My Mountains And My Valleys

My brother was one of those at risks teens who dropped out of high school only to bounce around between jobs and crime until he saw a way out and joined the military. He became an Army combat medic and served 3 tours in Iraq before having to return home for spinal surgery where they replaced 4 vertebrae from multiple IED explosions. I took time off that summer to visit him and help him while he was on bed rest. Over the course of him recovering we discussed our lives and where we came from and what we were going to. I was there to help my brother but he did more for me in those conversations than anyone had in my life. I fell in love with his medical stories and would sit wide eyed listening to each experience. He eventually grew tired of me asking him questions and told me I should look into the medical as I was infatuated with his experiences. It was in that moment I recalled that summer conversation with the outreach worker and discussed my concerns with my brother. He looked me in the eyes just as the outreach worker did before and told me he was a high school dropout who had trouble with the law and turned his life around to find his passion. It didn’t matter he did poorly in high school or came from an impoverished neighborhood or had low expectations of success, he had control on the outcome of his life and chased down the life he wanted overcoming what was this predisposed outlook on life we were

I came home one day to see both of my parents sad. As a third grader, I didn’t completely understand at the time, but my father had been laid off from the job he’d had since his teenage years. My father had started at the age of eighteen as a student worker at Southern Miss, and after years of hard work he had been promoted to the manager of shipping and receiving on campus. When the recession struck, the need to save money resulted in his position being terminated. My father was without a job. My father loved that job and when he lost it, he changed. He found a new love, alcohol. He let his love for alcohol become an addiction. He would do anything for alcohol; he even had secret stashes when my mom had removed all the prior alcohol from the house. Quickly my father became a violent drunk and began to routinely beat my mother and me. He became unstoppable; no person could get him back on track so my mother, in an attempt to keep me safe, removed him from the house. Even my mother’s best efforts weren’t always enough, as my father constantly broke into our house. One day my mother and I came home and my father was waiting in our den with a gun. We walked in, he pointed the gun at us, and then back at himself. He couldn’t decide to kill my mother, himself, or just all of us. He had more hatred in his eyes

I would have to say looing back over the last five years my life has developed in to exactly what I have always wanted it to be. After going through a nasty divorce about eight years ago I went on a path of self destruction. I started drinking heavily and using drugs and a way to numb the pain I was going through. Finally after doing a few things that I’m really not proud of I had a wake up call. I got in to some legal trouble which opened my eyes to all the things I may have lost if I continued living my life that way. I then decided it was time to make some changes, I went back to school and obtained my G.E.D. and then

My life is a spitting image of the aphorism, "The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones", by William Faulkner, because of the way I value myself and time. My life projects this aphorism by showing that I often have to start from the very bottom to get to the top, and that I encounter various situations. And it depicts that I have ambition and that hard-work pays off. I am like the man who removes the mountain by carrying small stones away.

Through his struggle, I gained much-needed compassion and understanding. Prior to this transition, I was unsympathetic and insensitive to others and their struggles. I am now able to place myself in the position of others to understand their circumstances. I no longer judge others based solely on my initial thoughts. I used to fear the discovery of my brother’s problem would distort others’ perceptions of me, now; I am no longer restrained by what is regarded of me.

As a 11 year old girl, I felt left out and craving their attention. Sanders felt guilty for his father’s alcoholism “I tell myself he drinks to ease an ache that gnaws at his belly, an ache I must have caused by disappointing him somehow…, “ (242). He feels he needs to be perfect to prevent his father from indulging drinks, as I feel I need to be perfect for my parents in order to get their attention. I feel as if it is my fault they were in this predicament with my brother. My anxiety grew as I was only trying to understand what I could do to make things better and comprehend how they are

Depression, sadness, regret, and many other feelings that I have felt my entire life affected me in a way that I hate them, yet am also thankful for. Those challenges also gave some of the most important experience anyone could wish for, reality. Without suffering and dying a few times I would never have gotten the experiences I’m going to keep for my lifetime. I learned that everything that happens in your life is either on purpose or create by the action that one makes which end up making the person we get to live as when we’re

Many times in my life, I have received many lessons from my father. My father is a special man, he's nurtured me, cared for me in a way no man will ever get to do. My dad is someone who I can always say has been there for me, and i couldn't ever imagine life without him. Yet, there is one thing i can't ever forget. He's an alcoholic. My "dad" was never there, the alcohol was. There were times when i just couldn't believe to smell the alcohol on his breath. My whole life, my dad was in the Navy, so we moved around a lot. We never really had a home until i was around 7 years old, so through that time we struggled to have a real family due to us living out of boxes. When we bought our home in Harbor Ridge, things changed. My dad was really there, he went to my sporting events, he was home for dinner, and he was even there to tuck me into bed

Admittedly, this essay is a permission essay, and with that label it sounds as if one must only write about the failings of life. No happy endings. But here I stray from the mark. God swooped down, with his billowing, superhero cape of providence and love and compassion, and lifted me up in His hands. His timing was perfect. Summer break came, and after that Spiritual Disciples and whole host of supporting, loving people—a break from the pursuit of

As a young child I learned what the good group of kids looked like and what the bad group of kids looked like. In movies, the bad group of people are portrayed in high school as boys who wear really big clothing and girls that wear too dark of makeup. However after my junior year, I now know that you never really can tell between who the good and the bad people really are. Starting from when I was very young, my brother began changing my entire life for the better because I grew up with him in and out of jails and prisons for theft, drug use, and underage consumption. During his time in jails and prisons, it killed my mother and father. However for me, I never really knew the person labeled as my brother. He was a shadow with a name for me.

situation I was facing into an unsurpassable mountain. During these trials, I lost my faith in

“Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.” (Jerry Seinfeld) Most people don’t know what life will bring or what road they will have to travel until that time comes. George never knew the only way he could save his best friend would be to kill him and Hamlet never knew he would die from being poisoned by my uncle and friend. All the trails and tribulations that you encounter are only to make you better person even if it’s bad. Personally I have been through a lot in 16 years. Some good and some bad but at the end it made me the young last that I am today. Your life experiences only prepare you for the real word. Three life experiences that made me who I am are Death of my uncle, my mom being ill and the switching of

Twenty-one years old my middle brother began to drink constantly on a regular basis. Problems back home had influenced him in drinking, but also the people he correlated himself with back then. He took quite some time to overcome his addiction, but during his intoxicated moments he resembled that of Victor’s family. One night during my brother’s intoxication my brother had come down to our house to get away. When my brother rang the doorbell, I quickly rushed towards the door, opening it to find my brother’s eyes bloodshot red. Walking in face forwards he slowly took what felt like one hundred paces to our red couch, which already contained a few broken springs on the left cushion. Once reaching the target he plopped down like a heavy book

     So far in my life many things have happened, some good, some not but I realize that all that I

My life has been a crazy roller coaster with many events that have affected my life all in different ways. There have been times where my life has been at its highest peak in the world then it falls down, right into a deep valley. From the time my lovable younger sister came into my life to when my grandpa had a near death experience, I have learned many valuable lessons through the rough times as well as the more happy times. When I was a young girl, my mom had always told me the same thing over and over again. I never really thought about how a few words would have a deep effect on me in a short amount of time.