Personal Narrative: Growing Up In Israel

Many of the opinions of the present day admit not to resort to compulsory military service because this idea is not important and that it is far from human rights democracy, but mandatory military service has been present since ancient times. In addition, each country has a strategy to turn civilian citizens into soldiers who are used at times of war and fight for state protection. In ancient times, specifically in 221 BC, the Chinese Empire resorted to forced conscription and set some strategic plans at the time to avoid any danger that might adversely affect the Empire, also during the French Revolution in 1970, it drafted a law to recruit citizens for fear of war and strife. (10 Meaningful Pros and Cons of Mandatory Military Service, n.d, para 2). In 1956 compulsory

I never planned on doing any sort of military service growing up. I was in grade school during the Viet Nam War and it was just one of those things that really didn't encourage most kids to grow up looking to serve their country just because of all the negativity that surrounded it. I played baseball in high school and always felt like there was a better chance that I would play at least in the minor leagues. During my senior year my friends convinced me to play football and a knee injury pretty much ended any sort of athletic career I had dreamed of. Even after this I still never even considered military service as an option. I was a pretty good student and was actually good at math so I figured I would go to college and get some sort

I was raised in a middle class environment with an unorthodox family. I have three siblings, all of us adopted. My brother is named Ethan and we are two years apart from each other. He is also a mix of so many different races that I cannot keep track of how many there are. After him, there are my sisters, Jackie and Josie. They are African-American twins who are five years younger than me. They are very sporty and athletic, while I try to avoid sports as much as I can. I have both a mother and a father, Robin and Paul Schlegel, who were both born and raised in Indiana. I was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and moved to a town called New Palestine, Indiana when I was only a few months old. New Palestine is an average-sized town where everyone knows

When I first came to Southern, the first person that I formed a connection with was my RA Jazymn. She was not only easy to talk to, but she was there for every one of her residents in every way possible. She was able to make me feel comfortable, like I had a place at Southern before I made friends. She made me feel like I could do anything I put my mind to because of how supportive she was. She was the positive motivation that I needed when making the change from high school to college. In my personal life I am the person my friends come to with problems, I am always the voice of reason and I know when enough is enough. I want to be the reason these students love Southern, the positive person in my residents lives that are routing them on

Growing up in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, I’ve spent most of my life surrounded by sameness. Everyone had the same skin color, the same religion, the same financial situations, the same interests, eventually people even started to look the same. While on the surface I seamlessly blended in with the others, there was something that separated me more than most would think. I was born into a Jewish family, and my mother instilled in my sister and I from a young age to be active in our religion. We went to sunday school for ten years and now are both assistants in the classes, we joined Jewish youth groups, we both had our Bat Mitzvahs and our Confirmation services, and I teach Hebrew to students weekly. Being a Jew has always been a constant in my life.

Laughter, the sound of arabic spoken on the tv, the scent of freshly baked bread, and board games being played in the living room. This was the average day at my grandmother’s home, the home I basically grew up in. I believe I was very fortunate to be raised the way I was, in a small city in Oregon, named Tigard. I had a home, food, an opportunity to get an education, and a family coming from a Middle Eastern culture. I believe the most essential piece of my childhood was growing up so close to family. I spent nearly as much time at my grandparents’ house with my cousin as I did at home. Our parents were out working all day so it was here that we had our childhood escapades in the backyard, in the street, and hiding in garbage cans (that’s another story). My grandmother basically raised us herself, and loved us like we were her own children. As a kid I believed everyone deserved to be treated the way my grandma treated us, and I still do.

Growing up is never easy. Everyone, from the moment we’re born to the moment we leave to fend for ourselves, is told how to be themselves; how to act, talk, walk, think, feel, and believe. Eventually we reach a point in our lives where we figure out how to live for ourselves rather than blindly accepting what we’re told. We begin to discover ourselves as life progresses, learning about our passions, talents, strengths, weaknesses, and orientations. Growing up is never easy, but it’s an uphill battle when it comes to accepting and dealing with a differing sexual and romantic orientation. Trudging through a flurry of mental illnesses, nights of emotionally charged arguments and deafening yells thrown between relatives, self-image issues due to

Novelists Alex Shakur said, "childhood and adulthood were not factors of age. but states of mind." The day I recognized my transition from childhood to adulthood, this change in my state of mind, was July 17, 2015. It was a monumental day for the state of Oklahoma and its constituents. This day left an impact on our state, but for myself, however, it left a change so unforgettable. Instantly effective, it transfigured my way of thinking and constructed a standard for the way in which I wanted to live my life. This significant day marked my personal recognition of my transition to adulthood, but it wasn't the event that the average person recognizes their entrance to adulthood. Nevertheless, it wasn't the day I started my first job, it wasn't

The military just like college requires graduates to meet certain qualifications they have set. Samantha Salas, a senior interested in joining the air force shares her reasoning for joining the military, “My schooling, housing and resources will be paid for meaning I can start my life and career debt free”. Salas also explains, “I will have a great job where I not only make my family proud but know I work in helping and aiding others in their times of need”. The military provides a lot for their recruiters such as paying for housing, schooling, and insurance. There tests a student must complete in order to be accepted, but the military is also not for everyone because of the difficult challenges a person faces while becoming part of the military.

I had only been six years old during the time of the move. Yet, nothing had processed to me that we were moving in no less than a month. Not the endless piles of boxes filled with all our belongings or the large trucks that had come and gone while taking the boxes with them. None of these reasons had processed in my head.

Growing up yes it happens to everyone. Each one of us grow like a rose from a seed to a blossomed beauty. As i was blossoming i realized that i didn't just grow up like that. Each day was a new adventure . All of us has had a few days that are still yet proud of to have accomplished. I as well had many successes throughout growing up

Although I have many reasons for not participating, my most valid is that I have dual-citizenship, and as an American citizen, I have the right to remain here in my current country of residence. This reasoning, however, does not stop the public shaming and questioning I receive from family and friends when I visit. There is a stigma about mishtamtim, those who do not serve their country, because everyone does. Choosing not to serve is seen as lazy and selfish, in fact I went out of my way to not serve the country that I belong too. Livio describes how this stigma influences those who had chosen to defer their enlistment and go in a different path. He speaks about a young women, Noga, stating, “[her] non-service is portrayed as something that renders her a permanent outsider, experienced in a variety of everyday settings, such as jokes told in class or trivia questions in the newspaper. Her constructed social positioning is equated with that of Israel’s ultimate excluded group— Arab citizens” (Livio, 2012, p.86). Like Noga, I am permanently marked as an outsider as I chose to attend University instead of enlisting in the army and even if I later choose to enlist in order to serve my time, I will never be accepted as an

“Whether your pregnancy was meticulously planned, medically coaxed, or happened by surprise, one thing is certain-your life will never be the same”(Catherine Jones). Multiple women have experienced the wonders of pregnancy, for some the labor process may have been the worst time of their lives, and for others it may have been all smiles and rainbows. Both way after the long hours and constant pain a child is born and the parent’s lives are changed forever. In this article I will focus on the birth of my younger brother for which I was present. I chose to focus on my younger brother Junior Frederick because three months before my birth my mother had just arrived form Saint Marcs, Haiti. She did not understand much of America and when I questioned

At the age of 12, I left my homeland Korea along with my childhood, friendships, memories, and identity. I landed on the black rock of Hawai’i in the middle of the Pacific Ocean under the blazing sun, on the other side of my former home. As I stepped off the plane, I stood bewildered, clueless to what the beautiful, tall lady with green eyes and blond hair was saying; I just needed to ask where the restroom was, but I only knew how to say "hi", "yes", and "no" in the language of this foreign land.

When I was a little girl I dreamed to be a doctor, but I changed my mind. Since high school I wanted to join the military, but I could not because of my weight. So, in my second semester during college; I decided to join the army to have a professional career and at the same time took a break for college. For all my experiences that have happened to me; I can only say that joining the Army was the best decision I have taken. In addition, I learned to live by the army values which are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. These values helped me