I Believe In The Power Of Appreciation

My parents have taught me to be very open to new opportunities and kind to everyone. My mom in particular always showed me that I always have a voice in all situations. When I was ten years old, I went out to eat with one of my friends and her mother. Our waiter, who was a man, brought out my kids meal of chicken tenders with ranch sauce. A look of disappointment overcame my face when he set the plate down in front of me, as I had ordered barbecue sauce. My first instinct was to look at my friends mom and get her attention before the waiter left our table. When she noticed I had the wrong dipping sauce, she told me to wait until the waiter left then gave him a smile as he continued to serve our food. I assumed that she would call him back over to fix it, but I had overestimated her comfort with

My great-grandmother was the matriarch of my family. When I was in seventh grade, around thirteen years old, she passed away due to breast cancer. This misfortune created an extremely difficult time for me because, not only was I adjusting to the environment of junior high, but many other issues were occurring in my life; this was the third death that I was having to deal with. Unfortunately, one of the previous deaths (that I was still trying to hurdle through and come to terms with), had occurred almost exactly a year before the passing of my great-grandmother. The second death that I had gone through occurred only one or two months before my great-grandma has passed. All of this turmoil created numerous internal conflicts for me, but also taught me a key lesson to keep note of, for the rest of my life.

Whenever I was sad or upset in anyway my parents would approach me only to tell me to get it together and clean because the dishes were definitely not going to wash themselves. I once put my hand on the stove just to figure out what it might feel like; it felt hot, and i was crying. My grandma came to see what happened and just laughed at me and told me to do it again. She made me put my hand in cold water but i ended up just refilling it over and over again and it was then that she hatched a plan to put my misfortune to good use. She put a step stool on the ground and made me wash the dishes, it was then that my dish career launched and i started washing dishes all through my latino community.

When I was in 5th grade at the age of 10 I was fortunate enough to go on a vacation out of the country. This was a pivotal moment in my life because my family had never really had enough money to go on a trip with all of us, but we did this time because my dad saved up; we were going to the Philippines. Even though it was just supposed to be a vacation, it ended up being something completely different. During our time there, we stayed with my uncle who lived in an underprivileged neighborhood.Spending time with my relatives in that place made me realize that I took things for granted. My thoughts recollected at the church, where I really saw a different view of my dad. He was teaching in a huge, crowded church and what he said and did seemed

My motto is “Whatever happens is for the best”. I really believe that. And this belief always helps me to overcome some difficulties. In tight situations, I prefer to elicit positive sides and forget about negative ones. And it works! When my parents divorced and everything seemed to me terrible, especially my mom’s new boyfriend, I told myself: “My mother was unhappy last years of her marriage, she gave to me and to my sister everything she had. She is the nearest and the dearest person for us in the whole world. So, my mom deserves to be really happy.” And my mother’s boyfriend became a new member of our family, he’s great, I really loved him. I’m happy to see my mother’s eyes radiating love and joy.

We were living at my uncle’s house in California. I shared a bedroom with 3 other kids including my brother. I didn’t mind sharing a room because it was always better than my house in Mexico where I didn’t even have a bedroom! My father at the time was working for Construction Company and my mother stayed at the house. My parents had been saving every penny they could so that we were able to buy a house for ourselves. My father has always been a hardworking man. I just love how he is a very optimistic and motivational person. Every time he came home he would always be in such a positive and energetic mood no matter what the circumstances were. Life was good at the moment, until I had started my first year of school

     Due to the fact that my father was now on his own and trying to raise three children (my older brother from my father’s first marriage), he had to take a different position at his work. Although he was getting a raise it wasn’t necessarily a good thing. He had to start working the night shift so he could get the raise. He didn’t really have a choice in the matter and because of this new change, I began to lose valuable time with him as well. It was now up to my brother to watch over us at night and make sure we got to bed on time. If there was any trouble or and problems in general, my brother would call my grandmother. For three years my dad worked that job and every night he would stay up after he got home to see us. He would make my sister and I breakfast and make we were off to school on time. This meant the world to me because no matter what he always made time for us.

However, my family did face some tough times during certain points in life but my family made sure my needs were met. Having a middle class family that went through tough times has shaped me because I got an insight on how even though you have everything you want it’s not going to always be that way and that it’s sacrifice to be made. Also, I was humbled and appreciative of what I had and have today because I had friends and still have friends today that were less fortunate than I. I never looked down on them and I was taught to always look at everyone equal due to the fact that everyone was not blessed to have the things or the family I came from. I believe that anyone who is less fortunate should be helped or you should make friends with them because they could help you just as much as you could help

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” These words from Dr.Seuss still stand true, and are something I can relate to. I believe that you should always show your love and appreciation to your family members for what they do for you. Before my sister left for college, I didn’t realize how much I appreciated her and loved her for all the things she did for me.

Growing up my brother and I were really close because we spent a lot of our free time at the Chinese food restaurant my parents owned. When all the adults are working there's not really much to do except play and talk with each other and so we've always been close. Even now that we aren't anywhere near each other most of the time we make the effort to try and talk as much as possible. Growing up at the restaurant was a really unique experience looking back and something I'm thankful for now. My parents have owned that restaurant for over 20 years and most of the employees and the customers are people who have been there almost the entire time. They've all seen me grow up and it's almost been like having 10 sets of parents supporting and loving you. The only bad thing about that is when they all whip out the embarrassing stories of you as a child and everyone is there to back them up, but other than that I'm really grateful for everyone that's helped me become who I am today. Watching my parents work at the restaurant also made me really appreciative of everything they sacrificed for me. When I was younger and going through my bratty middle school years I definitely didn't feel this way, I complained a lot and resented having to spend my summers preparing vegetables and doing inventory when all my friends were on fancy vacations. As I got into high school I definitely started to realize the amount of work my parents were

My family taught me how to help those in need and to not take what I have for granted. I truly learned this lesson when I went on service trips. The part I enjoy the most on these trips is when I go to a worksite and see how happy I can make the people who are being benefited. I also learned that everyone in this world has very different lives. But the odd thing is that some people who live in poverty are extremely happy. Not everyone needs money or a huge house because they know what is truly important in life to them. That taught me the lesson that you can always find the bright side out of anything. Life may give you a hard time, but it's your job to be able to preserver and bounce back from the hardships. One of the most important things

My parents left me when I was 3 years old and they came to to America. My grandmother and her husband. My grandmother had 7 kids plus me and my big brother and they had to feed all of us. My grandparents did not had a lot back then but I was bless enough to survive with them. In Guinee I used to get up 5:30 to walk to school , the school i used to go to was 1 mile away from the house. My teachers in Guinee used to always beat me up every time I came to school late. I knew it wasn’t my fault that i lived far but I still tried to manage my time everyday to make it on time on this day. When school is finish and I walk back home, when i come back home, sometimes like 5:30 or 6:00 the food is already finish and my grandmother is cooking another meal. In my grandparents house , there is always time and periods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner after the last prayer and all of that the family comes together and eat together in one plate .If you don't make it to the exact time, then you have to wait till the next one to eat with the family. My grandmother never lets someone eat by oneself, she always taught me that family is the background of life. In my life there were situations that arose that I would not have made it through without my family. when my mother used to call home to check on me and my brother , i always used to complain about the family and how i like them But no matter what choices

I believe that no matter how bad a circumstance is, everything will always turn out to be okay in the end.

I’m extremely thankful for my family; who knows where I would be without them. Although sometimes I take them for granted and wish for better leaders in my life, I know that there will be no one else to turn to in horrendous situations. When I was little, I used to be so jealous of other kids who had “better” parents. Out of habit, I would always compare my parents to them – but I’ve

A couple years ago my parents brought me to their hometown in Vietnam to meet old friends and family. There, I experienced many situations that made me become more thankful of the things I have now. In Vietnam many in poverty in Ho Chi Minh City would walk around neighborhoods selling lottery tickets to others. Many of the people who sell lottery tickets are handicaps with disabilities and young children around 10 years old from the country side that moved to the city in hopes of having a better life. I remember sitting outside of my grandparents house and in a day many lottery ticket sellers would pass by, one of the girls that we selling was exactly the same age as me. While my grandpa bought some tickets from her, she explained how her whole