Life : It Has Changed My Life

The summer of 2004 is when I got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, it was very shocking for my family except for me, I still didn’t completely understand what I had. All I knew was that the poking and pricking with different sized needles was painful. Eventually I began to learn what Type 1 Diabetes really was, and even though i had it, it didn’t slow me down, I focused on my academics and when it affected me I addressed and fixed the problem and went back to work. I also didn’t let it slow down my physical activities either, I would be outside every single day as kid non-stop, also in middle school I joined gymnastics as well and pursued it until the start of my junior year of high school. Diabetes affected my way of life, it made me different than everyone else and could’ve slowed me down but I didn’t let it, I still participated in different activities that everyone else did.

As I am writing/typing this journal based on a life event, which changed my outlook on life, I

On November 4, 2014, I received news of my youngest sister being taken away to the emergency room where they would have to keep her overnight. A hundred questions ran through my mind like a soundtrack on loop. Why did she have to stay? How was she? On that date, my sister was diagnosed with type one diabetes, which affects many families a year. When talking about illness media often portray the most negative effects which can scare many people who are ill informed. Illness is not something you often have a plan for and you hope it never occurs. However, much like in my case it brought out a new found strength to become the support my family needed at the time.

It happened a year ago this past October, and I can still remember every little detail of it. My life literally got turned upside-down; I was in a car accident. As traumatic as the accident was it changed my outlook on life in a positive way, however, I wish it did not have to come down to that in order for me to figure things out. It made me realize how things could change in an instant and that all those things you never thought could happen to you actually can. But I also realized how much I love life. Life and all the good and bad things in it are a gift that we should not take for granted.

Every person who comes into your life, comes into your life for a reason. But some people come into your life and have no impact on it; and then there’s other people who come into your life and change it forever. That one person can change your life by doing something small like teaching you how to cook or they can do something even grander such as teaching you the real meaning of friendship. That one person who had a major impact on my life was my Aunt Sylvania.

I was raised up in a family, which has Islamic values and principals. My Father was strict for two reasons. He used to work in the Police department and I was the only boy child. I grow up with four sisters, which made me feel lonely. However, this encouraged me to be a very social person. About my Mother, she is the source of warmth and kindness in my life in a way that created a good balance in my life. She also played a great role to shape my personality. For example, she always motivated me to invest my free time to sell some traditional food, which made me fall in love with marketing since my I was a child. It also made me an easy-going person and competitive.

We all have had situations and events that have affected us throughout our lives, whether they were a dramatic occurrence or a quiet revelation. My most influential situation that has had a lasting impact on my life would have to be almost six years ago now, the week I first truly learned what it is to be responsible. This event taught me that although situations may not always be ideal, we can learn a lot about what we are really capable of just by making it through.

Everyone has that one experience that makes them look at life with a new set of eyes. My life changing experience happened a little earlier than most. It was the summer before first grade. We had gotten an exceptional amount of rain in the past months even though it was summer. I did not notice, though, because summer was every six year old's favorite holiday, next to Christmas and their birthday. My summer was supposed to be like any other but it quickly took a turn. For the best or for the worst? That is debatable.

I was eleven years old when I first became a certified scuba diver, and over the last thirteen years none of the dives I’d been on could prepare me for this one night. My vacation started out just like all the other family dive trips I had been on, white sandy beaches, crystal clear what, warm ocean breeze, and brilliantly bright colored fish but it all changed when my father came back from a night dive with a story to tell. My siblings, husband and I all gathered around the dinner table eager to hear about my father’s adventures. He starts off slowly making sure he has everyone’s undivided attention before he discloses any details of importance. Once we were all on the edge of our seats practically begging for him to speak he takes a long slow drink, looks each of us in the eye and says “I’ve had the most incredible life changing experience on this night dive.”

As a typical teenager, I have gone through countless amounts of experiences and challenges in my life. The decisions that I have made in the past has given me two separate outcomes, and these outcomes influenced me positively and negatively depending on the environment given. As I grow older I commence to cerebrate that my life is getting harder and more challenging due to the pressure emanating from parents and school. The challenges give me motivations to work even harder until I achieve my goals, and dreams in life. Every stage of life starting from toddler to teenager to adult and then to old carries the permutation of both happiness and sadness. While some people feel delighted of talking about teenage years, some cherish their adulthood, even old age. During my current time of magnification and individuality, I have experienced a rapid amount of changes in physical and noetic attributes, which has influenced my life, dreams, relationships, and overall ecstasy.

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.

My life has been fairly easy so far. Not much has happened that I would say has “changed” my life. Change upsets me, and I feel disturbs my daily routine. So when my parents moved us twice, it created a lot of anxiety for me.

I think I have changed a lot in the past year. I am the same as I was a year ago because I psychically have the same name and same social security number. I still am in love with my husband Andrew hall and we still live in the same house and we still have our beautiful step daughter Macie every other week. I am different then I was a year ago because we have been married this whole year and weren’t married last year. I have also put on more weight this year and changed my hair color. I am the same as I was five years ago because, I still like doing the same things, like shopping and tanning. I am different then I was five years ago because, five years ago I was in High School in the 11th grade and lived in North Carolina and I drove everyone and didn’t have a license because I was underage. I am the same as I was ten years ago because I still had the same family, my mom and two brothers and I loved cheerleading and I still love cheerleading just too old for it now but I still love watching cheerleading. I am different then I was ten years ago because, I am taller, married, in college, have a child and go to college. As a ten year old I never even thought college was an option for me.

"Could life get any worse?" As I said to myself. It was just the news I needed before I started summer vacation. Dr. Judy Kanz broke the news that I am borderline diabetic due to my weight being extremely high. From time to time I recall eavesdropping on my Nina 's conversations about her diabetes. It was known that the disease runs in my family but for myself to be right there, it was a good enough scare to take my health seriously. This required dieting, exercising and doing things that I have never done before. On top of all that, I was battling a severe depression.

Growing up my parents would always teach my siblings and I to be the best we could in anything. Whether we liked it or not my siblings and I would always do things to our best ability. I was about seven years old when all of us started to realize that things at home were changing. My older siblings knew exactly what was going on at the time and would always tell me something to just make me go away, or to think that nothing was going on. I thought about my life at that time, every good thing that happened to me was a blessing. Having a mother who would wake my little brother and I to some good breakfast, she would walk us to the bus stop every morning, and we would pray that the day would be great. Life then was fantastic, not too many worries other than how many cavities I would have at the dentist. Shortly after I turned 8 years old, I could see a change in my parents. They weren't how they used to be. I would come home from school and not find my mom at the bus stop waiting for me, I would come into the house and see men in suits. As a child I didn't know what was going on, but when I saw my older sister cry, I was terrified. No more than a couple days went by and my sister told me what was going on. She told me there was nothing to really worry about.