Personal Narrative: My Journey In Roane County

Most people are all grown up when they finally figure out what they want to do with their life. I was 4. I realized what I wanted to be when I attended my very first Rodeo. Even though it was so long ago I can remember that day like it was yesturday. That day got me on the path to my future.

My mind will often wander to all the places I've lived in and all those I would love to travel to, or visit again. I think of the streets of Santa Fe, how fresh it would be compared to the over 100 degree temperature of were I am now, the hot dry heat of El Paso, Texas, a place I often come back to, the soil were my roots are permanently ingrained. El Paso has grown significantly in the past 10 years alone and is now the sixth most populous city in Texas (World Population Reviw). It's far from it's days when it was widely known as “El Chuco,” or “ChucoTown,” nicknames whose origins and meaning have long been debated, but no matter how much of the new generation is unfamiliar with these terms the history lives on through the streets and current

Being from rural Mississippi, people from other states assume that we know very little about what goes on outside our state let alone our own town. In a way, I can see why, but glad I am one of the ones who, thanks to my family, have an idea of a world larger than my town. I am from a family of six consisting of my mother, father, step-mother, brother, and identical twin sister. We did a lot of traveling when growing up normally traveling out of state even if just for weekends. My interest in other cultures and languages came from my family, especially on my mother’s side where I members who traveled out of country for work and would bring us back clothes, books, or other souvenirs. My dad did not do as much traveling as my mom and had not

I am not from San Antonio. I am not from Texas. I’m from California. Where no one twangs, or drawls, or even says hi to the stranger standing in line at the grocery store. Texas, half way across the U.S and what seems like a whole other country compared to California. It is a completely different place that I could have ever imagined living and calling home. I came to Texas to find myself. I didn’t know that when I came here, but it is what ended up happening.

In recent days I had the opportunity to go back to North Carolina for a few short days. There, with a heavy heart from a loss in the family, I had nothing else to look towards. I’ve always heard of individuals finding peace, faith, blessings, and love of Christ from attending church. I’ve never been a person who put their faith into a higher power. As I was growing up my parents never wanted to force me into any religion without me knowing everything about it and choosing which route to take on my own. As the years treaded on, I never bothered myself to learn about the many different religions and what each stands for. So I used this opportunity as mine to attend church for the very first time. I attended the Roman Catholic services held

I'm from Round Rock, or for those of you who don't know where that is, we'll just go with Austin. Round Rock is great and you can find activities to find on some occasion, but when I am in Austin I am never bored. I used to go downtown a lot when I was younger with my Mother, Father, and older sister, but as my parents became busy and my sister and I became more involved in school we make the 20-minute travel to Austin less and less. I grew up with my two sisters and mother in the safety and growing town of Round Rock, but when I was able to drive my friends and I would make the drive downtown to enjoy the ambiance of Austin. I was given more freedom than my older sister was given in high school, but I couldn't complain my mother trusted me

Jessamine County is a great example of how to change school start times. Benefitting from the experience of neighboring Fayette County, Jessamine took its time to organize their efforts in such a way as to transition smoothly into a new schedule for their students. The superintendent of the Jessamine County Schools, Linda France became aware of the literature about the impact of school start times on student health and learning.

Every single person has their own unique identity and culture.At first when I moved to Lafayette from my hometown it was like being a White Tiger around all regular tigers.I didn't really fit in and I kinda stood out because I wasn't from Lafayette.I moved to Lafayette from my hometown in the summer of 2015.My cultural identity fits me because of my accent.

Our yearly pilgrimage to our deer lease in Menard, Texas starts every year on the first Friday in November. To get there we head four hours north thru the sprawling metropolis of San Antonio, full of its traffic and impatient drivers. Upon leaving the city limits of San Antonio, we head west towards Kerrville and the landscape starts to change drastically. No longer are we driving on flat land but now the car is climbing small hills and the road winds. We drive in this direction until we reach the vast acres of ranch land located on a lonely farm road between the small cities of Junction and Menard. If you drive too fast down the winding road, you will miss the old metal gate that is almost hidden by brush trees. My husband is the hunter, yet I love to come with him, because this is the place, where I disconnect from the fast paced life of city dwelling and feel reconnected once again to nature and I find peace and rest here in this cactus and dirt oasis.

As an incoming freshman to high school, I didn’t know much about the world around me. All I knew was about what happened in Baldwin County. When I first walked into International studies I wasn’t sure what to be prepared for. When we picked our countries, mine was Brazil, for Model U.N. (United Nations), I was anxious about expanding my world view and learning about the world that I live in. Learning about Brazil opened up my mind to new experiences and culture I had previously never known about. Then came the presidential election that year. Our class watched everything involving the election, from interviews to debates, if it was on television we knew about it. Even though I couldn’t vote that year, it altered my perspective on what a president

Kansas City born and raised in rural Indiana, I did not live and grow up in the same house as most kids around here do. I’ve moved twice in my lifetime and couldn’t be more grateful that we did. My family has made southern Indiana our home now for the last 15 years. I’ve played multiple sports here and with each sport I made more and more friends. When I go back to the city I was born in, I think about how different my life would’ve been if my parents hadn’t decided to move. I would have never gotten the chance to wake up and be surrounded by corn fields every day. I would never have been able to ride fourwheelers in my backyard, mow grass on a riding-mower, or even have a garden. There is privacy here, whereas neighbors in the city can see

Gibson County, redneck central, hillbilly heaven, Gibco, this is the place I have called home for the past 17 years. On March 6, 1998, I was born in Evansville, Indiana, at Welborn Hospital about 35 minutes away from Haubstadt. After I made it out of the NICU, I was taken home to RR1 Box 108, in Haubstadt, Indiana. My home, since birth, has been situated on the border of Haubstadt, Owensville, Cynthiana, and Posey County. Some of my neighbors have Haubstadt addresses with Fort Branch zip codes and Owensville phone numbers! It’s strange to say the least, but I wouldn’t fancy living anywhere else.

There was one severe weather even that had happened during my childhood while growing up in the south tip of Texas. It is an experience I would never forget.

My connection to the state of Alabama is that I was born in Fairhope, Alabama and lived there with my family till I was 3 years old. My family loved living in Fairhope but due to job opportunities they decided it was best to move back to their home state of Louisiana. Even though I don’t recall much of the time I spent living in Alabama, I do remember the many visits I took with my family every year to visit our extended family and friends in Alabama. Additionally, I went to Riverview Summer Camp in Mentone, Alabama for two weeks every summer as a child.

In 2014, I went on a mission trip to Little Rock, Arkansas. When I first got the bus, I felt so happy as blood started circulating through my legs because I had been sitting for TWENTY FIVE HOURS on the bus ride. As well, I had to escape the mixed scents of deodorant, perfume, and Doritos. The first activity we did after unpacking was go to the I-30 Speedway, which is a racing track. It was so amusing to see the cars drift past us, until chunks of mud would shoot up at our faces. It smelt like four gas stations were right near each other and the gas pipes leaked. However, it wasn’t the most incredible part. At the end of the racing, there was a firework and fire show. It lit up the starry night sky beautifully. Gasoline