My Family And My Life

The past two years have been the hardest in all of my seventeen years of living. Choosing a topic is both easy and difficult due to how personal it may become. However, the highlight of the past two years belongs to my family life, and the actions of a certain former member that has affected the lives of many in my family. This person was in my life for over a decade up until around May of 2016, where the year truly kicked off for the family.

Around six to three months before this tragedy occurred, my grandpa’s health had taken a turn for the worst. We would be awake at midnight, hearing him violently vomit crimson colored fluid. He couldn't get up or walk without my mother or grandma’s assistance. A brutal cough would take both his breath and voice away. Yet, he was so understanding and caring of both my brother and I. He would do everything he could to play with me or tell me a story, since he knew that I didn’t know any better. A couple months before his passing, I came home from school to find no one home except my anxious looking aunt and my then three-year old cousin. I remember running to my grandparents’ room to greet my grandparents, but when I opened the door, no one was there. I ran to my aunt and asked her where everyone was. I could see in her face that she was worried, but she tried to be as calm as possible so she wouldn’t scare me.

About two years ago, my Grandmother died, two days later we were at the funeral home a couple minutes away from her house, it smelled like old people and salt, probably from the tears that were shed here. The curtains let in beams of light through the intricate design on the tops, it looked like the light beams were telling us that heaven was fetching her from her body, as my mom says. After that we hastily, but bitterly went through the process of all her daughters and her brother (my great uncle) saying their goodbyes first, then my cousins, brother, and family members from my dad's side got to say their goodbyes. My mother and aunts came out crying, I don’t know what it's like to lose a parent so I can’t apprehend what they’re going through emotionally, the only loss I’ve had before this was my fish. My younger cousins didn't understand death, they thought it just meant going to sleep, but my older cousins, brother, and I knew she wasn't going to

In the weeks I hadn’t heard any news, Grandma became extremely weak and vulnerable, and the flu virus ate away at what was remaining. The doctors could not get her lungs or her heart to function properly. By the time I had arrived at the hospital, she was already in a kind of vegetative state in the final hours of her life. I was extremely upset and confused at the same time. I couldn’t bear to watch what was happening. Everyone was gathered around her cot, and all that could be heard was the helpless sobbing, and the sound of the heart monitor beeping slowly. I was so frustrated. This family loved their parents. The opportunity for my mother and her siblings to say goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma before they died had been stolen. After a couple hours of waiting in the spacious, brightly-lit hospital room as my grandmother’s final heart beats could be heard from the machines, I decided that I wanted to go home. My father brought me back to the house, and Grandma passed away about three hours later. It was the early morning of July 6th, 2011. She was 77 years

As a little girl I thought I would live a happily ever after life just like in the movies.

For the past 17 years of my life, I have been single, which allowed me to be happy and free. I knew I would find the one that would steal my heart and treat me like I deserve, so I had every right to be carefree. Then, in April of 2017, I met a boy through mutual friends and we clicked, instantly. My whole world changed for the better and I was on cloud nine every time we talked, touched, and even when we looked at each other. It moved pretty quickly, but it felt right to do so. Then, on May 7, 2017, we made it official… we were dating. It was a blast up until he left to go council at church camp on June 5 because he would be gone the entire week and come home on Saturday afternoons and leave Sunday evenings. I was devastated when he left because he was no longer with me physically, but the thing he kept telling me was, “I am in your heart, so I am always with you.” This, along with the brief morning and good night conversations, is what helped me made me make it through the week until Saturday came. We were happy and made the most out of the little time that we got to spend together. Then, on July 6, I went to Costa Rica and instead of being a counselor, he was a camper. While I was in Costa Rica, I had little to no internet connection and since he was a camper, he was not allowed to have his phone at all. Given this, we did not talk at all that week. I came home late on the fourteenth of July and when I saw him the next day, I knew in my heart something was different. He

I think about my life every night before I go to bed. As a kid, I was not worried about the future. However, as I was introduced to the reality of drugs and alcohol in my neighborhood, my life took a turn. I chose the wrong path for a few years. As I got older, I realized life could be different if I made wise decisions.

My mom once told me when I was young and ignorant, “Faith is the foundation of a beautiful friendship with the one person who will always remain by your side”. These words were expressed even more profoundly every Sunday in the echoing corridors of a small church by a priest I had yet to know or even care about. Preaching with his perplexing words in which I could only muster barely a fourth of my full attention span listening to. Thus, the term faith did not exactly resonate with me until many years later. My early years were filled with the teachings of the bible in Sunday school and later on as well in middle school during Friday night sessions. Unfortunately, my mom was an extremely strong enforcer of our faith for she was also raised Catholic from birth, but my dad on the other hand has a more scientific approach to how the world came to be. The years I spent in Sunday school blurred into an everlasting line of bleak nothingness just a ticking clock waiting till an end. Even today I do not remember anything that occurred within those taxing sixty minuets of constant bible studies it’s as though I lost the key to the inner workings of my childhood. Nonetheless, there have always been unbelievably great role models in my faith such as my mom, youth ministers, and friends who encourage me to be open to my faith. However, it’s always been my own restrictions that prevent me from furthering my relationship with God. So when my sister suffered her first severe

It was Monday, June 9, 2014 and I'm sitting at my grandparent’s back porch having a normal conversation as I always would. We were talking about our plans and what we were going to do the next day together. It was summertime, so we were planning on going out to get breakfast around 9 A.M. at our local favorite restaurant, American Table. We continued to talk for awhile, but it was starting to get late and time to go to bed. I said my goodbyes and walked home as we were next door neighbors and only lived 15 feet away. As I lay sound asleep in my bed and morning came we were startled by the sound of pounding on our front door. My mom hurried down the stairs and to the door where my next door neighbor was frantically saying “hurry you need to go next door to your dads, something has happened.” My mom started yelling up to my brother and I to get out of bed and hurry to my grandpa's to see what was going on. What I saw as I ran next door to my grandparents is something i'll never forget. The bright flashing red and white lights of the ambulance and the EMTs rushing into my grandparents front door.

The type of people I enjoy spending time with are real down to0 earth people who like to have fun. I love to hang around people that are brave enough to do more things than me. Someone who is not scared to take risks in life, but also knows there limit as well. Not saying that I love people who gets in to trouble all the time, but they help you to be more open- minded to life. Those people like that can look back one day and not regret any chances that they talked about taking and never did. People whom live in the moment and not worry about what tomorrow might bring. I love real genuine, caring people who is not scared to speak their mind. Special qualities that not only will they hurt with the truth, but they are also there to pick you up when you fall. Having people like that in your life is a blessing meeting people with real loyalty is rare. Those are once in a lifetime people that you may not get a chance to meet every day. I have always been a shy person, but only shy until you meet me. Anyone who has ever got to know me personally knows how hard I love for people and care for them, always a shoulder to cry on, as well as a “honest ear”. I tend to always care what people say and how they judge me. That’s why I only enjoy certain qualities in people, someone who can bring me out my shell at times. Always having someone to tell me how the sky is the limit, and you are open to become whatever you want in the world. With anyone,

Our parents are very hard-working people. Our parents both work day and nights. They embody the “American Dream”. .My father was always hustling and bustling whether it was in the states or overseas. So, he was not as much a part of my brother and I’s childhood as we had hoped. My mother, on the other hand, took the role of dual-parenting and took care of us at home. Though, she was also busy clocking in and out. We made the most of our time together and they were the most memorable moments. At the end of the day, life treated my brother and I really well. With that, our parents could not leave us to fend for ourselves at home alone--me being three years old with a younger brother and all. But,. growing up, my brother and I spent our childhood with one of our close cousin, ‘tina’s, grandmother. She had a special nickname, “Meema”, that everyone knew her by.

There’s usually not a lot of words that I could use to describe myself whenever people ask me to tell them about who I am, but for this letter I’ll make it work! I guess I could start by telling you a few things about my family, so here I go. I live with both of my parents and siblings in a quite small house with a German Shepherd dog. As you know, both of my siblings--- Augustus and Ellen--- graduated here in DMCI a few years ago. They’re doing really great in university, well except when they have exams because they tend to stress a lot. I’ve done many things with my siblings, and I guess that’s the reason why I got to know and got the chance face my fears. As for my parents, they exposed me to different things in life that I could potentially love or hate, which is what made me who I am today. While everyone else made me realize the important things in life and that is living your life to the fullest, just like the summer I had this year.

I grew up with both my parents working hard each day and an older brother that always pushed himself every day to do his best. What I admire about my family is how they care about people and how they interact every day with other individuals attempting to get others to feel hope, opportunity, and joy. My hope is to inherit their caring, determined hearts and carry it with me through college and the rest of my life to make a difference.

When I was in high school, I wanted to travel to Untied State to study in university there when I finish the high school, and it was my only wish in my life. All I wanted is go to there and study, but not all wishes in life anyone could be come true, it should be many things stop in our ways, and something makes us stop thinking about it and give up. This is our problem we have, but we know that some of us have a determination and resolve, and we could realize all our wishes without hesitation. And I was ones of them, I wanted to building my future by my self.

I can proudly say that I am happy of the person I am becoming . Throughout