Personal Narrative: The Re-Do List

I started drawing when I was 16. I was cursing 10th grade, or how is called in my country, Dominican Republic “Segundo de Bachillerato”. It was recess. I was alone in my classroom that day, besides two or three people who were just killing time there, and I didn’t had much to do with my time. I was at the last book of a series of books which names I can’t remember and If I recall correctly the last book was very boring for some reason so I didn’t wanted to read it anymore. So, looking for something to do, I stood from my seat and walked boringly down the aisle of chairs and that was, not my first interaction with art, but the first time I remember i liked art or paid attention to it. Yerkis, a guy of my class: short, chubby and well mannered

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.

Over my years of school, one big influence on me has always been sports. Ever since a young age, I have always enjoyed playing and watching sports. In my four years in high school, I have fell in love with the sport of lacrosse.

I woke up and took one bite out of my pop tart but that one bite was all I could eat. My legs were shaking, and my heart was pounding. My dad told me, “It is a true honor to even make it this far so go out there and have some fun.” Once I heard this statement, I knew I was ready to go. I arrived at school and boarded the bus. The car ride was an hour and fifteen minutes of hearing the squeaking of the wheel on the bus. My teammates were getting their heads ready for the big game.

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

The person you are today, is simply result of external interactions. Every decision or event that mentally or physically influences you, influences who you are to become. I find it healthy to occasionally, sit back in the mixt of our crazy gadget obsessed, overly crowded, busy life styles, and contemplate the decisions and obstacles, (both good and bad), that brought me to where I am today. Although, I have a very positive outlook on life, there are certainly things that I wish I could change.

Thus so, I came to a revelation one evening whilst pondering my own existence. I have no real control of time. The past is unchangeable and the future equally uncontrollable. I have power over the present, but the present with every second that passes. What am I supposed to do about that? I can’t fight the natural passage of time! As much as this upsets me, it lead to my making unspoken promise to myself that I’m going to grow up and be better. I’m a firm believer in self-improvement, and although no one is perfect, I’m still running that course. There will come a day when I have to stop running away from my issues. I hope that there will also be a day when I’m at peace with that.

Throughout high school, I was the student that had good grades and was involved in many activities, but was extremely quiet. I was scared that nobody would like me when, and if, I decided to be outgoing. However, once I got to college, I decided to face my fears and began to be outgoing with new people. If I could get a ‘do-over’, I would have been more outgoing in high school.

We all have a moment in our lives where we experience something that changes the course of our lives. Sometimes it is a great thing, like winning the lottery or receiving a promotion. But sometimes it is the terrible things in life that have such profound impacts on our futures. For me, it all happened in the time between seconds.

Do you ever recall wanting to be an astronaut, a celebrity, or even a clown? These are some examples of what young children are thinking of accomplishing as career options. Being nonsensical is not the way to do, being realistic by far is the smartest thing to do.

History never changes, but the way we interpret it can. Born to a 19-year-old woman who had never lived outside of her small agricultural town and a 33-year-old Iranian soldier, I left Iran for the United States when I was five years old. My journey from a boy to a man is focused around five key decisions that would prove instrumental in writing my history.

When you look back on life, do you regret any of your mistakes? Sometimes I look back and pity myself and think about how badly I wish I could go back and change certain decisions that I made, but reality hits you real hard in the face and guess what… you can’t. That’s pretty much how my story goes, but there’s definitely a lot that I, and others, can learn from.

So far in my fourteen and a half years alive my life has been a complete roller coaster of many different situations and experiences that are good and bad, up and down. I always say to myself like why did I do that, what if I could of done something or even how come I am the way I am. I thought about it, if I had to live my life over again I would.

Reaction: Yes, our life is full of up and downs. We also cannot change the past, but we can make better things or choices

One thing I wish I could change was the day I broke my mom’s heart. I was still in high school, when I decided I should move out and live with my brother. My mom and I have never really had a great relationship with each other. With me always lying to her about where I was, who I was with, and what I was going to do. It was always constant arguing and disagreeing on everything. One day, we just really got into it and she told me “my roof, my rules” so that is when I told myself, “Yup, I need to just pack my bags and leave tonight, that will fix everything.” and without thinking that’s what I did. I waited until my mom and dad went to sleep and just left without them hearing. I had left a note and told my mom I was leaving the house because I was tired of her, her rules, and our relationship. That next morning my mom called me and sounded really upset and hurt. Making me start feeling bad and having regrets. After having time to think, I realized I am just a brat, and take everything for granted. I realized my mom is the way she is with me, because she just really cares about me. I realized I needed to be thankful and take