My Experience In My Life

The beginning of my freshman year was so anticipated. It was a clean slate for me, because the drama at my old school and the judgmental people made me insecure. It was exciting to come to a community of my “sisters.” I was, and still am, called a twig, skinny, a noodle, and more destructive names. I was going through a slight depression, I hated how I looked physically because of the standards that society and my generation set. I was damaged and came to Saint Vincent Academy for healing.

“Tough times don’t last, tough people do” - Julian Edelman. Throughout life I have overcome obstacles that seemed almost impossible to conquer. Crying, fighting, searching for a way out of my life that has haunted me for eighteen years. I thought I would never live to see this age, but here I am today, standing tall and proud amongst others everyday. The lessons I have learned and experiences I have gone through have built my character, gave meaning to my visits back home, and have helped me find ways to keep myself busy with free time.

The story began about a year and some months ago. Early in the Fall 2016 semester, I met a girl named Ann through a friend of mine. My first impression of Ann was that she was very pretty, but she talked a lot. I mean a lot! After I met her, the three of us began to hangout a couple of times each week. Even though she talked a lot it was fun having her around because of the energy she brought to any situation. At first, I felt that being around her drained my energy, but I eventually got accustomed to it, and grew to feed off it.

I first became aware of myself as a unique human being about a month ago because of things occuring in my life. I had a lot of new things going on in my mind last year for the first time. I didn’t know why it was this was happening to me, I thought there was something wrong with me. This is how I became aware of me being different from everyone else. *Personal*

On the Wednesday of the year 2000, my parents have already envisioned how my life would turn out to be. My mother expects much of me only because she was the first to ever attend college in our family. All my life because of that, I was always expected to: go to college, have a successful career just like my mother does, and eventually surpass her. Yet as I grow and develop my understanding of how this chaotic world works, I get lost. Throughout my life, I have had many hardships which I sadly at first did not take care of correctly. I am still human however as I understand that making mistakes is a part of life. Life is about giving the perfect effort. I know as I grow and develop, I don’t need to meet anyone’s expectations as long as I continue to try even when my limit has long been passed. I just want to continue to learn and and improve myself as a person. This world does not choose for me nor does it decide what I have to do with my life. It is my sketchbook and I am the one who decides what to draw in it. Right now, I am doodling the most complex eighteen-hour piece.

Finally, were here, just getting off the plane me, Chris, and Jacob and a bunch of other kids and adults I did not know well some of them I did but I was too distracted by everything around me to care about who else was getting off. All I cared about was that we were there and the long trip was over. I got off the plane and started looking around me and I could see the water, the trees, and the heat was so bad. It felt like we were walking around and seeing the people there and it was so different unlike anything I had seen before everyone looked happy and without a care in the world. There were people walking around with drinks and smiling and laughing and from that point on I knew it was going to be a good trip.

One thing I've quickly examined from life is that everyone shares at least one experience from life. We share experiences all the time even when we don't know one another.

I felt lost. I had no hope, motivation, or joy. After hitting a brick wall in my path towards graduating, I felt totally incapacitated. Suddenly, through the struggle and pain shone a tiny, fluffy, and cuddly beacon of light. Her name would eventually be Boogies. She brought a purpose back into my life. Her love filled a void in my heart that I could not have previously defined. My relationship with my cat has helped me regain ambition and a true excitement for life.

I had only left the United States once before in my life. It was a small trip to London with my mother to visit a distant relative. It was a quick trip, maybe 3 or 4 days and I could hardly remember it because it was 12 years ago. I didn’t have much motivation to leave home again except for university. Until I got a call. On Wednesday, April 24th at exactly 3:37 pm I got a call from my aunt Kaasni. This was no ordinary phone call, as we normally had pre-organized phone calls every other Sunday evening and she hardly talked to me when I had school work. That was the deal with my parents after my father left – I could speak to my aunt who he lived with every other Sunday and on certain holidays. I picked up the phone and my father, drunk and hazy spoke. “Sasha my dear ba-ba-baby how are you,” he slurred “you know what, I think you should come spend some time with me, here in Calcutta, get a different taste of what life is like for your old man.” It took a moment for me to process what he had said – he wanted me to see him, after 15 years, he wanted me in his life again. Then I heard my auntie on the phone “Sasha? I am so sorry, your father drank a little too much. We are on holiday here and I hope he hasn’t disturbed you,” she said. “Oh no Auntie Kay, its fine,” I replied, still deep in thought. The line went silent for a moment as I heard her shush my intoxicated father while she held her palm to the phone. She picked up once again and continued apologizing until I

My senior year of high school was when I developed the characteristics I appreciate most. I was out of the house from 6:30am till 11pm every Monday through Friday. I became the presidential advisor for Student Government Association, member of the National Honor Society, treasurer of the German Club, squad leader for the drill team, member of the select choir and concert band, worked part time, and continued my outside-of-school activities. But, my best moments were when I was the co-chair for homecoming. The president of SGA asked me to co-chair homecoming and I was in complete shock, under the impression I was nowhere near significant or “popular” enough to hold this position. The stress, the early mornings, the tough decisions, the budgeting and fundraising issues, I loved every challenge and reward that came with the position. I realized that I had more potential and influence than I initially thought, and I finally had the confidence I always deprived myself of.

My life, or perhaps in the manner that I perceive it, has been overwhelmingly filled with enlightening and repressive circumstances that could have been averted, but all in all, makes up one's destiny. These events intricately tailored me into a young man that grew conscientious of the detrimental behavior of “acting before thinking” and into the realm of “thinking before acting". What I would soon come to understand was that through sheer patience, and trial-and-error it instilled within me new insights to learn from and that the most triumphant moments in my life began at the crossroads of unknowingness, a decision to stay in mediocrity, or the pursuit towards personal greatness- thus the decision had to be met.

My life is full of adventures here in El Paso, where I was born and raised. A city like this is unique and different from many other cities because our city is right next to the border to Juarez Mexico, meaning the culture here can differ greatly. The city is unique and special, mainly because of the very Hispanic culture here that has taught me to love my family. The environment here that I have been raised in is based on a great deal of religion, family, and challenging work. I believe the environment I was raised in has matured me to be a hard-working brother and a student.

When I look at how different our lives were five months ago so many things run through my mind, “What could we have done differently?” “What could I have done differently?” The week of finals before the end of my junior year I wondered if bad things really do happen to good people, or if good people do bad things that put them into bad places.

Imagine your story becoming the forerunner of someone else’s. Someone you have never met, yet because of one story, he or she found the strength and courage to become a person far greater than ever imagined. A story of unimaginable adventures, lessons, and hardships, this is the story I, Thu Dang, will create for myself and others.

My life is a sailboat sailing through the sea. It is a sailboat because sometimes life can be an easy breeze and it feels like you have no worries and nothing else matters except the moment you are currently in. Although sometimes life can almost feel like you’re in the middle of a terrible storm in the ocean ; everything seems to be going wrong in every way. Once you finally get out of the storm, the sun starts peeking through the clouds; the waves become calm again and the cooling sea breeze hits your face ever so softly. Knowing that everything is going to be okay.