The Importance Of My Mom Changed My Life

Throughout my childhood, I was always spoiled and pampered. I knew my parents loved me because of their actions. Till this day, I don’t think I’ve ever

During the summer after I turned thirteen, I went on a vacation that changed my entire perspective on life. “Americans are so spoiled.” I remember hearing my mother proclaim this numerous times growing up. I would shake my head or roll my eyes every time, since I never quite understood what it meant. Of course, I had nothing to compare it to. I grew up in the suburbs in a middle class family. I never wanted for anything. I heard the stories of my mother and her siblings growing up; they lived in filth, they occasionally skipped meals, all seven kids slept huddled together on concrete floors. I heard those stories as if she was saying, “…I walked a mile to school, uphill both ways…” I never could have imagined the reality of what the stories truly meant until I visited my birthplace, the Philippines, for the first time.

My Mom, Dad, and younger brother survived. If it's not medicine, my family would not have lived.

If you would have told me twenty years ago that I would be where I am today I would have probably laughed at you. Growing up I never wanted for nothing and I had everything a little girl like me could possibly want. My parents ran a lake and a small local bait shop. For sixteen years we ran this little lake and I had it all. I had over eighty acres to play on, five different playgrounds with different equipment at every one of them, fishing, plenty of kids to play with during the summer time, a golf cart that I learned how to drive, free soda pop and the promise of a five course breakfast every weekend from some of our campers, I had a dad that I idolized, a mom who tried to teach me the important lessons in life, a sister to drive crazy, and a brother whom I got to see once in a while. I had it all when I was growing up and some of my class mates would make fun of me for being big, for being in a lower class, or simply because I was different. On the worst of days I would seek refuge in a little hidden world. The pine trees canopied over a certain spot and make different patterns across your skin. I would lay there for hours until Mama called for supper and watch as the bugs made a home and sometimes a squirrel would skitter around me in a hurry to get home to his family. The wind would blow through the trees and the sweet perfume would fill the air. Sometimes I would lay there until the tears would dry on my face and other times I would doze off until the sun started to

When I look back on my childhood, I go back to my front yard where I would always play outside with my brother and neighbors weather it would be street hockey in the cul-de-sac, to a overly-intense game of basketball. But when I recognize how my childhood was behind closed doors, it wasn’t much different. My house was the place everyone came to hang out at. I had a large scale beautiful home with a basement my dad built from scratch and made it into the perfect hangout areas. I never got in trouble, but when I did my parents would sit me down and talk to me about where I went wrong. I was a very spoiled girl growing up, I was treated like a princess by my dad, and he would always make sure to let me know I was his little girl. I have to admit I was a bit of a

Asking for an outfit that I could wear for my 13th birthday, I saw my parents with a dreadful look, as if their backs were hard to uphold, as if their brown eyes were ripping apart with sadness and discontent, as if they were disappointed in themselves, not being able to provide me with a gift that I deserved. Growing up in a household with parents that only had high school diplomas, had low paying jobs, and five children running around the house, I encountered countless obstacles that threatened to set me back in life. Or, as Oprah Winfrey puts it, “The struggle of my life created empathy- I could relate to pain, being abandoned, having people not love me.” Each obstacle and failure that I encountered led me to be the person I am today, the

Most fathers have sacrifice their own family and work to another country just to support their family’s need. Children in Philippines also help the household chores such as cleaning the house, doing the laundry, washing the dishes and some children in their young age are going to work just to help to support their family. Filipino families have very strong family ties and have big extended families living in one

My Mom influenced me that I could be any sport that I could, and I could be the goalie on the team.

My childhood was not always the most glamorous or the most exciting, but we dealt with what we had and learned to appreciate what was in front of us. I remember as a child the things my Mother would always tell me and my older brother “Kids, we may not have all the riches in the world, but I will always do what I can to make you both happy”. Growing up without a Father figure was rough and my Mother struggled to raise two boys but eventually, my Step-Dad came along and things did eventually start to get better.

Many people have had a big part in my life, and making me what I am today. From my own house to the guys on the streets. I had many important events that impacted me in a strong aspect. There have been many places as well but no one has ever impacted me as much as one person well second in line. My mother, She is not only my mom but my coach and supports me in almost everything I do.

I grew up in a semi safe environment that was filled with a variety of benevolent people, a vast majority of those people happened to be my family and family friends. The neighborhood was a little tough, there were gunfights in front of my home on three separate occasions and some home invasions but not too much. Thanks to my parents, I didn’t grow up around the rugged kids that Denver Harbor normally produced, so I grow up different from all of the other kids. My parents spoiled me as a child, but thankfully I wasn’t spoiled rotten. My mother and father were and still are fantastic parents, they’re the reason I’m where I’m now. I feel like I eventually grew up right, however I wasn’t always on the right path. There was a long time where I wasn’t stable, I often wish I could rewrite that section of my life, but it’s a part of my

Before I choose a topic about Filipino culture I orginally desired to learn about life at an inner city school by observing it with my own eyes or the policies of catholic high schools on homosexual students. However, time and material forced my hand so I interviewed my best friend on his moms native culture of the Philippines. This interview was conducted last week on the first floor of the steely library. So my orginal thoughts of the Philippines I'll be honest weren't much. It was a nation that I didn't know had achived indpendacy from the united states over 50 years ago. I honestly thought we still held it as a territory. Until this interview I never thought about the Philippines up until this interview so forming any context of the island or culture was rather diffcult outside of its basic geography. Prior to this interview I associsated this island nation with nothing. From a cultural standpoint I knew nothing of what it held a belived it to be a largely indpendent nation in culture similar to the way of the rest of the pacific islands. When I thought of the Philippines I could not help but picturing a simply rainer version of african with people of different decent. The picture was a nation with no econmy, no infrastrucutre, and loose collection of mud

I woke up to a raging fire on my farm and my Papa gone, and I realized things were about to change. I had all the things I wanted, and I never was grateful for these things. But when my Papa died and all of our riches were taken, we were forced into Mexican working camps. Now we were poor and had almost nothing. All those things were taken away from me. I have come to appreciate everything I have. I thought I would have riches forever, but now I realized that you shouldn't take things for granted, and be grateful for the things you have.

As I take a look back on my life, I realize how great it has truly been. I had an absolutely amazing childhood and I am beyond blessed for it. I grew up in a home with two loving parents that have been with me through it all and now of days that is something to be truly thankful for. My parents taught me to strive to be anything that I wanted and that I could be anything that I set my mind to. These dreams changed throughout my life as I grew older and as I grew into the person that I am today.

Most Filipino families have family living abroad. My family is one of those. My grandparents lived in Barrow, Alaska the majority of their lives. When I was six, they convinced my mom to bring her family to America. After six months of testing and vetting, we were on our way to Alaska. As a six-year-old I did not think much of it, not until it was actually happening. When we were driving to the airport I had a moment of realization that I was going to be riding in an airplane for the first time of my life. It was always my dream to go inside an airplane because everyday of my life in the Philippines, I would see airplanes flying high above our house everyday, and I would always imagine myself inside the airplane and what it looks like. To this day, I still have a vivid memory of my first experience traveling in an airplane. My first time flying was a defining moment in my life because it was the beginning of the transition to my new life in a new country.