My Experience In My Life

“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.

When my brother was 7 years old he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. This was a scary time in my life, not just because my little brother had acquired an incurable disease but because he was on the verge of death when the doctors finally prescribed him. When my brother was first brought to the hospital I feared for the worst. I remember being yanked out of soccer practice and rushed to the hospital as my sister cried at the wheel of our car. The only thing we knew for sure was that my brother was so sickly and so close to death that if he had come in to the hospital a moment later all our lives might have taken a turn for the worst. When we were finally educated on the circumstances we would have to endure in the coming years, my family and I quickly rose to the occasion and set out to learn how to conquer the foreign invader. My mother and I spent countless hours in the emergency room, working with specialists and trying to master the caretaking of a diabetic. Because my dad was busy at work and my sister busy at college, my mom had a lot on her plate and I was more than willing to do whatever I could to help her out. This involved a lot of babysitting while my mother researched and more cooking than I had ever experienced in my life. Thankfully some good did come from this experience. My brother and I spent so much time together that year that we became inseparable, only able to spend short amounts of time away from each other. And to top it off, possibly the

Life. Have you ever mistaken a test a life or death situation? I have in 6th grade. I thought I’d do horrific in a science test, but who knew it would make me feel successful. It was the year 2015. Little 8 year old me would be amazed. After watching the movie 2012, I was wondering why hasn’t the world ended since 2012 went by. Now that it’s 2015, I wish that was true. It was 1st period science class. The sun had not yet raised up and high in the wonderful black and cloudy sky. All around me I could hear classmates bickering and yelling. I mean, that’s what kids do. I see people hanging out with their friends; I also see boyfriend and girlfriend hugging. The bell had rung like it was a siren for a war call, super loud. All the kids jolted to their seats; the teacher strolled in.

I’ve grown up in Louisiana all my life; born and raised in the River Parishes where the seafood and industrialized oil was abundant. I never remembered how I came accustomed to the southern lifestyle or how I managed to learn how to fish or skin a rabbit, for it just came naturally. I assume it was because I had lived here all my life that growing up by the culture, in turn, enhanced my southern styled skills. The puzzle pieced itself together, when my friend Adriana came to visit from Minnesota. We were pen pals at the time, but coincidentally, she had close relatives in St. John the Baptist Parish. One summer evening on her visit, we had a seafood boil which consisted of crabs, shrimp, crawfish, corn, sausage, and turkey neck. Now me being the lil’ ole’ Louisiana girl, I happily peeled my seafood with ease and dug in. However, I had noticed that Adriana did not touch her seafood. Her Auntie Kim had peeled all of her seafood for her. I was curious as to why Adriana did not know how to peel seafood; It was an easy task! Nothing to watch out for but the sharp claws and doubling checking for any shellings. Peeling seafood was like the ABCs for me, so why not for Adriana? I was 10 at the time, but now with age, it has come to me that not all Northerners who have yet to visit the south, do not know how to peel these weird crustaceans or to scrupulously eat clean a turkey neck to the bone! They couldn't fathom the thought of eating something that previously lived in the wild mud

“Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you”. That is what my dad was saying in the big screen in front of me, quoting Aldous Huxley, next to my mom, both smiling widely and a bit dewy-eyed. It was a video they recorded unbeknownst to me that was being shown at the Jenkins Foundation scholarship awards ceremony; a night that will last in my memory for the rest of my life. An acknowledgment that came almost as unexpected as the realization that I would study in one of the best universities in Mexico. And, at the same time, a recognition that seemed to be just an obvious next step, the natural consequence of all that I had done and worked for up to that moment.

Hope Rebecca Davis, a little formal don’t you think? You’d think that my parents thought I was going to be the hope of the world or something of that sort, but that is the farthest from the truth. I was named Hope just because my mom thought that Hope was a “pretty” name. As you know that was probably a bit disappointing for me, but my name represents a great deal to me. Hope means to have a feeling of expectation or desire for a certain thing to happen… then I considered the following, I can be the person in the world that makes these things happen. I can be the change in this unfluctuating society. I can be the person I want to be when I grow older, I just don’t know what I desire to do yet. But experiences in my life such as these are going to guide me to where I need to be.

“Still there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have travelled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I’ve slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.”

EVErY FAmILY hAS ThEIr STorY, ALL with aspects that brings them together or drive them apart. I come from a Mexican family, where family is the only thing we know. We share each other’s pain and misery and we rejoice for our miracles. We learn and grow through each other.

I was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I like to think that I’ve been blessed to experience so many different cultures, lifestyle, and diversity in Guatemala City amongst its people spending the first 6 years of my life and then moving to Belize. The change from only speaking and hearing Spanish every day to learning English after moving to Belize was a struggle. A struggle that I am so thankful I went through now because that made my transition much easier as I got to further my education to where I am now; a proud graduate and Alumni from the University of North Florida.

I started this experience in this class with my luggage which was empty of experience, but now, when this journey is almost close to an end, I am thankful for having had the chance of being part of such amazing class and course. I considered every single class as a “stop” where I had the chance to visit something new and get something which could remain in my memories and could be useful for my personal life. From the very first class I realized that this could have been a different experience. I agree when Lily, in the first class told us that using slides and books cannot be considered an experience from which you can take something to grow as a person. Therefore, from the beginning of this journey I took the opportunity to challenge myself and to especially defeat my fears. In fact, throughout my entire life I have been very emotional and rarely I was taking an initiative when I have to speak in public. When first I candidate for the CFO role, I was afraid of talking in front of everyone, but then I took this occasion to give a turnaround to this experience and in the end, I managed also to be elected. During my speech, I used a particular sentence “life is no made of grades, but of experiences” and I guess this class reflected perfectly what I was expecting. I was not expecting a grade from it, but rather to get something which possibly could help me throughout all my experience here in San Diego, but also for my life and working career. Working in the board was an

Personally, I’ve been through a hell of a lot of problems not as much as someone with things like clinical depression. These people are hanging on by a slim thread in the balance to maintain their composure, their ideals, and their sanity. In my case, now that I mention it, my life does seem a lot easier than these other people. There was many things I had to endure to make it through my life. It goes through the age of 10 to 15.

My college routine goes like this: Wake up, study, go to the gym, shower, go to classes, go to the library, practice the violin, go to meetings and activities, studying, and then back to my dorm for a restful sleep. I like to say that I can achieve my goals as a dual-degree student pursuing Music and Pharmaceutical Studies towards a PharmD. because I love the consistency in my routine. As a dual-degree student, I have 8-10 courses a semester that I need to take. Being organized and managing my time wisely motivates and allows me to do everything that the University of Connecticut offers for me.

“Experience is how life catches up with us and teaches us to love and forgive each other”, Judy Collins. I used to look at my life as a series of misfortunate events. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized my life, my experiences, made me who I am. This realization changed who I was and who I wanted to be. In The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch wrote, “It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, but how you play the hand.” I was so focused on the cards in my hand, that I couldn’t even play.

Throughout a person’s life, there can be many things, such as friends and family, education, or sports, that help them develop skills to turn them into the person they are today. Without these different skills, it can possibly lead to a lower standard of living, which is not what we strive for. The thing that helped me develop my unique skill set that I can use through the rest of my life, which is also my cultural artifact, is a football. Football has taught many different things that I am able to use during the rest of my college experience, and after that during my professional career. The different skills football has taught me is the value of friendship, self-motivation, and time management skills.

At this point in my life , if i review my previous experiences i would say that i am fairly pleased. I've been able to gain numerous life and academic skills through hard work and determination. Though many of my experiences haven't been pleasant ,in a way it has helped me grow and build my character as a person.