My Personal Experience : My Experience In My Life

We are interested in learning more about you and the context in which you have grown up, formed your aspirations, and accomplished your academic successes. Please describe the factors and challenges that have most shaped your personal life and aspirations. How have these factors helped you to grow? (800)

A shadow of light cast itself across the room illuminating my sister who lay next to me in bed. She had pushed all the blankets on my side, sprawled her legs across the entire king size bed, and rested her head on my pillow, so close to me that I could taste the putrid odor on her breath. I glared at her. As stealthily as I could, I slipped off the blankets and got out of bed. The thermostat read 78 degrees. I pressed the snowflake button ten times so the thermostat read 68 degrees: the perfect sleeping temperature. Each time I pressed the button a high pitched beep filled the void in the silent room, echoing off of each of the walls. My sister's eyes flew open on the tenth beep. She sat upright and looked at me with an immense anger. Then she screamed. Before she could finish yelling my name, my parents were awake and out of bed, running over to her in alarm. “She tried to turn down the heat,” my sister shrieked through her heavy sobs. She started flailing around, rolling in the sheets and punching the mattress. I made a beeline for the bathroom, where I had hid three hours earlier when she had the exact same melt down. Through the

A clock ticked breaking the solitude of the dull classroom, the hand made a steady “tick” sound as it progressed on it’s journey to make it all the way back up to the twelve. Behind me a large window looked upon a busy highway. I gazed down on the cars making their way in the world. I wondered where they were going, who drove those cars, what grand adventures were they about to embark on? My focus consumed every corner of my current existence, other than where it had been required, on the blank page of notebook in front of me. It was my Sophmore year of high school. I had landed myself in an ‘Advance Placement Journalism’ class, on the whim I desired to take a class where I had plenty of friends, so I would not have to sit alone. I continued to stare from the clock to the busy world beyond my grasps, until the faithful buzzer toned. In a rush of merriment I raised up, swooped my faithful bag over my shoulder and made a beeline for the door. “Ali, could you please stay back?” The voice constructed a barrier between my escape and me. A rush of fear and embarrassment swept my demeanor, as I plopped myself back upon my cold chair half desk combo. My mind screamed in panic, “what had I done?” Curious sets of eyes gawked upon me as they departed from the dull classroom. The old plump teacher made her way to my desk and sighed, “What are your plans, Ali? What are your dreams? What do you want in life?” I gazed out again at the cars, unable

After an eternity of waiting for the students to hand in there work sheets, the bell finally rings, signalling the end of class. I had stood in front of my drowsy, sluggish, class for what seemed like eternity, lecturing about conspiracies, and urging the clock to resort back to normal speed. At last, the children had finished filling out of the hot musty classroom, and I was free to go out for some fresh air. I drag my feet to the doorway when a piece of paper flutters to the ground. I pick it up to put back in my pocket, but I couldn’t resist the temptation to glance at the writing. As I read it, I collapse onto the ground.

As an artist would create a new piece, multiple events have shaped me into the person I am today. My life is a mixture of inspirational highs and heavy lows. However, despite my misfortunes and amidst my revelations, one moment of immense personal growth stands above them all - and in fact, it wasn’t a moment, it was a process. My grandmother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when I was eight, and since I was in middle school, lived with my family and I. She passed away last March, and through her memory loss she reminded me to cherish life and work hard; in dying, she reminded me to live.

All throughout my years in middle school, I was terrified of high school teachers due to their looks of intimidation. Upperclassmen complained about the levels of difficulty and how much teachers did not like students. As I have grown, I took notice to how educators expect time and dedication from the students in order for them to pass the class. Many teachers have given me the motivation and skills I needed to become confident in myself, three teachers who have set me up for a successful future include Mr. Silbernick, Mr. Coppicus, and Mr. Baumann.

EVErY FAmILY hAS ThEIr STorY, ALL with aspects that brings them together or drive them apart. I come from a Mexican family, where family is the only thing we know. We share each other’s pain and misery and we rejoice for our miracles. We learn and grow through each other.

In my life probably bad things happen more often than good; but I always try to make the best out of every situation. The events that happened to me do not match up with my personality but they had somehow change the way I act or think. With my short time living in this world that can be cruel and break anyone I learned that life is what you make out of it. I don’t worry about my future too much because everything that you had planned out can be ruined in a split second. I just go one step out at time, even though my parents get mad at me, but I’m still going to try to achieve my same goal.

I spent most of my days immersed in a fantasy world while curled up with a science fiction book on my big brown couch in my living room. If I wasn't reading, I would be drawing cartoons, watching movies, teaching myself random skills on YouTube tutorials, or singing loudly along to my favorite songs. Activities like these filled my youthful and solitary days as I patiently awaited my parents to return home from work.

n I was 9 years old. I lived with my younger brothers james and my mother mary. We lived in Norwich on a farm. It was a beautiful place with fresh air and lots of crops.I had lived there my whole life until we had to move. One Day I was sitting in the kitchen cleaning the harvested vegetables for lunch and dinner when my mother came in saying we had to move immediately. She said that a rich man bought our land and we could no longer live there or work there. After a day in packing the next day we moved to manchester. My mother had heard there was jobs there and even me and my brother could work for some extra money.

I’ve always heard, “you don't know what you have until it's gone”, I never really appreciated life until I realized how quickly it can be taken. One morning at my house in the summer of 2015, my brother that was 5 at the time had an incident that changed my view on life, and strengthened my beliefs. I am a fighter, and learned that I can get through anything, and do things I never would’ve thought I was capable of.

My life, in my opinion, is not boring or dull, but rather quite exciting. It has always been crazy and it still is now. When I was 4 years old, I had both my tonsils removed, resulting in me only being able to eat soft foods for 1 week. When I was 6 years old, I was diagnosed with ADHD. That made me have to take ADHD medications. Every time the medication would seem to be working, it would become ineffective, making me have to switch medications. I’ve heard the names of the medications so many times, they are burned into my mind. Dextroamphetamine. Clonidine. Methylphenidate. Guanfacine. Amoxatine. Lisdexamfetamine. The doctor kept on switching my medications for about 2 years until we finally found something that worked. But another problem had to crop up. At the age of 10, I broke my right collarbone and had to get a sling. Of course, it had to be my dominant arm, instead of my left, but as luck would have it, it was my right. Now I am 13 years old, and I live in Green Bay, Wisconsin with my mom, dad, and my sister Zoe.

I was two years old and I stayed home with my mother until I was three. Then, my father opened a grocery store. At that time I had no idea what was happening, I just knew I was traveling somewhere and that was going to be a blast. Afterwards, every day I was going to the same place for thirty-seven years, which is part of my life. I always treated my house as a hotel and the store as my first home. All my schools from Preschool through Highschool were walking distance from the store, including my first job, which was three houses down. Being at the store help me mature, since I was a little girl I facing a variety of customers. Some of the customers were sweet and friendly, yet some of them used profanity just because we did not meet their demand. My knowledge of working society came from the store.

It was a beautifully clear day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky when I received that green and gold folder in the mail. I thought coming to college would be the answer to everything. However, that feeling of being a strong independent black woman only lasted so long. My first year was just fine, I thought that I'd adjusted fine. I made plenty of friends on campus and joined numerous cubs! I even got my first real job working at Busch Gardens. Everything was going great, that was until August of my second year.

It was early in the year of 2013 that I had thought my life would be changed forever. I was 12 years old when I first heard the news of my parents getting divorced. Devastated and in denial I had to learn that it was for the best and the last thing I would have wanted was unhappy parents. My Mother was offered a job in Charlotte, NC, where I currently live, that she couldn't pass up. When I heard that I would have to move from Akron, Ohio after completing seventh grade I was very nervous and terrified for my future. No one likes being the new kid, but to me it was almost a relief and a chance to start fresh. When we moved to Waxhaw, North Carolina I did not believe I would struggle has much as I did. The teaching and the ways they had taught their students at Cuthbertson middle had added more stress of being the new kid. I made friends fast and that's where I learned how to be outgoing. I didn't think anything could go wrong because my life was back to being balanced. When eighth year had been coming to an end and the pressure had been lifted off, my mother got the news that she could reclass me because I was not use to the learning, it felt like an enormous setback. It added much doubt to my mind and fear of what would come next. With the support of my mother alongside me and supporting me, the doubt I had about a new school began to wash away, but during this time my anxiety began to flood in. High school came around and it was never easy for me, but I learned to push