My Family Experience

In December of 2005, my family and I came to the United States from the Dominican Republic. I came to the United States because my parents wanted to provide my siblings and I a better future. In my hometown, The U.S is considered the country of opportunities. At that time, I was oblivious and unaware of what was going on. I did not understand why I had to move across the world. When we came to United States, my family and I had to live with my grandfather. He shared his home and provided us with anything we needed. It was difficult adjusting to a new culture and environment.

Moving to the US with my dad, I had to learn to take care of myself and be independent. I had to tell myself that my mom is a thousand miles away and i’m on my own now. I used to cry every night because I was feeling homesick and i miss my mom and siblings so much. I miss the moments in the place I grew up in. I miss all the moments that I had with my siblings, playing and just being kids. I miss the moments where my mom would teach me how to cook and how to do other chores at home. I miss the moments where my mom was just steps away ready to comfort me. Because of this huge transition in my life, I became the person who I am today. I learned how to be independent and be stronger. I learned how to be a bigger person. My first week in the US was quite difficult. I wake up every morning only to realize that i’m in a different place. I cook breakfast for myself everyday, and I felt really lonely because I was just by myself in the kitchen. I feel so alone. Everything in the US was very fast paced and you have to move quickly or you’ll get left behind and you wouldn’t have any progress. On my first day at school, i felt so left out. Everybody were talking to their friends and there I was standing in the corner, not sure what to do. I tried to blend in but it was hard for me because i was scared that they might judge me. However, after a couple more weeks, I finally adjusted to my new lifestyle and met

The stories from our parents and grandparents always hold a special place in our hearts, for just an instance we get to see what the world was like from a more mature individual’s perspective, we get to live the days they did through the stories they share. My grandma, or what she is to me; my meme, has shared a variety of stories from her childhood that has allowed me to see some of the challenges and opportunities she had faced growing up. My favorite story she has shared with me would be about the time my memes parents decided to move states. The story tells about the trip on the way to move, the short amount of time they stayed, and lastly, the decision to moving back, to where they previously resided.

Before my arrival to the United States, I had been living with my aunt and uncle for about one year, that way, my parents could establish themselves in the U.S. before my sister and I arrived. A few months after I celebrated my seventh birthday, I moved from Ethiopia to the United States, so that I could be reunited with my parents. The excitement of being able to just hug my parents again eclipsed any fear I had about traveling half way across the world, away from anything I was previously familiar with. I knew my life was never going to be the same once again, and after 13 years of living here in the U.S. I can fully attest to that.

Life is a journey and I wasted part of it. My freshmen year I was thinking the same thing that the vast majority of other high school students were, “When does school end?” This attitude, where I prioritized personal entertainment and immediate satisfaction as a priority over the hypothetical bump in the road that I chose to ignore, is what led me to get a ~2.3 GPA my freshman and sophomore year. I spent my after school hours spending as much time playing video games as I could and trying to put in as little effort as I could into school while still getting a grade that would not completely disappoint my family. According to source 1, “about 25% of freshmen fail to graduate high school on time.” I was on that path. During my summer after sophomore year, I decided to start looking into colleges and what requirements they had to enroll, and I was shocked at what I found. I found that in my position I would not enroll in the large majority of the universities that peaked my interests. It was this sudden realization that hit me, like a tsunami of life crashing down on me, making me realize that I was wasting my potential and making things more difficult for myself. I had always been so wrapped up in the quests that were made for me in the games that I played, that I became heedless to the most epic quest of all, such being the quest of life. I believe that my realization that my future depends upon the decisions I make, what I wanted from my future, and how close it really is

All of my life I had always had plenty of friends. I lived in the same neighborhood for a good part of my childhood, where there were plenty of children my age. I grew up with most of my friends, I knew them so long I could not even remember the first time I met them. When my family moved due to my father’s promotion, I was so excited for a change in scenery that it never occurred to me I would be leaving all my friends behind. Upon arriving in our new home I realized all the people I had grown close to over the years were gone. On social media I felt excluded, I saw them enjoying themselves, while I stayed at home alone. I felt like an alien to my new home and convinced myself, for a time, that I would never be happy there. I was in essence an outsider. After several weeks of wallowing the sorrow of my loneliness, I refused to allow the fear I had of my new environment hold me back from living happily. I resolved to make new friends with whom I would build lasting memories.

Two months ago when my grandmother passed away it was tough for my family. It felt odd, like we just lost something. It was hard to explain the feeling. My mom had it pretty rough and was going down hill. Then one day My dad decided to to get a dog I was sceptical initially but I agreed to it.

The environment in which I was raised was very thrilling. My family and close friends have had such an impact on my life and I’ll always be so grateful for them. They are very encouraging and always keep an open mind. I’ve learned so much within my seventeen years of life. As I’ve been growing up they’ve helped me realize that It’s okay if it's not right just keep moving and don't take the melancholy parts of life too hard, always learn to be and have a sanguine attitude. They’re always proud of me no matter what I do or who I am.

It’s not easy to experience the loss of a loved one. It’s a time of deep sadness and sorrow that brings family and friends together to say their last good byes. I was fortunate to be able to witness a family during the passing of their loved one. It might seem insensitive to do an observation during such an intimate event. But, when I explain the reasons why I chose this particular event it will all make sense.

This is a story about my sister Autumn having a baby boy named Steven. She lived in Jonesboro Arkansas with us all at home. Just her, my sister Breanna, my baby sister Jasmine, mom and dad. My mom is very kindhearted, enthusiastic, sweet, grateful, and caring. She is there to help us through everything. My dad is also as outstanding as my mom because he is very kind-hearted, courageous, strong, skillful, and extremely amusing. He is also there for everyone; makes the family smile, laughs, and cheering when we are down. He provides the truth through us even if it is not what we really want to hear, but that’s how our parents are, and always will be. But, besides our family, we lived in a big white house that didn’t have a really big yard, three bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, and living room. And on the outside of the house in Jonesboro, it is really busy and lots of traffic but most of the traffic is at five o'clock rush hour. It is a really busy town and a big town. But It has always just been us and that is just the way we have always lived. I had my own room, my sister Breanna and Autumn shared a room because my sister Autumn decides she was going to be moving out soon, and my parents shared a room. And my baby sister put her stuff in there room to but my baby sister slept where ever she passed out at. Also, we would all just hang around have fun at the house and everything but then one day My oldest sister said she needed to talk to us that night so we all were in the

When I was a young girl my Uncle Brian passed, his death leaving a drastic impact on my family. But the thing that affected my family the most was that his wife took away all we had left of my uncle, my younger cousin. Family relationships have always been a very significant part of my childhood and having one of our own taken from us, added just another hardship to our lives.

I still remember what happened the night that I thought my life was going to change completely, and I knew it would be a struggle for me both emotionally and academically. That night my parents had gotten into a huge argument of which my dad was hiding something from my mom and his phone and everytime she would bring it up he would get really tense. Yet that night he couldn’t handle it anymore and began to yell at my mom which made me be in shock and scared. I started to panic and had no idea on what to do except to cry and yelling them to please stop. I started to feel pain in my chest and that’s when I realized my anxiety was starting to kick in which was the worst feeling. My mom noticed what was happening to me and stopped yelling and ran up to me to calm me down before my anxiety would get worse. The rest of the night the tension was still felt in the air and, I knew that from that day forward nothing will ever be the same at home, and I wouldn’t be the same person both in school and home. When I had gone to school whatever my teachers were talking about or teaching I was unable to focus. I still did any work that was assigned to me, but it wasn’t all of my effort that I could have put into the assignments because the dark hole was slowly pulling me in deeper to it. I knew that this changed would be something that would take a while t

In a small world nursing is a big concept. My name is Odalis Lopez and I am currently 17 years old. My desire is to get into nursing because I have always shown a growing interest into it. It strikes me as a worthwhile and satisfying career to choose. Meanwhile that has always been my interest; I decided to join an ROP program involving the Medical field. So far being in that program has been my biggest accomplishment because through that program I got to work in an actual clinic called Health Works Medical Group Center. I was in that program for about two months, but in

While working on my genogram I found it a bit difficult to put it all onto a page. I have information dating back to my great great, grandparents on both side of my parents. Although I do not have all the information pertaining to my great aunts and uncles etc. I do have most of the information from my great great, grandparents down to my parents. My great grandfather on my mom’s side died of old age at 96 years, while his first wife died of breast cancer sometime in the late 40’s. His second wife Rose died at the age of 94. She had children from her first marriage, but I have never met them. I knew both as a child and remember them fondly, however I do not know about their up brining. This was on my grandfather’s side of the family. My

When I was eight years old my parents separated, and they got officially divorced when I was twelve. After my parents separated, my mother took on being a single-parent. My father gave up all his rights to my sister and I. Prior to my parents separating, my family was considered upper-middle class. My dad worked as a computer engineer, and my mom was a stay at home mother. After my parents split, my sister and I went from having everything to nothing in a day. My mom had to move back in with her parents until she could find a full-time job and a place for us to live. Because I have seen my mother struggle as a single-mother, I matured a lot faster than most children my age. Even though we struggled with money growing up, my mother always made it a point to go on vacation yearly with my sister and I; I have been to over 30 states because my mom loves to road trip. Additionally, it has always been a family tradition of ours to go to the state fair every year. Because of my family experience growing up, I am very independent. I also learned to appreciate the little things in life. My mom always taught my sister and I that time spent with family is far more valuable than materialistic things. My mother and I are very close to this day, and I will forever be grateful for everything she has done for my sister and me.