Life is like a game of volleyball, unpredictable yet predictable at the same time. The game of volleyball reflects the same ideas of what happens in my life. Thus, I created a setup of a volleyball game inside a shadow box to represent the parts of who I am. I made the volleyball net with white plastic canvas mesh, court lines with ribbon and players with some of my favorite pictures in the past. I chose this type of model because there are multiple sides to it. Only one side of it can be shown at a time but they are all there, this relates to how I present myself to others. In my opinion, the most meaningful part to the model is the frame. This represents my foundation, the part that makes me who I am. My parents have taught me important things in life like character and work ethic from their own experiences. Both of my parents lead strong examples for my sister and I. They have always shown me how to be the bigger person by caring for one another and doing the right and honest thing. For example, if a cashier forgets to scan an item my parents will either tell the cashier there is another item to scan or go back through the line to check out. Work ethic is also very important because my parents say, “that’s where success begins”. Ever since I was a little kid, things haven’t come easy to me. I work hard for everything I do, I’m a person who goes the extra mile on each homework assignment and studies for every single test. My parents give me inspiration and drive to do
I have had a plethora of unique life experiences, many of which have happened in the last couple years of my life. In the past three years I have traveled to Guatemala, all over Germany, and Hawaii. During the summer of my freshman year of High School, I went on a missions trip to Guatemala. My church took 10 boys, and 10 girls; we spent a total of a week in a small impoverished town called . I believe that this trip allowed me, for the first time, to see, and be enveloped in a new culture. During the trip I ate new foods, played new games, and learned about the Guatemalan culture. I was able to spend time with all of the local kids, and learn how to respect a new culture. Then, this last summer, I was able to take a part in a German Exchange program with my school. After taking 3 years of German in High School, I was one of twenty people selected to go on a three-week long exchange program in Germany. The trip consisted of a week traveling with the 20 people chosen to go. The other two weeks were spent living with my host family and German partner. During my stay there I visited Berlin, Munich, Cologne, and traveled to the Netherlands. This was another chance for me to experience a new culture, and to further my German speaking skills. However, more importantly, it allowed me to make lifelong friends in another part of the world. About a month after I got back from Germany, my family went on a 12 day vacation to Hawaii. During my time there I had the opportunity to do a
During life certain emotions are expressed and the importance of them can determine whether life is short so, you must be thankful for everything you have and thank God, for every breath you take. I believe my faith has helped me grow into the person xI am today. As long as I have family, God and self-respect I believe I will have a great life.
Living in a media-driven world often causes many people to attempt to live a life full of plastic, whether it is plastic cards, plastic surgeries, or plastic personalities. As a teenager growing up in the middle of this popular lifestyle, I am at a constant battle with myself of what type of person I will become. My family had a huge impact on my morals that were set at a young age. I looked up to one family member in particular for advice and guidance, my aunt. The most important lesson I learned from my aunt was to live a life worth remembering by understanding that relationships rule, failure is good, and be myself.
The life I live is just like any other person who lives within the middle class. I’ve experienced times in my life where I didn’t have enough money, but there has also been occasions when I did. It is very common in my home to hear every couple of months, “We don’t have enough money, we need to save.”
AN: I really wanted to take part in this contest, I edited what I could but I doubt, I'll get past the first round, but I hope to make it to 2k words at least!
To say that life has been one of constant motion is accurate. I have grown up many different schools, neighborhoods, and with people from all sorts of backgrounds. My environments have created much of who I am today. Through these diverse communities my values and morals have evolved over time. The way a certain population can contribute to shaping someone’s identity is crucial to their growth. “…neuroscientists are now discovering that at the cognitive level all three abilities – memory, location, and narration – are intimately bound up.” (Self np) He’s saying that place and story are key factors in one’s identity.
Sarah Elizabeth Ramirez was an important person in my life. She impacted my life so much. Some people might find it weird that a newborn baby impacted my life, maybe because the fact that they can’t speak nor open their eyes, but it’s true. We should never underestimate something or someone on how big or small it is.
Happiness to me is the feeling freedom after finally being out of debt; to be able to focus on school instead of working 40+ hours a week. Happiness is proving all the people who doubt me and lack faith in the fact that I’m making it. Happiness is getting to buy some pants, and socks and not worry about not having enough money to eat for the next two weeks. Happiness is making a stranger smile; filling their empty bellies. Happiness for me is relief; a weight falling off my shoulders letting content and joy flow in through my body. Little things make me happy; the cigarette after a long shift at work, the full night of sleep, a shower after a fifteen hour day.
The despairing faces and the exhilarating emotions that overwhelm the room as I think back to how irrational life can be. I notice their hands were reluctantly raised to answer a simple math problem that I had written on the board. Looking around, I have never seen such fragile students that are eager to learn but afraid to speak. However, these are the same students who helped me realize how important it was for me to be in that room. A star that shined bright, guiding the helpless voyagers to shore. I always thought life was linear , where everything increased at a constant slope, but that is definitely not the case. Thinking about the many unexpected turns it can take and how it places laborious weight on a person's decisions and responsibilities My life can be summarized from the last four years, from the beginning of high school to now. I always caught myself walking the halls contemplating my purpose in life and why I felt so incomplete. Until finally, everything fell into place, learning what my heart cared for the most and what and who I wanted to be now. Math has always been something that defines me. Going from being a normal student to a math tutor, it really shows me my own capabilities and limits.
“Thump-thump” was the sound of the beating of my uneasy heart as we drove out of my hometown of Novi, Michigan for one last time to go to the airport. I had lived there all of my life. As I glanced out the window, I saw my elementary school, the park, and the homes of my friends that I would visit nearly everyday. They all became a blurry scene that passed by me at the speed of light. Tears nearly flew through my eyes, but I refused to blink because I didn't want to miss this precious moment. Even though I always preferred the familiarity of an environment and had built a great relationship with all of my teachers, I understood that moving to Dallas was inevitable and was more beneficial for our family in the long-term. Despite this, thoughts of uneasiness clouded my mind. Little did I know that moving to a new town, a new state, would change me in a way I would have never anticipated.
Hunched under a mango tree trying to find shade from the scorching sun as sweat drips from my scalp to my toes, sizzling as it hits the ground. Temperatures increase day by day in the summer I pray for rain to fall, looking at the stray animals on the roads in craving for water. I gaze off into the distance of barren acres of land, touching the dry, cracked soil and seeing lifeless crops perish due to the boiling heat that I was responsible for. As a boy living in the (countryside) rural areas of India in a middle-class household, everyone in the village was taught at a young age to start working. Even though I was the third child out of my four siblings it didn’t prevent my parents from making me work out in the fields. It was tough having to do manual labor like field tasks to feeding and taking care of the animals every day. As the rooster's crow, I wake up immediately and lay out my school uniform and shower, I brush my hair slicked back, put on my shoes and run off to school with my friends. I quit going to school until the 10th grade because back in the day my parents wouldn't care that much about education like today. It was more about harvesting corn in the summer to plant seeds in the winter. When I was around 20 years old my two older siblings got married and my family decided it was my turn. However, my father tried to encourage me to do something in life first and not sit at home and drink or smoke so he opened a pharmacy, that didn't work out so long due to my
I believe anyone has the ability to change anyones mood. I believe one person can make me feel awful about myself. I believe one person has the power to fill me with joy, and laughter. I believe one person can ruin my day with just a couple awful words. I believe one person impacts another. At a young age I realized how much happiness one person brought me. When I was nine years old I then realized one person can also fill you with sadness.
Growing up my family has always been there to provide for me. Now, I am in college away from the nest but never far enough that I still cannot fly back home. A year or so after graduation, I expect to be living on my own, without the protective wing of my parents overshadowing me. In order for me to achieve this freedom, I will need a steady job and a place to live. Simple! However, for me to achieve a happy life on my own, I will need to do a lot more than just make a living. I could consider myself free from my parents if I lived under the freeway in a cardboard box; however, that life would not further my personal freedom to be happy. Achieving happiness and contentment in life is not easy; the steps taken to cultivate joy in my life that are found in the paragraphs below are going to be hard but worth it. I would like to be happy in the future by keeping my body in the best physical condition possible, working at a job that brings me joy, and loving a woman with all of my heart.
I was born into a dysfunctional family. My father was an alcoholic and a heavy smoker. There were so many financial problems and pure happiness. Everyday my parents would argue about the most minor things. Everyone thought that everything was all roses and unicorns for us, but in reality it was dull and grey. The life I was born into made me want to do things that are looked down upon. Despite all of this my mother was strong and maintained a smile on her face.
My life has always been normal. My usual week goes like this. On Sunday I get up bright and early and go to church. My whole family gets up at the same time then eats breakfast and talks about our plans for the week.