Personal Narrative: The Road To Texas

In the fall of 2012, my mother almost succumbed to her illness. I had just begun my freshman year of high school midst angry conversations between my parents and the threat of separation. It would seem as if they bickered about the most irrelevant things, almost as if they had no other reason to fight other than the fight itself. Those moments were excruciatingly lonely, my father worked until the dead of night and my mother would come home exhausted from treatment. I now know that there was no one who felt more unvalued than my mother. I wish I had the ability to iron away this blunder that destiny had fabricated, however foolish this desire is.

As a Texas-born, Texas-raised, small town girl, I lack the words to explain what role my hometown and the state of Texas has played in creating the person I am today. I will say, though, that I have all intentions of paying it giving back to my community by furthering Texas scientifically and medically through research, and caretaking for Texans as soon as I have the chance, starting at Texas A&M University this fall.

Before my big move to Houston about three years ago for college, it was my last summer back home in a little city called Amarillo, which is considered “West Texas,” although it’s actually located geographically north within the heart of the Texas Panhandle. I was enjoying every last bits of the time that I’ve had left with my friends and family. The last thing I could think of worrying about during that summer was a romantic relationship. My intentions were to make bittersweet memories and to have what they would call, fun. I went out almost every single weekend for the first month of my last summer and met tons of friends and I became closer to old casual friends. Within that first month of consistently going out and hanging out with all these friends that I became close to, I met a very sweet, charming, and interesting guy named Andy. Something about him caught my attention. He was silly and funny without even trying, so I took an interest in him. We started messaging each other on Facebook then texting and making polite conversations. Before I knew it, this was the starting point to a whole new friendship. When he first messaged me, as much as I hesitated to respond to him because I knew I was moving and I did not want to develop feelings just leave everything behind, I wanted to not just respond but to strike more conversations. I became curious about him and I wanted to find out more and more.

I hope your Tuesday afternoon is going terrific. I am Miten Bhadania and I would like to formally introduce myself as your colleague working in the Tech department as Developer.

Texas born and raised means a lot of things, but for me it means diverse. As a child, I grew up in the southside of San Antonio and attended a Catholic school which contributed majorly to how I act now and has impacted how I view others. However, in the 7th grade, I moved to the Texas Hill Country and learned a plethora of contradictory views. This has led me to form my own opinions on what is right and wrong and meshed city and country life to create a well-rounded, diverse Texan.

I did not know anybody. The closest person that I knew was a six hour drive away, not even in the same state as me. The day that I moved to Texas was the day that I left my sense of security behind – everything I had ever known was taken from me, and having no say in this discouraged and frustrated me. Being part of an expat family accustomed me to moving, but this time it was different. The transition from living in Qatar to living in Texas physically and mentally exhausted me, but, with the right skills and resources, I was eventually able to overcome it.

The birds, squirrels, and fishes living in tranquility. The daylight there is an early riser, while the night feels like a mother rocking her baby; peaceful. Therefore, the nights are so still that only the beautiful harmony of the crickets could be heard. The green tree looks so alive, they were standing large and stiff. There was even the opportunity of exploring the mountain trails. It was amazing being able to experience something completely different, especially when it was just a few days from starting my junior year. The memories from that trip will be unforgettable.

"Insert quote here" -Person. I moved to Texas when I was five years old to be closer to my dad's family. My parents, my sister, and I moved around a lot. My sister and I would jump around from school to school. (Insert more about life.) The word (...)

“Where are we going?” She then looked at me and said, “We’re moving to Texas.” Out of all places, Texas? We lived in southern California our whole lives, so moving to Texas was definitely a shock to me. “What about our family and friends?” Her eyes began to water, so I knew talking about it further would only make things worse. Texas. It was stuck in my head and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The more I thought of it, the worse it sounded. The worst part was that it was so sudden, so it didn’t seem real. Because my parents are divorced, I spent the weekends at my dad’s house. He was torn that I was leaving Riverside, which of course meant that weekend visits would turn

Longview, Texas is a unique hometown for many reasons. First of all because, more than likely, any given person who attends Texas A&M and did not play football in high school has never heard of it. When meeting new people in college, I’m always asked where I’m from and 90% of the time the response I hear is “Oh I’ve never heard of that”, 9.5% of the time I hear “Is that kinda by Houston?” (a question that, after hearing for several semesters, I’ll just respond yes), and finally .5% of people I meet know where Longview actually is. Living in a small town—not in the suburbs to any city—offered a unique perspective on life going into college. There are 4 high schools in town. The largest, Longview High, was an athletic and academic powerhouse: always going to state

Having lived in the southern coastal region of Texas I have seen many of the beauties that nature offers, but many of these beauties also bring complicated needs to those they effect. I've discovered the power and magnitude of lightning storms I've been entranced by the soft crashing of the waves on the coast but the most beautiful and perhaps the most devastating phenomena I have ever viewed are hurricanes. Hurricanes have swept through my home front on many occasions, these powerful giants drift through towns decimating all in their paths breaking trees, ripping roofs off houses, and bringing with them a flood like no other. The high water and gale force winds that comprise these natural wrecking balls can cripple families and in my community

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.

The way the story begins is probably the same as others. Obviously you are born and raised somewhere. Well my story began in Worcester Massachusetts. I was born on January 15th, 1995, to wonderful parents who people might think is not your usual mix. My mother is from the Dominican Republic and my father is from Ecuador. Yes, I know, the weirdest mix ever but it brought me into this world, so I'm proud.

Several days after Papa received my card and photos, he notified Oma Tine and his sister Puck that he reconnected with Ellen and I, after receiving an initial phone call from me, out of a clear blue sky. Upon hearing the astonishing joyful news, Oma Tine was thrilled for her son and grandchildren, although knowing that it had been my heart’s life-long wish, she was even more so for me. Aunt Puck was equally pleased that the deep family secret of our existence was finally revealed, it was as if a tremendous burden had been lifted from the family’s shoulders.

The last few years have been going by really slow. I was beginning to lose track of time. When my dad left my mom, when I dropped out of high school, when Ron and I broke up was all becoming a blur of my past. I didn’t know what to do next. All I knew was that we were broke and my mother’s criminal record for stealing clothes and food was stopping her from getting a job anywhere in New Jersey. Before we lost our cheap and broken down apartment in East Orange, we needed to get some fast cash. I decided to drop-out of high school. My mother understood why I was doing this and trusted that I won’t let her down like how my father did to her, my sister, Clary, and me.