The things about challenges are overcoming them, and telling your friends and family about what you faced, in my case the challenge I faced changed the way I think about beautiful things, and about my life. How can something so beautiful be so treacherous? I was so happy enjoying my day, but within seconds…pure joy turned into fear. It was a beautiful day spent at schliterbahn, but hours being in the same placed bored me. I asked my brother for permission to go to the island, since it meant just crossing the bridge and there it was.…
Are You Reading Enough? I’ve always loved reading as long as I can remember. As I grow older I feel as if I’m drifting away from reading. The question is am I reading enough? Right now I don’t think I am.…
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying ‘I will try again tomorrow”. This quote immediately latched onto me. It encouraged me to dive head first, no pun intended, into my recovery. With a great support system behind me I attended at least three doctors appointments each week, took my medication on time, completed my at home therapy work, and began an exercise routine. I realized that not being able to overcome this obstacle immediately did not mean that I was not strong.…
I gave up. I went to close the book and throw it away but couldn’t. I tried to move my hands, couldn’t. Then I tried to turn my head, couldn’t. Move my eyes, nothing.…
I noticed this position for teaching apprenticeship and I couldn't wait to jump at this opportunity. Year Up, being a place where I really learned about work and self improvement, is a place that I hold close to me. I believe in Gerald's mission to reach out to the impoverished and show them the tools they need in order to take advantage of the opportunities that are out there for them. As a firm believer that our lives are in our own hands and that we will make of them what we will, I also understand that without the tools and opportunity, who can do anything?…
The Summer of 2015 provided me with an incredible learning experience. I worked as a counselor at a Jewish sleep-away camp, where I spent two four-week sessions supervising 20 ten-year old campers. Some of my responsibilities included planning and leading weekly programs for the Sabbath, developing team-building activities, and providing a fun, enjoyable, and safe environment for my campers 24/7. I accepted the position as a role model for these girls and was always "on top of my game."…
Some people find the end of the road and see that its a dead end, there's no cure or hope they turn around, but for me seeing the dead end, hearing that I cant do it will always push me. I am determined to better myself as much as I can and push harder at everything I do. Giving up or turning around to go down the same path I came from was not an option for me, that’s why I went…
Losing someone you watched suffer in their last days on earth doesn’t feel anything like losing a friend that was your age who had their whole life ahead of them, and losing both in less than a 2 month span doesn’t help either. The year of 2013 wasn’t the best year for me nor any of my classmates. For me it actually started when I was in the seventh grade, my mom received the rights to take care of my ill grandfather (her father). Turns out he was suffering from early age dementia; caused from drinking at an early age which happened to be 12.…
Living Between Two Worlds Dayton Kwok Introduction As an American born Chinese, I’ve always had to switch between using English and Chinese. This is especially exacerbated since I lived in San Francisco, a city dominated by immigrants hailing from Southern China and Hong Kong. One moment I’m using English to talk to my friends, and the next moment I’m using Cantonese to talk to my family. My native language was English, but I also learned to speak Cantonese around the same time I learned to speak English.…
Bah! Ouch! “Why would you shoot my face!?” My brother and I were outside playing with dirt and Nerf Guns. It was mid afternoon a windy summer day, when we heard hollering inside the house.…
Next, things change over time. Regardless of your situation, things do not stay the same. We may feel very bad today, but it won't last forever. Problem is all part and parcel of our life. Everything will change and back to normal again and we can live as always.…
Have you ever been so scarred that you cried? Well it all happened a few years ago but I still remember it like it was yesterday.…
My whole life I’ve been a little different. From the clothes I wear and the way I present myself, to the way I look at the world, I’ve always been somewhat peculiar. Not peculiar in a bad way, but in an interesting, provocative kind of way. I am the weird greenish-yellow crayon in the box that no one ever uses. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska.…
Giancarlo Stanton, a famous baseball player once said “High school is what kind of grows you into the person you are. I have great memories, good and bad, some learning experiences and some that I'll take with me the rest of my life.” The four years you spend in high school are supposed to be the best yet worse and hardest years of your life. You will gain some things and lose a few, but later in life realize every loss you took, and every gain you took was for the better. In the next four paragraphs of this essay I am going to show you living proof of how high school and events during the four years shape you into the person you grow to be.…
It was the year of my 15th birthday and at that age; you would think I was a happy and care-free teenager, I was far from it. All my life I knew I was different, while all my siblings were into playing outside and getting along I would be away off in my own world. I wasn’t doing much, but it was enough for my family to question my always being in a sad or depressing mood. In my family, the thought of anything mental health was just a faze and whoever was going through it would get over it. I didn’t.…