Personal Narrative: Life After Eli

Alone and scared, no light to follow. Wondering in the dark not knowing where you're going. Upset and afraid because the one you did look toward for help is no longer there. It feels as though he has gone away. The silence is loud and the light is no more.

It was May of 2016 when I went to Elitches for the first time.Before Ariana,Marisa,Nathaniel and I left I was cleaning the house.After I was finished cleaning I got ready to go,then we left.When we got there Ariana,Marisa,Nathaniel,and I went to get my season pass,there was a long line.After I got my receipt we had to go across the front of the building to another line we were there for about 20 minutes waiting to take my picture for my season pass.Then we got in line to go into Elitches.We had to passed the security to go into Elitches.

I would first like to say nice to meet you and thank you for your service in the Air Force. In your post I noticed you mentioned that you are a duck hunter and that you also garden in you off time. I was wondering when you first took an interest in those two things and how long have you been doing it for. As an LSU Tigers fan who did you find more entertaining to watch this year the football team or the basketball team with all the hype surrounding Ben Simmons. Another question I feel the need to ask is what is your favorite Louisiana dish to eat and/or cook? It been a while since I have been to Louisiana and enjoyed the food but it always nice to hear what the locals say are best things to eat from there.

Throughout the conversation, Susan did not inform me that the home was still in First Look and not open to investors at this time. Susan did not highlight any features of the home, nor did she talk about the neighborhood or the surrounding area. When asked, Susan paused to reference the property file and stated, "In looking at the pictures it appears that it needs interior paint, carpet, appliances, and a few windows, which the previous seller must have taken." She stated, "I don't know why they have to remove things from the homes." I asked, "Do you have offers?" She paused to check the property file and answered, "No offers." I asked, "Is the property behind the home farmland?" She paused to reference the property file and replied, "It appears

Growing up with a father in the military, you move around a lot more than you would like to. I was born just east of St. Louis in a city called Shiloh in Illinois. When I was two years old my dad got the assignment to move to Hawaii. We spent seven great years in Hawaii, we had one of the greatest churches I have ever been to name New Hope. New Hope was a lot like Olivet's atmosphere, the people were always friendly and there always something to keep someone busy. I used to dance at church, I did hip-hop and interpretive dance, but you could never tell that from the way I look now.

I want to leave, I want to disappear. Not a vacation, but that spontaneous quick escape with no bothers, just an unrestricted trip to free the mind and enjoy the bits of silence. To go by car to see how the scenery around me changes as I kill the distance, while listening to my favorite music as loud as I can. Just shout out my lungs with my terrible singing. As the music plays, I will grab a book, which will get all my beliefs and views away. No matter what the book will be about. As long as it would get me away, away from here. There would be just me and the characters of the novel, who struggle, fight, and compete, while they face delight, pleasure, and glory. Every so often, I will stop at the cafes on the road to grab some food, which

Walking into the coffee shop where everyone else , including me now, confronts people in their lives and continues to discuss important topics. The decorations around me are plain and simplistic, nothing special about this place whatsoever. I wait patiently for my invite to show, mentally preparing myself for the conversation that I want to have so desperately. I think of the topics I want to bring up and the ones I want to focus on more than others. Nervously, I continue to wait and talk myself out of thinking that they wouldn’t show at all. A few minutes filled with deep breaths later, finally they’re here. I walk over to the table we agreed to meet at, and sat politely before greeting them and waiting for a response. I cleared my throat and looked at my lap, trying to refrain from saying anything I’d regret. Taking a deep breath, I tried to remain professional while addressing the topic. Finally, my attention was brought to the person seated in front of me, to the world in front of me. With all the courage I could muster I stared dead into its

“Oh, my goodness,” “Wasn’t it so funny when Mr. Speranza split his pants in class today?”

When I was 5, my hands grew old and weary, tired of construction and calloused from work. Day after day after day, I would fashion new worlds and cultures out of little LEGO blocks. I worked fastidiously- creating tiny planes, guarded forts, and expansive cities that swept from one end of the carpet to the other. (I loved to make castles with booby-trapped moats and false walls and hidden entrances.)

Well this year was a hell of a year. I mean, i didn't pass any of the semesters but i did observe a ton of stuff that went on in the class. The class in general was pretty lit. Every day went by and i honestly did some work. The class was ready to learn as mrs g was ready to teach. I mean yea we had some days were we didn't want to learn anything and there were also days when mrs g didn't want to teach. But ima be honest, doing the work we did wasn't in my best interest. Most of the projects we did in class i worked on, but at the end i didn't end up liking how i did it so i wouldn't even bother turning anything in. like the obituary we had to write about ourselves. I liked the meaning behind this but honestly i didn't want to work on that because it just brought back memories of my friends that were killed.

So, I made a wrong turn today - literally. My brother called to cancel plans while I was driving, and I ended up somewhere in the DEEP south. (cue banjos) But I am wholly confident that God uses every of my wrong turns for his good.

Starting over. Those two simple words pretty much sum up where I am at in my life at the moment. I am a 34 year old mother of three. I have never been to college. My husband just recently left me. It has been a whirlwind summer to say the least, but before I get into what brought me back to school, I'll start at the beginning. I was born in FL., and quite literally spent all my time either at the beach or running bare foot on my grandparents farm. I loved every second. Shortly after I turned 8 my mom met my step-dad, and we were quickly headed on our first big adventure, moving to Texas! While I missed my family in FL., I can not tell you enough how happy I was that my mom married my dad. He has been a rock and solid foundation for me my whole

Walking away from everything you once knew and starting over is never a picnic. Leaving Iraq, and moving to America has impacted my life more than anything. I was only 4 years old at that time, and the only English I spoke was “excuse me, water please.” My family and I did not know it then, but our lives were going to change; we would become “Americanized”. Learning English was one of the massive changes that occurred, the way I dressed (culture), and even the way I had power to go to school and educate myself.

my name to Ashlyn. Ashlyn reminds me if the sun at sun down, It smells like a pumpkin spice candle, it taste like a pumpkin spice frappuccino at Starbucks, it looks the Northern lights, and it feels like a memory foam squishy toy.I love my name Eliana,I think it’s special and unique. I am Eliana that is my name, that is my identity. I am Eliana.

So am working with Evan on different techniques when he gets into conflicts or situations he faces expressing himself. He tends to shut down and cry at times. So what works for me is I have to walk over to Evan and help him talk through the problem and to get him to understand why or what is happening. It's almost like he's in the that moment of playing so if something triggers or if he's not listening he doesn't know how to deal with even with reminders about listening to their friends words or me saying "I need you to listen Evan. So, I may ask question like “What would you like me to do to help?” (or make a direct suggestion to him, like I try to help him figure out his own solution.