Personal Narrative: Waking Up

At the age of nine, I watched my uncles lowering my father into the ground and what took his life was addiction. All my life I have watched addiction take over the lives of people, I love. My father's side of the family, besides my grandparents, has always faced addiction. Although, addiction runs through my blood, I will not take the same path I have watched people take all my life. I will be the one to end the cycle. Watching the majority of my family waste their life has motivated me to change the direction and better myself from living a life of addiction and misery.

Thomas Edison, the man who is credited with inventing the lightbulb, once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” If Thomas Edison had given up after the first attempt had gone downhill, mankind would have been left in the dark. Luckily, this headstrong inventor refused to abandon his idea. Like Thomas Edison, I refuse to give up, especially when it comes to dance.

Sorry, I know you're asleep and I continuously keep texting you but I'd rather tell you everything now so you won't feel worried when you wake up when I will still feel asleep. What I wanted to tell you was that I just haven't been happy lately. Maybe it's because I miss you; because of all the shitty things that has been happening to me. I haven't been happy for over a week. But between us, all we do is argue and I'm so tired, Ciro. Sometimes I lay in bed and just grab my head because of how exhausted I am with the constant fightings. I have so many problems in my life and I have to go on and tell you everything that's happening when I shouldn't. It honestly makes things worse. I even cry because I can't take my life anymore. Believe me, I cry every single day. Not

“Who thought the baptism water would be as cold as an ice bath?” Much like anyone growing up in Las Vegas, or otherwise known as “Sin City,” we have always been surrounded by people from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Those people are commonly known as “Mormons.” Boy, let me tell you, there are Mormons everywhere in Vegas! There was always something about them that made me interested. There was a light as bright as the sun that always shined from them. They always had a smile on their face, from ear to ear and once you start talking to them I found that they are the nicest people. I then got to know and started hanging out with the Mormons. I then became interested with the religion aspect.

Nestled on the cobblestone floor, limbs ached and finger-tips tingled, I moved not. The warmth from a near vent felt pleasant. It eased the aching bones.

I am an introvert. I value my personal space and I need my alone time. I haven’t had much of either ever since I moved into my dorm at the University of Georgia two weeks ago. Every day has been a combination of classes, errands, and friends. This isn’t a complaint. I love the freedom and figuring out how to handle more responsibility. I love being around other people and having friends that are always up to watching something on Netflix or playing a game. But everyone needs a break. The first two weeks have been a rush but there hasn’t been a moment to just pause and take in everything that has happened so far.

The saying goes “Change is what makes the world go round”. Well, my world would move much smoother if I got rid of a few things. Table condiments, meatloaf and roller chairs have got to go! My world would be a better place if these items didn’t exist!

Have you ever been so desperate for something that you redevelop your motive in its entirety? Throughout my life I’ve found myself placed in this frightening situation multiple times; the most confusing of which would be what I’ve endured this year. People in their 20s have it rough anyway. We’re old enough to feel like we’re supposed to know what we’re doing, yet young enough to be clueless and it still be acceptable; then there’s those of us who think we’ve got it all figured out only to be proven tremendously wrong. I have learned, however, that being tremendously wrong can lead you right where you need to be.

As I wrote this essay a lot of memories began to move like a slideshow within my head. Each memory kind of reminded me why I am the person that I am today. Out of all of these years God has truly been preparing me for greater. God loves me for me and I overlooked God plenty of times and I overlooked his word. I learned that I was in some of the predicaments that I was because of myself not because of God. God only wanted to see me grow more in him but I always put him on the backside not trying to truly become a full Christian. I was afraid of the things that might happen because I was already dealing with some harsh times in my life. Time after time I got weaker giving up on God knowing that every single time I messed up

Back in 7th grade I wasn’t a very smart kid. I hung out with kids that I probably shouldn’t have hung out with and I regret it to this day but will always be with me. I was a good friend with this kid and we were both out for track because it was track season. We were just getting done with practice and he wanted me to stay the night so I called me mom and she said sure. So I rode the bus home with him and when we got to West Union we got off the bus and went to his house. He said lets got to this other kids house so we walked to this kids house that was all the way on the other side of town. When we got there we were both wearing shorts and sweatshirt and we both were running through the snow so our socks were wet. When we went

Moving on, again westward, I was looking for a panel that I'd wanted to find for several years. I had written down clues I found in blog posts and forum trip reports, looked at maps for likely places and spent far too much time on Google Earth. I was pretty confident this time. The dogs and I started off up the steep slope to where I thought it was, this asthmatic flatlander and her flatlander dogs sucking wind as we went. After a bit of searching, I decided I was thwarted again, which was fine - the view was pretty fantastic and it gave me another reason to visit the area and explore more next

Placing his hands on his knees, he takes a deep breath holds it for a count of seven the breaths to a count of five.. Repeating the routine several times until everyone knows what to do, Sly dismissed the class saying, ”We will start in the morning at nine sharp.”

There comes a time in everyone’s life when your perspective changes. Regardless on the topic, the event causes you to rethink your previous actions and set yourself straight. In my situation, the big event that caused me to change my perspective was a fight I had with my older sister. Growing up we never got along, mostly because we are complete opposites. Looking back majority of our fights are a blur, because they were so insignificant. However, the fight I am referencing is one I will never forget.

It all started when I was nine years old and I was doing my homework . I was sitting on the front steps of my house when I saw a blue trailblazer pass by my house. The trailblazer backed up and stopped right in front of me. Coach stuck his head out of the window, took a look at me and then he asked me, "did you take it out of the window?" Or, at least that's what I thought he said. "I'm sorry. What's that you said?" I asked.

I have been coming to HHSC for 6 years as a camper, and each year has always been a new experience for me. I have met countless new friends, and I am grateful for them each and every day. Before coming to camp, I was always a shy and timid person, unwilling to put myself out there and meet new people. 6 years later, and now I’m the exact opposite; I love to talk to people, make new friends, and tell people my stories. Camp has given me so much confidence, and the sense that I belong somewhere. In a world filled today with so much hate and resentment, it is nice to always have a safe heaven, where no matter what the outside circumstances, everyone will feel together. Camp has meant a lot to me, and I have changed a lot because of HHSC.