Personal Narrative: Life In Venezuela

Each house-- painted a very vibrant, dazzling color, purple, orange, yellow, green, and pink. I had never seen houses like that in the United States the usual house colors are gray, white, tan, blue, very dull colors. The sight of these vivid houses was just a small glimpse of this beautiful country. As I nervously traveled without my family for the first time the lush terrain of Costa Rica dotted with colorful houses welcomed me.

I live in a nice house with all of my familia , i have lots of brothers and sisters my dad has 11 kids in all but im the youngest girl so i live with all guys but it's not that bad. I have 3 dogs which are a pitbull, black lab, and a belgium melewa . Also i love basketball and football me and my brothers always play these sports.Another thing is that i love to cook i can cook lots of stuff like green chili, chicken on white,spaghetti,pincedegio,and pasta salad ,etc. . I love mexican music and rap music.

-I learned error, I made it the Dominican Republic and was to have given affection, friendship and confidence to people who did not deserve. This happened out of nowhere and It was created a serious mistake in my life, people existed which gave him affection, help and there was no care about anything. I started to love and treat them like family to me, they were people who shared daily, at school, my free time and the more things. Always looking for the best for everyone on Regardless nothing, always I wanted to know how they were, everything.

Sonia Sanchez taught me that it’s possible to not let my pain hold me from being the best that I can be. She taught me to take my past full of pain, make it great and use the talents that I have now to change this planet and become a creator of social values. I learned to have an unshakeable strength, a persevering courage and to be a fighter. I learned that I am capable of achieving the greatest things if I put my mind to it. How well I do is in my hands not in a past that can drag me down. Just like Sonia asked her teacher if she had any talent, and the teacher answered saying: “Yes, you have talent, now let’s see whether you are going to do anything with it”. She answered to the call and I am determined to answer the call too. She changed

The first day of my life took place in a military hospital in Wurzburg, Germany. My father was an officer in the U.S. Army and my mother stayed in the home. While living in Germany I attended a German school where my brother and I were the only students who spoke English. Despite the fact that we did not speak the same language, we were able to interact the same way most young children would. As an adult I have often thought that my desire to travel and search for diverse human relationships was influenced by my early childhood.

One grand adventure that I went on this summer was a missions trip to the Dominican Republic. It was probably the best two weeks of my life and not a day goes by that I don’t think about it and want so badly to go back. I didn’t always have those feelings though… The first couple days were pretty rough from lack of sleep, being in a totally new environment in a country I have never been before, being way out of comfort zone and being slightly home sick. The first full day at our site I nearly had a panic attack because I just couldn't get over the language barrier and that was the first time I have ever worked with kids. I just felt so helpless and that I was’t showing these kids God’s love. But I was because just being there for them showed them God’s love.

To be an expert at something is to do something multiple times until you're good at it and it becomes easy. I can honestly say my experiences this summer were something to remember forever, I learned about so much new culture, tried so much new and interesting food, and experienced so many new things from different places. One place especially was Costa Rica, but not just one part of Costa Rica, I went to six different cities in two weeks. From horseback riding and zip lining through a tropical rainforest, to exploring the beautiful volcanoes and waterfalls, to getting involved in the folkloric dancing, I would say I'm becoming more of an expert in experiencing new things and being adventurous.

The feeling of comfort vanishes as I stand in the middle of an unfamiliar dirt road, choked with the feeling of uncertainty. The air was dusty and so were the people as they inundated me. I turned to a little girl among the cluster of the sun-kissed figures. Her face was as brown as the dirt, but her eyes illuminated with happiness. Longing for a friend, I reached out my hand to give her a teddy bear and asked if she wanted to play. As she took the bear her face filled with confusement. Yearning to win this Peruvian girl over, I pulled yet another toy from my backpack. As I filled the tiny beach ball with air, she became noticeably interested in me. Like a pint-sized thief, she stole the beach ball to indicate she finally accepted me. Once

Since traveling to Nicaragua, I find myself perplexed by the Nietzchean idea that language is the enemy of experience. It is difficult to explain in words an experience that is both awe-inspiring and awful, edifying and heartbreaking, beautiful and atrocious. If my time on the Bucknell Brigade was either entirely great or completely horrible, it would be easier to write about. But since the memory inhabits a confusing and ambiguous space between two intense opposites, my voice had withdrawn into silence.

I saw roofs and walls made up of rusted sheet metal, market stands with 9 year old merchants, and single room homes transformed into makeshift shops ran by single mothers of five, six, or even seven kids, barely making enough money to survive. In the summer of 2016 I left the United States as a sheltered teenager, unaware of the struggles and conditions too many families are up against in third world countries. I was fortunate enough to have traveled to Guatemala City, Guatemala with my church's student ministry program on a mission and outreach trip. I returned with my eyes opened to diversity, a realization of my life's calling, and an experience of spiritual maturity that transformed me into adulthood.

I almost enjoy every kind of music, but one of my favorite is the old Cuban music. I feel a sense of happiness when I listened to the Trova. For example, Compay Segundo and the Buena Vista Social Club project. I am from Cuba and listening to songs like Chan Chan or El Cuarto de Tula make me feel pleased and joyful. It is like going back to Cuba for a few minutes. I believe, it must be something about my past there. I remember my first visit to my wife’s grandmother, at that time my girlfriend, there was a big family celebration and a quartet was playing. I can listen to music in the radio or watch a video, but there is nothing like a live performance. The fulfillment and richness of the experience are exceptional. I had so a wonderful time

Brian stood up and while gazing at me told Mr. Smith, “I like her idea. I wish for Isabel to accompany David and me to the Dominican Republic today. I want my baby sister home as soon as possible.” Mr. Smith replied, “Mr. Ross, Mr. Johnson is one of our best criminal lawyers and more than capable to handle this case on his own. Isabel is a brilliant attorney, but she is inexperienced.”

I used to live in Mexico, during my childhood, with my mom and my older brother Jesús where I had a German Shepherd named Camperino. This dog would take care of my older brother and me wherever we were. Later my Nana Elsa had bought us tickets to “ El Circo de Los Hermanos Vasquez” one night, which was my favourite circus. After that I fed Camperino his food and got ready for the circus. As my Nana got us all in her gray chevy car to head out, she told us to lock the gate of the house, but I believed it wasn’t necessary. Leaving without locking the gate or thinking about the safety of Camperino was my biggest mistake.

The first 17 years of my life were spent in the most beautiful place, Caracas, Venezuela. I was happy with my life over there. I had all my family and friends who made me happy and I knew I could depend on them, for any situation in my life. Everything changed when I graduated high school in 2014 and my parents decided to bring me and my older sister, who is only two years older than me, to Miami for a better education. On December 16 of 2014, I got on a plane and left my family and friends behind. I can still remember that day. If you asked me, I thought the world was coming to a blazing end.

Life has no meaning if you don't have the urge to wake up the next morning to see the next day. Many people live their lives unhappy since they have no purpose or meaning to fulfill or satisfy their needs. Purpose to me is something to live for and something to look forward to in life. Without purpose and meaning in life there is no point of living at all. Recently in the existentialism unit we’ve been reading, I learned that without a passion to live, one’s life means nothing and is a waste of a soul. Based on the previous books I’ve read, I learned I am happy because I have things to look forward to in life and to wake up the next morning to enjoy the new day. Three elements that give me purpose and meaning in my life are my family, my