark the journey..

My dad was unable to take care of me, so my aunt offered to. The language barrier between my aunt’s family and I was evident; she spoke Mandarin while I spoke Cantonese. As I was transitioning from one dialect to the next, I also needed to learn English. My six year old brain was still able to develop and grow fluent to this change. Soon enough, I began to memorize all the different foods I saw on the labels on the shelves when my aunt took me grocery shopping. Through my constant flipping of flash cardings of animals and everyday objects, I finally mustered up confidence to conduct a proper conversation with my peers during recess. I also engrossed myself into the cartoon TV shows everyday as I tried to comprehend what they were talking about. Little did I know that I began to question my family situation the more exposed I was to their portrayal perfect families. I always asked myself, “ If Arthur, Peppa, and Dora all lived with their parents, why wasn’t I?” As I grew older, I dreaded birthdays and holidays because it created a longing inside me for a family reunion that had no chance of happening. Seeing parents supporting their kids warped my mind into fearing judgement from others. I fought off that mindset because I started to see that I only had myself to

Over the last eleven years as I’ve ventured from elementary school to middle school and onto high school, many aspects of my life have changed drastically. However, one element continues to remain constant: my favorite song, “Stop this Train” by John Mayer. At five years old, I was listening to the tune in the kitchen, admiring the soothing voice and mellow guitar-playing. But as I’ve grown older, I have developed a much greater appreciation for the message that Mayer tells through rhetoric. As I begin considering colleges and career paths, abandoning the comforts of my childhood, John Mayer Mayer sings about a rather applicable topic: the fear of growing older. John Mayer uses symbolism, pathos, and juxtaposition to reveal that time will continue to progress, and while aging and changes are difficult to cope with, we must accept that we will never be able to stop or go back in time.

“My childhood was happy and pleasantly uneventful. I was the youngest child by 11 years and grew up in a middle class family with loving parents and sisters. I was a good student, a strong athlete and a happy and well­-adjusted child. Somewhere in the middle of Grade 6, however, my safe and simple childhood world began to unravel – and I didn't know how to react.

Tears streamed down my face as I said my goodbyes to my parents, getting ready to leave them for the entire summer. It finally hit me that I was essentially stepping out into the “real world” without my parents right by my side to take care of me and look out for me. They couldn’t come with me due to work and it was a scary thought. Granted that I was only 10 years old, I was going to miss my parents. I didn’t know whether or not I was mentally prepared to take a 14-hour plane ride (what felt like forever) half way across the world to visit my relatives in Seoul, Korea.

As a senior in high school, adults are constantly telling me that the worst is yet to come and that adulthood will hit me hard. Although, those who know me and have grown up around me characterize me as “to mature for my age”. At only seventeen years old I have faced many difficulties and challenges that many of my peers have not. I have struggled and suffered throughout the years, but I would not take any of it back as it has built and shaped me into the woman I am today.

Before that, my eyes were not yet fully opened to the immense love my parents showered upon me. As I began to make friends, I started to hear small bits and pieces of their personal lives. My best friend could not hold a conversation with her mom, as they disagreed about everything there is to disagree about. Formal acquaintances would whisper of their mental or physical abuse, and I, a former homeschooled student, began to see the harsh reality of what many adolescents matured with.

Daddy took you took time out of your day to teach me: how to change a tire, Get the best prices on item by doing research and too drive on empty until the gas price was right. I if I can do without than I don't need to buy it. Thanks for supporting with my goat, sheep, and llamas projects. Thanks for getting all hours of the night to walk out to the goat pen when I was afraid of meeting the skunk. Thank you for helping me to castrate a goat or burn off their horns even when you didn't clue how to do it. Also remember when I got the llamas and they were due for their first worming injects and how Snotty decided she had a enough of you spitted one side of your face green slime. But you just took and went on. I am also very grateful that you

Growing up as an only child for 12 years, with the strict and stern parents I noticed how maudlin they are towards me. When I was younger I thought all the berating was just to prove I wasn't infallible, and how inane I am. As I grow up to be wise and humble every day I distinguished my parents are scrupulous because they fear anything dreadful would happen to me. As of my parents cautious actions towards me I vicariously took their actions

There are drastic events that occur throughout our lives that we recognize to change us individually. It could be something as big as getting married, or as simple as buying our first car. Two people could make a decision to be wedded, and each person would have to adjust to the others living style. When I first bought my car I found a new sense of freedom, but there are always certain consequences to driving a car. I have to take consideration of other people on the road, because my choices on the road may make life-changing effects on somebody else. Drastic events are the most obvious examples of something that changes our lives, however, the most important thing to change my life isn’t an event. It is the people who help guide me through the events. Without our friends and loved ones, we wouldn’t have a reason to create and enjoy our life changing events.

My life changed recently. I went on a trip to Greece with some kids from my school. It was absolutely breathtaking but the best part about it wasn't where I was, it was who I was with. I had never talked to him before that trip but when I did speak to him it felt like we’d been good friends for many years. the first night I talked to him we were at a bar, drinking alpha (Greece’s national beer). The first words I remember him speaking to me was “I don’t mean to be rude but what’s your name” I chuckled inside and my friend who had been friends with him laughed loudly. I told him my name and we continued from there. that fateful night in greece easily became one of the best because he was involved. My group of friends and some extra along with him roamed the streets of athens pleasantly drunk. we explored stores that night looking for snacks and tossed jokes about shows we liked. We made it back to the hotel before our 11 o’clock curfew.

When I turned twelve years old, I found out that my grandmother had Lyme disease. I realized that she was sick and it hurt me to the core. My grandmother, the healthiest woman I know, never was sick so it was hard to process that she had Lyme Disease. Even though my grandmother disease caused so much pain in my life, this life changing event taught me to find inner strength, look at the positive things in life, and that life is precious, so enjoy it.