Personal Narrative: Nebraska

Sioux County Iowa isn’t so different from any other rural county in the Midwest. We have rich and poor towns, public and private schools, good and bad police officers, and plenty of rowdy teenagers. The Midwest however is a very unique place to live. I lived in the country, about ten minutes outside of Orange City, Iowa. One summer Wednesday night at about 9:00p.m., after I had just gotten back home from work, I received a text message from my friend Jon, “Get the truck ready. Be at your house in 10”. I sighed. I knew that meant we were up to no good. I’m not sure what really bothered me, the fact that Jon was expecting me to drop all of my plans to go on another escapade, or the fact that we both knew I didn’t have any plans.

A toast to a place above all the rest, this place though odd has captured my heart. I know this isn’t a conventional Burns supper toast, or even a real toast at all. But as I was thinking about which toast I wanted to give; I realized that there was only one place that I wanted to talk about. So firstly, I would like to ask you guys have you ever been to a place that makes you feel happy. A place that even at the mention of its name, you can’t help but think of happy memories you had there. The place that does that for me is the Black Hills of South Dakota. I spent my summer working at a campground in the heart of the Black Hills. So here’s a toast to the Black Hills and all of its natural beauty.

When June, 2015 came around my time in Iowa was coming to an end. We started packing and getting everything ready to leave, I spent as much time as i could with my family and best friend. June 17th the day we were leaving I had a lot of mixed emotions at the moment, seeing my bestfriend cry, me not wanting to let go of my granny from our hug and saying bye to the rest of my family. I just thought to myself. Am I really moving?

It was me and my brother living in Nebraska at age 24. It was fun living in Nebraska actually because we got to see many things together like the plant my brother grew in our backyard. Only one thing came popping up in my mind though. Ever sense that weird neighbor moved in across from us our both of our parents past away. My brother got sick and needed medical help right away but then there is me Blaine Elliott. I'm the only

Everything up here is different plants are smaller, the air is thinner and colder, the animals have all adapted to this environment. The best part about being able to sit and simply observe nature is the sense of connection you feel to all of this. Even my brother, who really doesn’t like the outdoors, has enjoyed this trip, especially from the Marmot, Jarl rubbing against his foot. Dark clouds are rolling in and it's time to get moving, we take our final pictures, and our last looks at the beauty surrounding us. The scramble down the boulders is easier end up comma butt munch when we reach the bottom the sky is dark, as we jog down the path it starts to rain. we see flashes of lightning in the distance and our speed increases. We begin moving down the mountain, Mom falls on her hip. The large bruise that developed there will become known as Africa. The rest of the way down the mountain, we help her get over the big drops. We're under the tree line now and everyone's exhausted. We continue down down down through the trees It seems like we will never get to the bottom, but we keep moving for what seems like hours, because it was.

Hi, its me Sami again with another wonderful writing to tell you. This writing will be about the first day back to my grandparents and how I met my new cousin Gina. Oh how do I love that day. Anyways, lets get to the story.

My busy spring break was filled with laughter, love, and hatred. Rather I be at work or on the road, I was usually doing something. I had worked five days in a row, (which felt like an eternity) however when Wednesday (my final shift) came around a weight was lifted off of my shoulders, considering the final days of my break would soon bring me pure joy.

In this little town of Idaho Falls, my life has been modified in many ways. Some of the most important things that have happened to me were in Idaho, like meeting my best friend, winning 10th place at a cross country meet, and even picking out my dog. The reason I am who I am today is the effect of these little important moments.

There is one thing I would like to point out on a rest stop we went to. There was another RV there who was on their trip to the Midwest (I think they said . We were talking with them and Charlye who has a kind heart asked them if they would like our left over food. We explained we were headed home to Sacramento and would love for them to take the cans with them. They were more than happy to take what ever we could give them. Tommy and I were boxing up the food for them and discovered some sausages (3 packages) in the freezer that never was used and a quart of unopened ice cream. We decided to give it to them. We asked if we could pray for them for a safe trip (they were happy to know we are Christians). They left with smiles on their faces.

My second semester, I had gotten used to my new life in Colorado. I realized that I was able to grow, and make a foundation of support for myself; with my advisor, friends, and co-workers. I made a stable home, where I am able to focus on my studies. My brother was out of the hospital, and my father was stationed in a federal prison in Texas; my focus did not have to be on my family. I understand, that I have to continue to take many more steps to improve my standing at Colorado State. I will continue to use the tutoring programs provided like TILT, office hours, and study groups provided by professors. I started to use TILT after work for Physics 121, and Math 161, knowing that I did not have the greatest knowledge on those subjects. TILT

I will never go on another road trip in my life. About 2 years ago my family was planning on taking a trip to go to South Dakota. I was super excited because i've never been out of the state so I was looking forward to it. My siblings had went to South Dakota many times before and they kept telling me that they had so much fun but I all I could think about was the way there and not the destination. The night before we were supposed to leave all eight of us packed our bags and slept the rest of the night away. We were planning on leaving Early in the morning so we could get a head start on the day and that ending up not working out because of course we all woke up late. As we calmly rushed out the door and stuffed all our bags and blankets into the crowded car and did a last check to see if we missed anything we decided to hit the road.

My family was blessed with the rewards of surely the hard work of both my mother and father, but surely the employment of my father made possible other benefits such as affording airline tickets. Twice a year, every Christmas and summer vacation, the entire family flew from the West coast to the East coast to reunite with our relatives. Those transcontinental flights were rather long but unbeknownst to me, hours of inspiration directing to my future. Sometimes its difficult to see the forest through all of those trees. Countless hours staring at the wing of an airliner creating a curiosity that lead to a career is one aspect of the story. Another is opening the apertures of one is eyes to encompass the beauty of the landscape once a perspective only God could view. Jet airliner travel introduced mankind to the eye view of God. The Nazca line in Peru, for example, only from altitude is the beauty perceived. The view out of the airliners window at night showed lines of lights, of varying lengths and angles, paralleling, converging, and diverging, but also joining areas of dense lights, some larger than others, and all made by

“Look at the sunset,” he told me. I shifted my focus to the window and was taken aback by the wonderful view. The world was coated in several shades of oranges, pinks, and purples; all of them blending together perfectly to create a beautiful sight. I had never seen a sight like this before, and in that moment I knew what Julian meant when he talked about “the exhilarating feel of experiencing something new”. Sure, I stepped foot on an airplane before, but spending this time alone with Julian made it different somehow. The entire relationship resonated a different vibe than the one I was in before. Many people picture their destination when they’re flying, and I was among them with the same thrill and daydreams coursing throughout my body.

Every year the cross-country team has a trip up to Colorado for team building and altitude training. I have gone on these trips with my team every year and the time I spent with my team in Colorado makes up a large portion of my best memories of high school. The trip is mean to be an amalgam of challenges and fun experiences, and I feel like I can fully enjoy the entertaining parts of the trip because I know that I have also worked hard the remainder of the time. Driving in a van for hours to get to Colorado can get boring, but we usually find some way to make it fun with music and games that the team brings along. Colorado is too far to make it in one day, so after the first day of driving we stop in a valley in New Mexico for the night. That

I am shock by what I am seeing now. I find myself flying in the middle of the boundless sky like an eagle. The beauty of the earth is all under my eyes now. I can see the greenish forests, the giant mountains, the empty lands, and the busy cities that are far away. But the most beautiful thing is the blue sky itself where I am in. Suddenly the next moment, I was standing on the roof of a 100-stories tall skyscraper while enjoying my expensive wine and the landscape of the city. When I look down, although I am scared of heights, I see the miniature of pedestrians and cars that are moving around. Travelling in an imagination world is probably the most joyful thing to do in the life. I don’t where I will be next yet, but it will come to my mind when it is the right time.