How I Changed My Life

My maternal aunt gathered us together and we all sat on the couch. She turned to my mother and told us she had cancer. I looked at my aunt and I did not know what to say or how to respond. Three months later, my father received a phone call from his sister telling him that my pregnant cousin, Elizabeth, was diagnosed with leukemia and had to give birth to her premature baby. She and I grew up in the same house in Arizona and what hurt me the most was not being able to be with her during this difficult time. When we went to visit her in Arizona, my dad told us before entering the hospital room that he did not want us to cry in front of her. I was scared to enter. I did not know what to say to her but I knew I had to be strong. We stayed there for the holiday season but we never celebrated the holidays, that was too

This leads to where I started back at my house when my dad told my sister and I that my grandfather was diagnosed with Leukemia. That was one of the hardest things for me to hear considering that my grandfather was a big part of my life. My dad said that he was going to be in hospice care without chemotherapy because he said: “That he had lived his life.” Two weeks after being put into hospice care my grandfather passed away with all of his family by his side.

When I found out my aunt had breast cancer I was devastated because I thought of all of the things we used to do before she died. I remember when I was younger she would take care of me and my brother since my parents would be working or my mom would be at school. When me and my brother was younger she would drag my brother in the wagon and carry me in the wagon since I was smaller then my brother we would go up town and run erands with her we would go to the Piggly Wiggly so she can get groceries, To the drug store so she could get her medicine and the people that worked their would give us some candy everytime we went and we would go to Bonnies when it was open and get a cheese burger. When she would cook she would let me and my brother

In our lives there are people that we meet that make a difference in our life because they have an impact on us. One person who has impacted me other than my family is my school bookkeeper terry march. I was blessed to meet her through my high school summer internship and have been her intern from junior to senior year. She has altered my life in many ways, such as giving me confidence and motivating me. Having someone outside of my family supporting allows me to believe in what im capable of. Iam also thankful for giving her experience with papework, filing , handing monety because it wil give me an advantage.

When my dad came home that evening he sat me down and asked me if I knew what cancer was. I had an idea so I just nodded my head, he went on to tried to explain to me how bad the cancer was that my mom had been diagnosed with. Seeing my dad so afraid scared me. The fear I felt then led me to realize that I needed to try and hide it because it would only hurt my dad more to see his children so upset. I did my best to help, I tucked my little sisters into bed while my mom was away at the hospital, read them stories and did the best I could at preparing snacks to comfort them. After my mom arrived home and she recovered from the surgery she started chemotherapy. The miserable treatment that attacks the cancer also makes her very ill. Every other week she was sick. Before every bad week I wanted to cry, but that wouldn’t help anyone. Lane and Kenna already were crying, if I cried it could only hurt my parents

I didn’t see her a whole lot because she lived far away. I wish I had gotten to see her more often before she passed. Having someone close to you be ripped away by cancer really just sucks. Cancer is a really dreadful thing. 12.7 people are diagnosed with cancer a year and 7.6 million of those people die. My aunt was among those 7.6 million.

After a while of sitting in my grandparents living room mindlessly playing with my toys I decided to get up. I walked towards the commotion going on in the small hallway connecting the living room to the kitchen. The gathering of people consisted of my mom, dad, grandpa, and grandma. Curious about what was going on I walked over to the group. I reached my mom and looked up to see that her eyes were bloodshot, as if she had been crying. I looked over to my dad and his face, like everyone else's, was grim. During this time I kept hearing one repeating word, cancer. I started to listen more closely to the conversation going on around me because even at the age of seven I knew that cancer was bad news. I listened intently and heard my mom explain how she had colon cancer.

I cannot describe what I felt when my mom told me she had cancer. I was sad, I was scared; I did not even know if I felt anything. My mom, however, stayed positive and hopeful while I stayed quiet and seemingly apathetic. There was an obvious ironic contrast between the emotional state of me and the woman who actually had cancer.

On a chilly Saturday afternoon around the end February, I arrived home from my grandparents only to find that my great aunt, who lives in Washington State, had taken my great grandmother to the emergency room because she couldn't walk. My aunt was up here visiting at the time. My great grandmother was in the local hospital for a few days before they shipped her to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where they proceeded to diagnose her with breast cancer and lymphoma. The breast cancer had a tumor that was against her spine, so she couldn't walk. This was her third time being diagnosed with cancer. The round that did her in.

I crawled into bed with her one night. Under the blankets and wrapped in her arms, I whispered, “Why did the doctors take your hair away?” To this, my mom softly explained to me the process of chemotherapy. I was four years old at the time, and two years prior to this my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Having never drank, smoked, or done drugs, her diagnosis came as an incredible shock. She fought it for the next three years of her life, and though I was very little at the time, I have very vivid memories of being with her through this. I remember rubbing her bald head while we watched movies, I remember painting her pictures daily, and most often I remember doing yoga with her on the beach.

I clearly remember the day I found out about my granddad's passing. I was at school. It was a normal, joyful day. My dad was planning on picking me up, but instead my friend's mom picked me up. He would not tell me why, but I did not think much of it. I remember the car ride to my house. My friend's mom would not tell me why she was driving me home; all she told me was, "Just know, Ryan, that we will be here for you no matter

The one choice that changed my life forever was that our family emigrated from Hong Kong to Canada in 1974. I was only seven years old. My Chinese name is Sau Han and this is my immigration history. My family came to Canada for a job offer but mainly it was for a better life. I had to leave behind many loving family members in Hong Kong. We also left behind our old lives, furniture, car, apartment, and friends. Our journey began when we hopped on a JAL (Japan airlines) jumbo jet on a sixteen-hour flight to Vancouver, British Columbia with a brief stop-over in Tokyo, Japan. Everything looked foreign to us on our arrival. What we hoped in the future was to be able to learn English, to adapt to our foreign surroundings, to settle down in our new home, and to go back to visit our friends and relatives in Hong Kong. These challenges are just the first of many obstacles to be faced. This immigration was not just a new beginning for my family but also a window of opportunity for the next generation.

I like to myself agnostic, even though I was brought up to be Jewish my whole life. I would like to start from the very beginning. My father was brought up reformed Jewish. My mother’s parents are Jewish even though she was not brought up Jewish. When my mother became older her religion became a lot more important to her, and by association it would be forced to be important to me.

This semester has been a transition. I changed from a junior college to a university. My classes shifted from pre-requisites to classes pertaining to my major. I have also escaped the dorm life and moved into an apartment. All this change has come with bountiful knowledge. I have had many learning experiences, both social and academic. This year has been a growing experience. I have worked on developing as a student and broadening my relationships.

Humans are amazing beings. We as humans are capable of doing great things. Unfortunately many people are satisfied with being average, and not accomplishing much in their life. Many people are convinced that they can’t be great or can’t achieve greatness in their life. However I believe that anyone can change his or her life for the better and obtain a successful and fruitful life. In this essay I am going to talk about how I changed my life from an overweight teen with no ambition to a relatively fit adult with a passion.