I never thought the day would come where I’d have to admit to myself I had an addiction. The hardest part was to except the fact I was an addict of painkillers and admitting it to my family so that I could get the help and support needed to get clean. The road leading to my addiction started with the factors of my childhood, always trying to fit in and not being supported emotionally from my parents. Having a child at the age of sixteen was the second factor, which made me grow up faster than a normal child at my age would have had to. Living the life of an addict was a struggle everyday but, getting help was the hardest part of it all. I’ll live with this disease for the rest of my life because recovery is a
Graduation day is something many people will never forget. One of my biggest moments in my life was the day of graduation and the weeks leading up to it. It was one of the most exciting but nerve-racking moments in my high school years. Hearing my name being called to receive my diploma made things so surreal. I realized I was walking toward a new beginning in life and at that moment I realized how fast time had past. I was no longer a child anymore.
So, I got lost in the middle of Silverwood in Idaho with my little cousin…
It was a normal Friday in March except for the fact that I got my license. So my friends and I thought about what we were going to do now that I have my license. Well, we cruised around town thinking we were hot stuff and that we were better that most kids in school since I had my license before many of my friends. We decided that we'd go off-roading since I had the huge truck. It was a hunter green 1979 Ford F-250 Custom. It had huge 33-inch tires, a loud crackling exhaust, and a unique 2-inch thick oak plank flatbed. It really was a beast. So we roared around the backroads hitting bumps and flying into fields just causing a little mischief not doing too much harm. After a week of horsing around
It’s four o’clock in the afternoon and the sun is still shining bright in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. It is hot outside, about 99 degrees. My heart is pounding with fear of the unknown. The bus stops and the doors fold open. A soldier comes running up the bus stairs in a round brown hat screaming at the top of his lungs, “Get off the bus, now soldiers!” I jump out of my seat and immediately rush to the front of the bus, along with about twenty other new recruits. I have no idea what to expect but have heard the horror stories about basic training and how much the Drill Sergeants yell and apparently this Drill Sergeant has a set of lungs on him that could dwarf a bullhorn.
In the summer of 2013 I moved in my dad’s house for the summer to learn how to cook. Moving from Cherokee, AL to Florence, AL was a stressful move. My Mother and I agreed it was best I learn from someone that has being in the field for over 15 years. The game plan was to go work with my dad a Dale’s Steakhouse with my dad all summer. I made sure I grab my notebook and plenty of pencils so I can ask him questions.
As I saw him walk towards my locker at school, as he usually did after 8th period everyday, I could tell what was about to happen. My name was all that I would let him say before I finished what I already knew he was going to say. "You're breaking up with me". And then I just turned and walked away as he called my name yet again but did nothing to catch up to me. I walked down the hallway by the counselors office in the B building where my group of friends usually hung around and exclaimed that he had just broken up with me. They offered me quick condolences before I walked to my bus and sat quietly till I got home. What then felt like a bitter goodbye eventually felt like a necessary sadness in order to obtain happiness.
My eyes were the worst mixture of bloodshot, purple and torture, my body in the worst state possible having gone seventy two hours without sleep, a meal and a proper shower and my mind, a complete mess. I was physically and mentally exhausted, my body and face displaying it all, yet I don't think I had ever came to know who I was more than at the very moment I saw myself completely shut down.
Last year, in October during the cheerleader’s concert, that my mom and dad were singing at, I asked, “Do you want to dance?” My mom said, “yes”. Walking out to dance, she fell and accidently tripped me and landed on my ankle. It felt as if someone was breaking my leg in half. It got really numb where I couldn’t feel it, but I still knew I was in some pain. Picking me up off the ground, my mom sat me on the bleachers. Everyone came over there and it was really embarrassing. My dad carried me to the car and we drove to the dollar store to buy me an icepack to put on it.
Gowing up to spend the past 18 years of my life on the Chicago Westside has been an interesting journey. I currently live in the Austin community, where there is a population of 98,514 in 2010 and 85.1% is Black, 8.58% is Hispanic, and 4.43% is White. Growing up in an area of complete violence and poverty felt like a game. Making sure you stay on your side of the block, making sure you’re home before dark, and even making sure you never walk alone. Never. A lot of people get scared when they hear about a life like this, but it's reality for me, and I honestly feel pretty comfortable with the people surrounding me. They look like me, talk like me, and even dress like me. We all watch out for each other. It's a family beyond blood that was built in my community. I live on a block where it is 95% Black. Besides my family, there is only one other Hispanic family. I never really left my community or the type of people I surround myself with either. I honestly didn't feel comfortable leaving and going into a “White” community. But my comfort level was really tested when I left for the summer to the
There are two types of people in this world: those who take risks and those who think about it but do not. The people who take risks are the ones who make a difference in the world. The people who remain sedentary want to but they do not act. They tell themselves that they will do it tomorrow and they think they have time “for a hundred indecisions” (Prufrock). But humans are not immortal and it is time that fact is realized. People should live life to the fullest by taking risks because that is how life is measured.
I can feel the tension in my muscles as the crowd readies itself for the main event.I prepared myself for the final match through boxing,dodging swings,running laps, inhaling when I hold back a punch and exhaling when I release the force of my punch.Without a doubt Gabriel has trained just as hard as I have and I still cannot beat him,until now.I felt more confident than ever as I walked out into the waiting eyes of the audience.I have climbed over many obstacles to get to the grand finale and I plan on seeing this fight to the end.
I started this holiday season off depressed! I can’t lie I wanted to skip it! I wanted to leave to a tropical place and forget about the holidays! Why; Because I didn’t get my way, because the world is a mess and my feelings are hurt about it, because my family is too and I can’t fix it. I felt as though my life was a mess and I couldn’t celebrate that. I spoke to a friend about this and this is what she said in a nutshell… “You are looking in the wrong direction. You are so focused on the things that have gone wrong you are not seeing the things that are right. Turn around.” So, I did. This morning I opened my computer and looked at all of the photos that I have taken this year this is what I discovered…..
Starting anything can be extremely difficult. Whether it be starting a new job, school, or even a family everyone has or will start something. In most cases, individuals learn best by experience. One cannot experience unless he or she starts. Because I love to start things that are generally chanllenging to others, I decided to start an online accessory company: The Purple Collar LLC (limited liability company). I have been told on several occasions that I am an old soul. I decided to take these words and utilize them to do something that I was interested in. I have wanted to be a CEO since I was in the 4th grade. I asked myself, “Why wait until you are old to be mature and do appropriate grown up things?”
The tiger quickly climbed the nearest tree and then totally ignored me.” It all started when our uber driver geek, Randy Jackson, woke up in a imaginary desert. It was the second time it had happened. Feeling abnormally angered, Randy Jackson stroked a potato, thinking it would make him feel better. Absolutely excited, he saw that his beloved iPad was missing! Immediately he called his lover, Dee Jackson. Randy Jackson had known Dee Jackson for 200 years, the most of which were crazy ones. Dee Jackson was unique. She was outgoing though sometimes a little... pestering. Randy Jackson called for her, for the situation was important.