The Night That Changed Mine

I was walking to my house after a long day of school. All day I was waiting for this moment; To see my dog. I walked inside. I saw my dad, which was strange because he was never home. I look around. There was an empty dog bed, covered in brownish-red fur. My sister’s head was in her hands, she was shaking uncontrollably. I turn towards my dad, his eyes filled with pity and sorrow. I set my backpack down and search for my companion. Being the insensitive and ignorant child I was, I ask, “ Where’s Duke?”. My dad glanced at me making direct contact. The words I was about to absorb , were almost deadpan. He replied monotonously, “ He’s gone.”. The only word that can explain how I was feeling was numb. I hadn’t realized the stumble backwards into the wall, or the tears shed, not even the comfort I was trying to be given. Though I thought that this was going

The sunlight beamed through my window, waking me up to the sound of birds chirping in the tree outside. It felt just like any other morning to my happy ten-year-old self. Three days had passed since Christmas, and I was still relishing my new presents and Christmas break. As I entered into my living room, my brother Corbin was watching TV and who snuggled up in his favorite brown blanket. I made myself comfortable on the floor in front of him, when his phone rang. The call appeared to be my brother's friend since kindergarten, Ulu, who lived in Texas. As they proceeded to talk, I watched Corbin's face fill with confusion and concern. He had called to ask my brother if his best friend and our next door neighbor, Danny, had died. Corbin knew

“ Well, what happened was, bad people in planes, dropped these big black balls, that explode when they land. Once it explodes almost everything around it is either on fire or destroyed.” They looked at me with mouths hung open, I pulled them onto the stairs to sit down, then sat down on the floor in front of them, And finished my story. “ So these big black balls, landed in and around my school, and hurt a lot of people, Dad was one of them, and he was in so much pain, that God decided to make him an angel to watch over all of us and make sure that we’re alright. But we won’t be able to hear him or see him, but he can hear us and see us.” I finished, and looked up at them, they seemed to understand, Lucy was crying a little bit, and said “ I’m going to miss seeing you daddy.” I pulled them both into a hug; we sat like that for a couple minutes, then I got up grabbed their coats and took hold of both their hands and walked out the front door, silently praying that Taylor’s mom would watch them

Growing up in the South Bronx, with a single mom, living on public assistance in the projects, I have experienced many turning points. The most significant turning point in my life was finding out that I was pregnant. I was 20 years old and all I could think about was how to share this news with my mom without her killing me. My partner and I at the time were not doing well; I was scared and I knew that just as my mom did, I too would have to do this alone.

“Ring Ring”. Sitting in my bed, on my computer, I hear the phone ringing. It stops and I hear footsteps walking through the living room. My mom walks into my room and says she’s going to the hospital. I asked why, and she said that there was an error in Papaw’s paperwork for his sleep-study. They lied.

The day that changed my perspective of life for the better through the challenges faced by others close to me.

Jim, her father, was sick and could no longer take care of himself. As we visited him, he struggled to release words, but did his best to express his love towards Molly. The day following Jim’s visit, we received a phone call. It was as if we could hear the ringing from miles away. Tears of sorrow slowly fell down her cheek as she began to mourn. She could feel her heart thumping and slowly tearing. Someone so significant to her heart was in arm's reach but uncontactable. She glanced up trying to soak in one last look of her father, but she couldn’t see past his intubation. His body sparkled and glistened, but he just a breathing corpse, no longer her father. Her head began to grow heavy, as she collapsed to the floor. She suddenly realized that I was behind her, and scrambled to put her tough mask on. She turned around smiling and stated, “Well, everyone has to go at some point.” We both knew that this time was different though. This time my older sister needed me to be the strong adult for her. I grabbed her arm and pulled her in, not too tight but just enough to let her breath. Soon enough the “mom” of the family was now as weak as a young child. I then knew I needed to build her back up and be her rock, As her black smeared eyes stained my cotton sweater, a fire sparked inside me. I could feel the pain of my family breaking. The feeling was life changing,

A life-changing event is not something to be taken lightly. Throughout our lives, we encounter many obstacles and changes, some of which bring us joy and excitement, others of which may be hard for us to handle. When I look back on my relatively short life, it may, at first, be hard for me to think of an event that has truly molded and shaped the person that I am today. I have encountered several changes, but at the time, they felt like mere speed bumps along my path. Looking back now, it is easy for me to see that these changes were not by chance, but were placed in my path to form the person that I am today.

There are many different life changing events that can change your life. Sometimes things happen in people’s life and they can’t do anything about it. Changes can be good and sometimes it can be a terrible thing that results in a positive turn in one’s life. Change is a part of life that no one looks forward to. Everyone’s life changes at some point. Life is full of many unexpected challenges that will be thrown in your face at any place and any time. People learn and grow from every experience that they go through in life. Some of the events that have changed my life was losing my grandmother, graduation, and going to college. Changes come almost every day in my life.

Once I reached my father I noticed this was not good, not good at all. He had his arm held tight against his stomach, obviously trying to fight the severe pain. His face held strain as he tried to hold back the overwhelming distress. Blood and screaming filled the parking lot, my mother’s cry being the loudest of all. People started to crowd around, looking to get a better view. Tears streaming down my face, I was as devastated as one could be.

Every Sunday, since the day I was born has been a day to spend with God, family and the people I love. Bright and early every Sunday morning my older brother Blake, Alex, younger brother Stephen and I would be woken up for the early morning service at St. Paul 's Lutheran church. My mother would have breakfast ready for my father, brothers and I by 6 o 'clock in the morning so that we were fed and ready for the 8 o 'clock service. After church, we would go grocery shopping or run any errands that needed to be done. Then we would go back to the house and change out of our nice clothes. By the time church and the errands were finished it was usually lunch time. We would drive over the river to Moline, Illinois where my grandmother lives and

Turning over in bed, I blinked sleepily at the clock next to me. It read 2:37 am. I stumbled out of bed and made my way towards my bedroom door. The sound of squeaking hinges could be heard as I slowly pulled open the door. My footsteps were drowned out by the sound of a voice coming from down the hall. A faint light was coming from the small gap beneath my brother’s door. Being the curious nine year old little girl I was, I turned and started walking towards my brother’s room. I felt both nervous and confused due to the fact that it was so early in the morning. The voice grew louder with every hearting racing step I took. My throat grew tighter as I reached for the silver doorknob. The door squeaked as I pushed it open, just enough to poke my head in and see who he was talking to. I saw my brother sitting there, alone, talking to noone but himself. I could see his phone on the dresser next to the bed. I began to question many things in my head.

It was an unforgettable day during my internship when I realized that Public Health was not just my interest, but my calling. Although I had a vague idea of a career in health promotion, meeting Lal, my first refugee client at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a humanitarian aid organization, blossomed my idea into a firm desire to become a public health advocate. I saw an opportunity to improve health equity by addressing the barriers that cause health disparities in vulnerable communities.

September 11,2001 a day that some of us might not remember too well because of our age, or a day that sticks out too many like a sore thumb. For my family, this is a day that will never be erased from our memory. My Dad had been commuting for work back and forth between Belleville, Illinois and New York City, while my Mom stayed home with my sister and I. I was six at the time and my younger sister Lauren was two. It was an ordinary Tuesday for us. My Dad would be gone the whole week till late Friday when he would fly home for a couple days to then return back to the city on Sunday. It was not an ideal situation for my family, but we made it work because we knew it was only temporary. On that morning, I went off to school, my Dad went to work at the World Trade Center, and my mom stayed home to take care of my sister. Before I go any further, I would like to make it known that my Dad survived these attacks and my family and I are extremely fortunate for that. We constantly keep the families and victims who were not as fortunate throughout this traumatic experience in our thoughts and prayers.

December 5, 2005 will be a day that changed my life forever. This day would be a day that would bring me many friends, nightmares, experiences, and the responsibility I would never have thought I would have. The struggles, achievements and situations in which I would find myself in do not come to just any normal person with an ordinary job. On this day I enlisted to join the United States Army.