My Love Of Love And Love In My Life

Growing up on a small farm in Purmela, TX, I was a shy kid with big dreams. My family all played musical instruments and we would go to my grandpa’s house often. Besides church, it was there where I watched my dad spill his sorrows, achievements and stories through his songs. With my grandpa on the fiddle and my cousins on various instruments, they would play on his back porch for hours upon hours. To a 10 year old kid, that back porch seemed bigger than the Grand Ole Opry. I loved to listen but it wasn’t until I turned 20 years old, that I picked up my first guitar. My dad surprised me with it one afternoon, and his exact words were, “you better learn how to play this thing”. So, I did and six weeks later I wrote my first

When I was ten, I was finally old enough to take guitar lessons at school. My parents enrolled me in the music program, but the school refused to give me lessons, because of my dodgy hands. I was devastated, but I wouldn’t take no for an answer, and dragged my Dad down to the local music store, where he bought me a cherry red electric guitar, and a Fender amp. I taught myself to play using Internet tutorials, and became pretty good, to the point that I got a full scholarship at the Sydney Music Academy.

At the beginning of fourth grade, Mom told me that I had a guitar lesson and that my grandpa had given me another guitar for the lesson. This guitar is a 1979 Alvarez acoustic that can now be found in my car 80% of the time, traveling with me in my Equinox. That Wednesday, I went to the Music Shoppe to have my first guitar lesson with Kyle. I learned about the basics of music and how to read tablature so that I could continue on an endeavor to learn chords and eventually

It has been fifteen years since my parents and my brother Jack adopted me. I was only two then, but now i’m seventeen. I love my life, I have a happy, loving family, I live in a nice house on a farm in Maine, my brother Jack is my bestfriend but I also have other friends, and I have a boyfriend named Justin. I guess you could say my life is perfect. Expect there’s more to me than you think. I’m adopted and even though I love my life there is still a part of me that wants to find my birth parents and know more about them. My parents tell me all about my birth dad. His name is Joseph. He loved me very much but he was only thirteen when I was born and then about a year later he died in a car wreck. Nobody really knows what happened to my mom,

At first introduction I am seen as perpetually cheerful and high energy. Coworkers, friends and acquaintances recognize quickly that I am fiercely competitive, passionate about my work, and easily classified as Type A personality. It is clear from my Instagram account I am obsessed with the outdoors; from skiing and hiking to mountain biking and camping, I search for adventure as often as possible. My Facebook is littered with photos of my four-year-old’s choice in outfits and silly quotes showing her viewpoint on the world. (“I’m a strong, interpendent woman!” is a recent favorite.) What many people don’t know, however, is the laundry list of traumas and tragedies I have endured. I often get the shocked deer-in-the-headlights look when someone finds out both my parents died within two years of each other. When it comes out that I married young to escape my emotionally abusive mother, just to realize my husband was also abusive, the comment is usually on how courageous it must have been to file for divorce and leave with my young toddler in tow. It is not uncommon to hear the exclamation, “But how are you so happy still?” after hearing of my multiple miscarriages.

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 was the first born in my family. I am the oldest of 20 great-grandchildren and 13 grandchildren; I’m the first of my generation in my family. With this being the case, I was often put in situations where it was just me and a bunch of adults. I am very grateful for this because, now, I can talk to adults and strangers very easily. Through these experiences, I have been able to have conversations with all sorts of people. I have heard stories of great success and of grand failures. In my experience, the wisest people are those who had awesome success without losing the meaning or true happiness of life. In my life, I have had two people who were real mentors to me, Jeff Sandefer and Gretchen Anderson.

Dear family, mother, father, dearest grandmother, and beloved cousins, if my misfortune is your happiness, then I'll gladly suffer. If my wails at night are music to your ears, then I’ll write you a symphony. If my blood, sweat, and tears keep you shining, then I’ll bleed you an ocean. To my family of whom I would do anything for, if the Hannah Pham in front of you doesn't meet your standards, then, I’ll gladly see her out.

American journalist Charles Kuralt said, “The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege.” What he is saying is that even if you have many privileges and a lot of money, it does not mean anything if you do not have family and friends. My family is very supportive of me. They always encourage me to do what makes me happy, and what I think is right. Even if we sometimes disagree, I know that I will always have them for guidance. I also have support and love from my friends, who are always there for me. I know that when I go through my life, I have the privilege of being supported and cared about by many people.

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

My whole family lived in Edison, New Jersey and I only saw my dad, brother, grandmother, grandfather, and my mother during my childhood. My mother was the person who had always helped me stay on the track to success. I called my mother Ma as a toddler because, I followed my brother in every way. Our culture was to call our mother Mama, but we could say Ma for short. My brother, Michael, called mother, Ma, and so I caught on. Ma was a hardworking, positive, and helpful parent. She wanted me to have a great future and has kept pushing me throughout the years of my life. The most important years Ma helped me through to become who I am was through the child years.

We were hungry, thirsty, dirty, and alone. When I was merely a toddler I had four step siblings, two brothers and two sisters. We had a mom that went out to date all the time and make new children. Most of our fathers were bums, living in the streets. As we go back to the story, my mother was not coming home after a long while. My brothers and I had dirty diapers, whereas my sisters were six and seven then, so they had no need for diapers, although we all were very hungry. Finally my sisters decided to visit their friend’s house from school and when the child’s mother saw what condition we were in, she fed us and cleaned us. Later the government separated us all and we all lived at each of our grandparents’ houses. This was at the same time I started school in kindergarten. During those first weeks there, I was diagnosed as having severe ADHD and this would affect me a lot at school, and with others.

On January 17, 2016, my family and myself travelled about two hours to a small town called Yantis in east Texas. The elders of our family would always get together multiple times a year to catch up and see each other since they were getting to an age where they can’t depend on themselves being here on this Earth. Out of the seven or eight senior members of the family, two or three had already passed by this time. Our Uncle Charles was not looking good either, over the past few months he went from multiple doctor check-ups a week, to being in the hospital, and then ultimately hospice care.

During the summer of 2008, my family and I took a trip to Rome. I had anticipated this for most of that year, and I was very excited when the day finally arrived to leave. Summer break was already a month in, and I had been packing for the last few days. The flight was almost nine hours, and most of the flight I slept. When we arrived in Italy, we went to our hotel and for the next few days, we went to many places like the, Colosseum and the Pantheon. We also went to many restaurants that reflected the Italian culture. I recall tasting a margarita, and it being some of the best pizza I 've had, it was thin and delicious. A few days into the trip, my parents decided to take us to the Sistine Chapel. At the time I had minimal knowledge of world history, so I did not understand what this place was, but once we arrived, I was amazed by its size , the beauty of the painting and I when I realize how old it was, I found it very interesting. We decided to take a tour, along with a tour guide, telling our group information along the way. Although we were in a group, there was a mass of other people, as well as many other tours going on. We would go to many rooms, some people would stay in a room, while others would move on. There was so much to see, and since there was art on the ceiling, my eyes were mostly locked above me. In a particular room, I had gone ahead, while my parents had stayed. I thought I had remembered what room they were, and how to get there from where I was, but I

I was thinking, “Am I an obstacle on the path of my husband's achievement. He wanted to use me as the stepping stone for his success. He disregarded my love, affection and romantic overture because I am a woman.”