My Experience With My Life

As I grow older and live new experiences, I realize how my childhood and God led me to the circumstance I am now, which is my last semester of nursing school. I come to appreciate my mother’s hard work to get me through school as well as through life. Growing up in a low-income family in Los Angeles, California with a dad who was a full-time alcoholic and drug addict, was not a good circumstance to grow up. My mother did not speak English or had a job and believed that a married woman is to fully depend on her husband. There were times when my 2 siblings and I had nothing to eat since my dad barely came home with money after spending it all on alcohol and drugs. Due to this living situation and the fact that I was the oldest child, I felt the strong responsibility to drop out of school once I was old enough to work. Education was not an option in my future. Since we didn’t have much money, my mom signed my siblings and me to free afterschool programs at my local Catholic church, so we could learn more about our religion and the importance of God in our lives. I remember my excitement to wake up early Sunday mornings to get ready for mass, even though it took 2 bus routes to get to church. I learned from nuns and priests the importance of caring for others as if they were my own family because everyone deserves the same type of care. Caring was something I learned through religion, and not something I was born knowing. As a way to start fresh, my dad decided to move us to

As I look back at my life there is only one instance where something happened to me that was so incredibly important then but it does not matter to me anymore. I was about to enter junior high school at St. Joseph catholic school in Sylvania. My parents came to me with a very serious look on their faces. My mother took me by the hand and told me to go sit down in the in the living room.

It was my junior year on a regular Thursday afternoon in my social studies class. Or I thought it was a regular day. I had a boyfriend at the time and I was in love. Or so I thought. He would always walk me to my classes and be there when I needed him to be. So this day, I woke up to the sun shining through my window and the birds singing a song. It was going to be a good day. I got dressed and went to the bus stop, because I wasn’t driving at the time, and waited for the bus and got on. I arrived at school about five minutes after I got on the bus because I did not live that far away from my High School.

It was the 2000s. I had been without a job for at least a couple of weeks and was finding it extremely hard to carry out my life in my village in Veracruz, Mexico. I used to own a farm but when the temperature began to rise and the soil was less fertile, I had to put an end to it because I was unable to plant or harvest any crops. In the past, this had been my main source of income but as the time went by, I could not sustain this lifestyle anymore. Furthermore, I couldn’t supply my family of 4 with the items they needed to be alive. After having a long talk with my wife, Emilia, I decided to begin to consider many different options. We searched all of the village and even in nearby towns trying to find a place that would hire me. We didn’t find anything but did see a flyer on a pole that was interesting. It said, “Go to America. You’ll get hired for sure.” Me and my wife were overjoyed when we saw this. We immediately began to plan our move up North.

I was 8 the first time I ever diagnosed a patient. I wore the stethoscope that my dad brought me for my 8th birthday, and played outside my house porch pretending I got so many patients to deal with. Regardless of me being so young all i enjoyed doing is playing a hero in my games whether a teacher teaching children how to speak, or a doctor saving lives. I grew up in a very small town in Egypt in a very humble house that provided me all the warm love and care that I needed as a child. I developed and built a kind caring character that’s willing to help others. My life was revolved around school, friends, and family, however it was never impossible for me to reach out for great experiences and remarkable people.

I was in first grade, so eager to learn. It was the middle of class. All the students were putting away the glue sticks that had no tops, the blue and red scissors that every kid fought for. As we sat down for what we called “circle time”, I was called into the office. As I walked down the halls, I thought nothing of what was going to happen. I was too young to understand what had happen. I open the door to see my mom dressed in all black.

“Remember that unlike you, I did not have an opportunity to finish school”, my mother always told me this to remind me of the importance of education. After her father’s death, she was forced to drop out of primary school because there was no one to pay for her education and to help take care of her mother and brother. With a less than 8th-grade education level, she worked odd jobs including, selling street foods, and currently selling second-hand shoes shipped from affluent countries in the Gikomba open-air market. She is my biggest inspiration because every day she wakes up at 4:00 am and arrives to work before 6:00 am hoping for a great day. Although working in Gikomba market does not guarantee any income, she remains determined and hardworking. Sometimes she comes home with no earned income but always carries with her a grateful heart. In Kariobangi South where I live, many people are like my mother.

Until I was eight-years-old, I had a relatively typical family: a mom, dad, two younger sisters, one younger brother, and two dogs. I was goal-oriented and determined even as a young girl; I had my life figured out for the next ten years. I had a strong sense of who I was, but one June day, I began the arduous process of redefining my plans and sense of self.

My parents once told me that there are moments that can shape you, like getting your first pair of ballet shoes or lacrosse stick. But what they unwittingly neglected to mention, were the emotionally gripping experiences that can affect a person during their lifetime.

My first experience as a freshman was not the best, but it sure was one of the funniest. I was excited and wanted to share the news with my family. My mom could not contain her laughter when she heard how she drove a bike too fast around downtown with an outdated knowledge of how. Their favorite part had been when the faces of the people were contorted in fear and their bodies screamed an alert, with the intention to step aside in the hope of avoiding me on the bicycle. Her laughter was pure. She laughed without worries. I still remember the last words of that conversation we had held on the telephone in Oglethorpe Square.

When I was five years old, my mom grabbed me away from a crowd of kids who were playing in a sandbox and decided my future in the piano studio: “You will fall in love with it and it will make you more elegant.” I had no interest loving that huge, ponderous wooden box, but wanted to be Snow White. That is how I fell into the trap of piano, and have been happily “stuck” ever since.

Day 60: W-why am I here? I’m not crazy… Besides, it’s not my fault, he still terrorizes me!

As time went by, it seemed to fly faster and faster. Soon, it was the summer between my sophomore and junior years and I had an abundance of plans for how to spend my summer. One event stood out compared to all of the others. It would greatly influence my life and shape my my thoughts to the way they are today. Reminiscing on the events of my past, my journey to the glamorous mountains of Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico to hike for a week is indisputably the greatest memory of my life so far.

My life was seemingly perfect. Both of my siblings went to college to pursue their dreams. My mom worked hard and supported me through anything I did and my dad served in the National Guard. My dad retired from the National Guard just a fews years ago after serving for 27 years. When I was growing up he was my hero. We lived in a big house with endless acres for us to ride my dirt bikes, go four wheeling, and hunt on. I loved to be outdoors and active whenever I could. It was a place where I could be myself and run free. The best part of being outdoors though, was being able to share it with family. My favorite part was our own little farm. It was the most exciting thing a child could have in his backyard. We owned five beef cows and

I moved around quite a bit as a child and one move my family and I made was to Federalsburg, Maryland. We lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere and there wasn’t much for me to do. I joined the towns swim team to keep myself entertained and while there, I met a lady and her husband, both of whom are neurologists. I sat and talked with them every chance I could get; I was utterly intrigued by how fascinating the kind of work they did was. The lady, Gina, explained to me that being a neurologist isn’t easy, but satisfaction fills the soul when helping treat a patient. Moreover, she explained how interesting the brain is, “It’s a puzzle waiting to be put together.” I knew then that I wanted to be a neurologist and help put the puzzle pieces together.