Personal Narrative: It's Myrtle Beach

From childhood to now, going to Florida has played an important part in my relationships, culture, and personality. I think that the trips to Florida started when my little brother was born. Having to take care of two toddlers and an infant and work full time was hard on my parents so, my aunt offered to take me and my sister home with her for a while. Being in Florida was slightly unnerving because my sister and I were alone. We sneaked into each other's beds, comforted one another, and told lame jokes to get rid of homesickness. Eventually, when my little brother was old enough and he joined in on the fun. The three of us had the best times in Florida. We ate foods like Haitian pate, diri ak djon djon, pikliz, fried plantains and other Haitian

It was a bright hot summer day in Florida, and my family had just arrived for our week long vacation, but we were in for the biggest shock of our unified life. We had never thought that this dreadful thing could happen at such a beautiful place.

I first encountered the ocean in 1958; I was ten. Being a map enthusiast, I knew exactly where Florida was, and I was excited to swim in the salty Atlantic Ocean. Born and raised next to frigid Lake Michigan I understood a large body of water as well as a sandy beach, but no book or encyclopedia prepared me for understanding the flavor or immensity of an ocean and its adjoining shore. Arriving at the beach I raced across the hot pure white sand to keep my feet from burning, stopping in wonder when I saw ocean waves gently caressing a seashore that seemed to go on and on forever. I knew I was somewhere special.

So my first two weeks at Florida Southern have been exhausting to say the least. One does not really know how flipped their sleep schedule is until they have to wake up early to drive to 8 am classes every other day. The bright side to these days, however, is that I end up making it home by about 11:00 am, where, beforehand, I might have even woken up at this time. I honestly don’t know what I expected from college, but I knew that the college that I planned on attending had a very beautiful campus. Living in the area, you always hear people talking about how world class architecture is located within the city. Florida Southern, along with Publix, and the location between Orlando and Tampa were the reasons everybody talked about

About me: Growing up in Miami Beach, Florida, I’ve had a different perspective on demographic issues, the political process, and local politics than most. Currently, I am a junior at Miami Beach Senior High School where I am an avid participant in the National Speech and Debate Association, my school’s Student Government Association (SGA), and United States Grant Committee. Something different about me is that earlier this year I started a political action committee (PAC) called Teens for Teens. As the youngest director of a PAC in the country, I have definitely had some interesting experiences that other 16 year old students don't experience too often.

“All of you put your heads down!”, the bus driver barked. As if at any second we were going to be bombarded by bombs. However, little to my knowledge, we were about to be. Not by bombs, but by a hail of chaos that would seem to never end for the next four months. The bus screeched to a stop, the old brakes groaning from its years of carrying young kids like me to this same destination. My heart was racing, I knew from this point on, nothing would ever be the same. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the glimmer of the infamous drill instructor hat known to be feared around the globe. “What have I gotten myself into now”, I thought to myself. I knew it was too late, there was no turning back.

I traveled to Destin, Florida this summer. We went to the arcade were my dad played this game and said it was interfering with his controls so he couldn't win. Later, I played the same game and won a pair of beats!

I am from socks, From hotdogs to ketchup. I am from the green grass in the backyard. I am from palm trees, and the sunshine, I am from spending time with family. Goofy personalities, From my brother Sidney, My mom and dad, I am from rap music, and big imaginations. I am from NC, but my heart is in the south. From grandma's noodles and sweets. From playing with my brother and the i beat him in wresting. I am from Myrtle Beach, From 5 family vacations and memories I'll never

When everybody else was up and awake and all are stuff was packed and ready, in the car, we all got in and went of to the highway. We drove for eight hours, and had one or two stops on the way for something to eat. We had pizza, crisps, and snacks on the way.

One of my most enjoyable and exciting adventures was traveling to Destin, Florida. Walking on the extremely fine soft sand feels like paradise. Meanwhile, the sound of waves is crashing and the cool sea breeze brushes by. Along the beach stood a booth where tourist could register to go parasailing. My boyfriend Michael and I registered and anxiously awaited our turn. Suddenly, everyone was loaded onto a tiny boat in hopes of reaching a bigger boat out deeper. Reaching our destination everyone had to climb a rope ladder as it was moving with the rough waves. As they strapped us in, we prayed we could come back in one piece. As the boat slowly started to move I grasped the rope, realizing that an inch-thick string was the only thing between me

As the airplane touched down in sunny Florida, I knew this will be a start to a new life. Stepping out of the airport, I began to take in my new surroundings in the sunshine state. This state is nowhere near New York, the hot weather gluing onto my skin was just dreadful. Glancing around, I noticed a lot of elderly folks taking their sweet time to travel to their destination. Florida is all about driving, which I was not familiar with at that time. Florida drivers are known for driving slow; the light turns green and then they continue to hold back traffic. The weather is horrible humid and unbreathable; especially with hurricanes and tornadoes that are always lurking. Florida is quite tedious; the beaches makes you weary and make you feel

One day we meet our cousins from Colombia off of Facebook. My mom was so excited when we found them because they have known each other since they were young. We started talking for a a few months and finally my mom asked them if they wanted to come to the USA and visit us. My mom said she wanted to meet up in Florida, so we started to plan. I was very nervous when she said we were going to Florida, I didn't want to speak Spanish to them because I was afraid they will make fun of me (really not that fluent in Spanish). After we were done planing our vacation a months later we were ready to go to Florida. When we left for Florida we dropped off my dog (Simba) at my friends and said our goodbyes to Gurnee. The road trip took hours to complete and it was treacherous, but worth it.

Snow began to fall outside of the city of Long Beach, Washington. The lighthouse, nearly half a mile away illuminated the dull grey sky, creating reflections in the bright white snow, turning the city into something of a fairytale. Orange lights from the street cast through the snow and ice, accented by blues, greens and reds from the highly decorated houses spread out around the city, a certain glow encased the entirety of the town and filled all with a feeling of hope and awe. This seemingly empty city, left silent in the few remaining hours before dawn was truly a wonderland for the heart, the mind and the soul.

Sight and hearing are just two of our five senses. Losing only one of them would be awful. How would you react if you were told that you had three days left to see and hear? The problem is that nobody truly appreciates what they have until it’s gone. “Sometimes the best way to appreciate something is to be without it for a while,” -Unknown.

1. I was in the middle of town. It was 1 a.m. in the morning with dark, deserted streets. All the lights in the town were out except the dimly lit street lights. I snuck out that night to meet a friend in town to hang out and talk about our goals and just have a nice night, but he was nowhere to be seen. So I started walking up and down the street yelling his name, "Bobby you there?" But no body replied except my echo, so I kept on walking looking around. At this point in time it was 2 a.m. in the morning, and I was getting tired, so I turned around and headed home. But before I ever got there I saw Bobby, dead laying on my front porch! I rushed up to him and called 9-1-1. To this day, nobody ever found out what happened to him.