Things Could Always Be Worse: Going To Matamoros, Mexico

It was in the summer of 2013 when I had my own little storm. I took a trip to Europe with my best friend Kimberly, her mother and little brother Sammy, along with

Life is a journey filled of many surprises, and while one day you will lose 5 bucks, the other day you will find 10. Whether you broke your leg, you got the flu, or you got a bad grade, I believe that we can always make the best of every situation.

Willa Cather once said, “The end is nothing; the road is all.” It doesn't matter how things turn out, it's the journey that really matters. That's where you learn the most and are able to grow as a person. I agree with and respect this quote, because it reaches out to those who may be going through a rough time and are in need of comfort. This quotes shows us that through rocky times with ourselves, others, or life in general, that what matters most is not the result, but the road taken to where we are now.

2009- Traveling to Australia by myself- This was my first item traveling to a new environment without family. It was interesting, not only was I experiencing

Commuting to Tamazula, Mexico to convert the urban decay and decrepit slums into regenerated habitable communities, taught me a cosmopolitan comprehension of the meaning of community. While visiting my grandmother in Tamazula, I became aware of a substantial community who continually lost their homes to the failed war on drugs. Prodded by my mother, I traveled multiple times a year at a young age to work the sugar cane plantations which lay in the underbelly of Mexico's crime ridden ghost towns in order to make enough money to transform the village into one that parallels the proverbial "city upon a hill". What started as an act of charity induced by a sense of duty, developed into an all consuming and burning desire to participate in every

I think I was about 11 years of age. It was a warm September evening. Our family was getting ready for another cookout. For those of you who don’t know, cookouts are when my family invites other family and/or friends over to cook hot dogs and toast marshmallows over a fire pit in our backyard. Usually after that my dad and I will usually play backyard baseball.

Furthermore, your immigration reform plan has far too many flaws and it is absurd. It is incredibly cruel to want to end birth right citizenships, require that Americans get jobs over immigrants, and enhance penalties for overstaying a visa. This country has always been a land of immigration, and suddenly deciding to deny foreigners’ rights is immoral and uncalled for. We have economic and religious freedoms, the freedom of speech, and the right of suffrage. With your reform plan, freedom will cease to exist. This is exactly the opposite of what our founding fathers would have wanted. Racism continues to be a rampant problem in America, and your proposals will only further the issues we have.

The victims of discrimination are sometimes portrayed as the evil ones. In Divergent by Veronica Roth, a girl named Tris has the power of being divergent which allows her to resist serums and certain things that make her think differently, because of these things she is often discriminated against by groups of people and try to kill her. In a similar text, Malcolm X By Any Means Necessary by Walter Dean Myers a young African American man is trying to live the American dream but realizes he can’t because of the racism and discrimination he is undergoing and decides to live a life of religion. In Divergent Veronica Roth suggests that people who are discriminated against have more power than those discriminating and should

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. -Plato” Growing up my life wasn’t exactly status quote and because of that I had to grow up a bit faster

"Seventh grade, the year everything changes." This simple phrase is exactly what I said to myself on the first day back to school. I said a new variation of it with the dawning of every new school year, as I hoped for happy friends, good fortune and maybe a new boy to crush on. I honestly believed that chanting that everything would change within the year could actually make it happen. Though with the number of times I did it, I never recall specifying whether I expected the upcoming year to change for the better. Had I known what was to come this year, I would have done anything to reverse it, or I would have at least told the universe that I wanted to be happy.

Life isn't worth living if you are not willing to accept the challenges thrown your way. How I grew up wasn't easy. It, instead, was rousing from being adopted out of China, learning a new culture, to facing some hindrance. Nevertheless, I couldn't have done this on my own. With the help of God all things are possible.

"¡Ey!¡Ey!¡Porque!?" Yelled the clerk, as I ran out with a bottle of liquor.It was getting dark,and Tijuana during the day may be a beautiful place but at night it's one of the most dangerous places to be in all of Mexico. I ran into a diner and snuck into one the of booths. My heart was pounding outside my Chest and as I was catching my breath I hear a voice.

August 2011, the most special and most meaningful year of my life started off. I got to know students from different countries during the year in the United States. Besides broadening my horizon, I also tried to show and explain to my new friends how beautiful and wonderful our culture is. I believe I have become a person who is more independent and mature. I can now face my own flaws and make amends of my mistakes. Besides facing my own flaws, I am willing to face all kinds of challenges in my life.

“I do believe that if you haven’t learnt about sadness, you cannot appreciate happiness.” -Nana Mouskouri. Nana Mouskouri came up with this quote during her singing career, when a fan asked her how she came to be such an amazing singer. Nana Mouskouri mentioned that she had a lot of rough patches along the way with managers dropping her, but in the end, she ended up on top. In other words, it will be easier to appreciate the good times if you’ve already been through bad times. This quote is appealing because it applies to a variety of situations. Every person has hard times, and every person has happy times, but this quote could bring the two together. Therefore, many people would agree with this quote. Many different people lived by this quote, and they ended up appreciating the good times more after they went through the bad ones.

It was in December, during my Christmas vacation, when I decided to start looking for a summer job. There were many options but the job I decided to apply for was a position as a lifeguard at a waterpark. I filled out an application and was accepted almost immediately. The only thing left was the lifeguard training; little did I know that it was going to be an experience I would never forget.