My Life Experience

For the majority of my life, I had been shy, even though it didn’t seem like it most of the time, I was scared to death when I met new people. I know that it sounds extremely trivial, but I feel that when you first meet someone, you’re ultimately giving them their first impression of yourself and that is a lot of pressure. It seemed almost certain that I would lead a life of being a social wallflower until March 2017, more specifically, March 28th, 2017. This day was and still is important to me because I learned how to be confident, and through my experience, it taught me something that I will hold onto forever. Prior to this day, I was an extremely introverted person and rarely went out of my way to make friends. As a volunteer at day

The morning dew was still on the ground from the steady drizzle the night before as I glanced outside to inspect the weather. I woke up as usual that morning around three o’clock threw my sweatshirt on, stuffed my bag with a dry towel and suit, grabbed some breakfast, and headed off. I didn't rush this time frantically trying to make it there on time. Instead I walked to my car step by step as my mind slowly turned to mush from the feeling of my life slipping away. I knew that as an millennial older generations saw me as an sheltered child, coddled through all my problems. If only this was true I thought, oh how life would be different. I was being crushed by an ever growing pressure to remain swimming on an national level, but still obtain and function within my two jobs. On top of all of this school was to be my primary focus, but I was unable to effectively operate in my school work because of this consuming monster. To them though it's only two jobs, it's only swimming morning and afternoon, it's only school. To them we aren't teens or young adults but children who are given everything.

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 was 6 years old when I got the news that me and my family were moving to Portugal for a few years. It was my first time on an airplane, my dad had recently got a job in Portugal and we all moved there to stay close to him because it would be a few years. I was having the best of times on that airplane and couldn’t wait to land in a different country, for the first time as well. I had an amazing childhood, we ended up staying five and a half years in Portugal. In these five and a half years, we were able to travel a lot inside Europe because it was practical and very cheap. We traveled throughout Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Greece, Austria, and Andorra. We even went to Morocco because it was very close to Portugal, and it was one of the best trips I ever had taken. After all of this, I fell in love with traveling.

As I boarded the charter bus to my second year of Unidiversity (an annual summer youth trip in Tennessee), I could not begin to imagine the person I would become as a result of this trip. As a teenager going into my last year of middle school, I was determined to have the time of my life. I wanted to have fun, make a better connection with friends, play games, laugh, and really enjoy the time with my leaders and friends. At this point in my life, I was hiding a dark secret that only two other people in my life knew about; I was bisexual. As an almost eighth grader, I was comfortable with my sexuality, but I didn’t know how to explain it to others, and although I knew my friends would accept me for who I was, something was holding me back. I would walk around hiding behind I mask that I thought was permanent, a mask that told everyone that I was one thing, when I was really another. Little did I know that I was about to rip off the mask, and show my true self for the first time in my life.

When I heard the engines starting, my eyelids collapsed and took slow breaths to not hyperventilate . I was nine. I inhaled sharply, and my hands gripped my mom’s arm tight as fear of death washes over me. I don't want to die. God don't let me die. Next thing I knew, we were high up in the sky. I looked out the window, wispy clouds dancing in the air. July 2, 2009 was when I boarded the flight to the U.S. As the plane skidded to a halt on the runway, I knew my life would be different.

For many, there is nothing more important than to have the acceptance and unconditional love from your mother, sadly this was not my experience. I remember the day that changed my life forever as if it were yesterday. I was 18 years old and I did not feel well. I smoked a cigarette to calm my frantic nerves before I walked into the clinic. I sat in the old and dreary waiting room and awaited my fate. The nurse called my name and I stood up as if I just won an award. As instructed, I took a urine test and sat with disbelief as I waited for the results that would determine my future. The Dr. entered the cold and sterile room and looked at me with disappointment as he questioned my sexual activity. “Ms. Fuentes, are you sexually active? “ “Yes, I am”. “Do you only have one partner? “Yes, I do. “Have you missed your period “? Yes

July 3, 8 AM in the morning Woke up thinking that this camp is going to be amazing and it is going to be one of my most memorial times of my life. I got up and got ready to leave my home sweet home, I reached there and when I pulled up in the schools parking lot it was kind of awkward. When I reached their everybody was just watching me in the car but I shook it off because I thought that everybody probably had those moments, so I hopped off the car and loaded my luggage on the bus and stood there with my friends while my parents were talking and meeting with new people. At last it was the moment of Good Bye so I gave my parents a hug and got on the bus with my fellow friend Aarav, the bus ride was an hour and around 15 min. The bus ride was fun so we barely knew when time passed by and we reached our campus " Snively''. When we reached there we had to take our luggage and put it in the main hall, we were asked to take a seat on the couches and we found out our bunk mates in one room and with a coincidence I was in a room with everyone I wanted to be with. So we took our luggage and put it in our rooms, when we came back down the Councillors Jeremy and Savaugn took us on an adventure in the forest so we will be well familiar with the area. We had to walk on tight ropes with a partner on the other side then we had to take a rope than swing to the other side of the half which was super fun. The next adventure was we hall had to stand on a really huge seesaw and we had to

It was a dark and perspiring night as the wind was breezing on my face. My parents and I went to the entrance of the airport in Ethiopia. The date was September 15, 2017 and that day was the day that we were leaving Ethiopia. We had stayed there for one month for a vacation and to meet our other family members. We went at 7:30 pm and the flight was at 10:30. We went a bit early because it is better than being late. Also, if a problem insists, we would have time to fix it but that wouldn’t happen,...right? Honestly, I didn't think we would've gotten on the airplane that night because of that horrible incident. It was the most meaningful experience of my life because it made me surprised when I heard that our visa was expired. All this time we did not check that the visa stamp said that September 14 is the day were leaving in the month that we stayed there. We told the people who worked at the Immigration that we were leaving on September 15 but their mistake caused us to be a problem when we were about to leave Ethiopia. We had to be in a rush so we didn’t miss the airplane flight. For that reason, the life lesson that I learned is that managing your time is crucial when it comes for many reasons. We came a little early so would get the process before the flight done and if something happens, then we would have plenty of time to do something about it. If we didn't manage our time and we came later, we would probably miss our flight or we would've gotten really

It was the summer of 15. Filled with travel, laughter, and smiles. But, at that time I didn’t pay attention or even cherish those moments. Now, I truly know how much I miss the feeling of being that happy all the time.

It was early morning; I had slept very little.  My stomach was torn between hungry and sick.  The fact that my nerves were on edge did not help the situation.

"Take a moment to think of just flexibility, love, and trust," has been my mantra for this whole senior year. It’s something I try to think about when I decide anything important in my life. Rather it’s setting goals for myself, procuring different interests, or choosing in right college, thinking about flexibility, love, and trust is how I try to keep my mind straight for the next couple of years.

My life was perfect, I got along with my siblings, my mom and I were close… Well then there’s my dad. We were always really close, he and I would go out to the barn together at the old house and he would speak to me as if I were the audience. We always enjoyed each other's company until one day he started acting strange, and then stranger, and then even stranger until the point where my mom found him in the middle of the night standing in a parking lot in his pajamas. She eventually left him… I don’t blame her, I mean he wouldn’t get help.

It was a dark and warm night as the wind was breezing on my face. My parents and I went to the entrance of the airport in Ethiopia. The date was September 15, 2017 and that day was the day that we were leaving Ethiopia. We had stayed there for one month for a vacation and to meet our other family members. We went at 7:30 pm and the flight was at 10:30. We went a bit early because it is better than being late. Also, if a problem insists, we would have time to fix it but that wouldn’t happen,...right? Honestly, I didn't think we would've gotten on the airplane that night because of that horrible incident. It was the most meaningful experience of my life because it made me surprised when I heard that our visa was expired. All this time we did not check that the visa stamp said that September 14 is the day were leaving in the month that we stayed there. We told the people who worked at the Immigration that we were leaving on September 15 but their mistake caused us to be a problem when we were about to leave Ethiopia. We had to be in a rush so we didn’t miss the airplane flight. For that reason, the life lesson that I learned is that managing your time is crucial when it comes for many reasons. We came a little early so would get the process before the flight done and if something happens, then we would have plenty of time to do something about it. If we didn't manage our time and we came later, we would probably miss our flight or we would've gotten really

I was sitting in the plane going to where my mother lived when she was a kid, finally landing at the only airport in my entire state and the 45 min drive to my “home” I felt a new emotion I had never felt or known about at the time, anxious. First an outcast as an American with Indian heritage, but now as another outcast but this time as an Indian with American heritage. I recall on my thoughts that I had sprinting throughout my mind as the heat kept pounding against my skin. Not sure whether to be nervous, Thrilled, or homesick. It wasn’t the night my parents decided it was best for my brother and I to go to India and live there for 2 years it was that night, my first night sleeping without the same bed, power rangers bed set with yu-gi-yoh and Pokémon pillows that I had realized my life was never going to be the same.