A Home?

I’ve always known Corona, California, as my first actual home in the United States. Life was great. Everything was going well for me and my family. I had a great school life with good grades, attendance, and a large group of friends. I didn’t want anything to change.

“Great news! We’re going to move to someplace in Orange county!”

Wait, what? We’re going to move from the place that I’ve called home for the last 3 years of my life in California? I was devastated. I couldn’t sleep at night. 

I loved my neighborhood for all it was worth. The atmosphere was nice, and my neighbors were friendly. I remember speeding down the steep roads with my sister on my red razor scooter. I remember my neighbor inviting me over to his house so he could teach me how to ride a bicycle. 

As we were in the car driving to our new house, all of these memories began fading away from me.

“Why Mom! Why Dad! Why do we have to move away?”

“Son, I know how tough it is for you to move away from your friends. You are too young to understand right now, but just know that things will get better.”

That was the response that I got from both of my parents at the time. It’s been 9 years since then, and I still tell myself every day that things will get better.

Courtesy of .gov site

Forever a Sibling

I never really realized how significant a childhood is to a person. I’m surprised that I vividly remember a lot about myself when I was younger. I thought a lot of those memories would begin to fade away from me as I grew, but I realized that they continued to stay with me because of my sister. She was always there wherever I went, she was always there whatever I was doing, and she was always there whenever I was feeling down. 

Nowadays, we don’t talk much anymore, nor do we hang out a lot of the time. I don’t remember much about how we started distancing from each other, but every time we do interact, I look forward to it. Even though she is only a year older than me, she comes to me with questions about things that I find to be pretty simple. Likewise, I do the same. We both have our specialties. I’m not sure where I would end up in life without her, but I’m glad that I have her as a sister.

Courtesy of .gov site

Changing the Future

There always comes a time in life when you are presented with a life-changing decision. In fact, there will never exist a universe where you aren’t presented with a life-changing decision… As soon as you are put into this world, “a path is predetermined for you”.

That’s what I was always told as a child in a catholic private school. I never really questioned it, since I was always so oblivious. It wasn’t until elementary school that I approached my first crossroad. There were too many subjects to count. I was afraid.

“This isn’t anything like kindergarten at all!”

The first thing that came to my mind was that my path was already predetermined. I was still a bit scared of what would happen in the future. Then the question came. Was my “predetermined destiny” changeable? I remember lying down on the grass in my backyard, with my hands behind my head and my legs crossed, thinking. I thought for too long of a while. I asked my parents, and they told me something different. They told me that I could be anything that I wanted, as long as I could provide for myself and a family. I think I finally understood it all. Our lives are indeed predetermined, but it is up to us how we live to change them.

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My Personal Companion

“Hey son! Look what I brought home today!”

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Is it real? Did my mom bring home a dog? Is it my dog? I was ecstatic! I’ve always wanted a dog when I was a little boy. Dogs are my favorite pet. Dogs are such amazing creatures. You can walk or run with them, you can play with them, but most importantly, you can share a bond with them. At first, the dog that my mom brought home was scared of me. It avoided any human interaction, and went to the farthest corner in the house away from anyone. I decided to hold out a piece of chicken, and it came sprinting over. I petted it, it ate the chicken, and It learned how to trust me in no time.

I didn’t know what to name a dog at the time, so I asked my sister for any recommendations. She was blocking my voice out with her mobile game so she didn’t hear the question, but she said one of the characters names out loud, Daisy. My mom thought that was the perfect name for a blonde haired dog, so we kept it as “Daisy”. When my sister found out that she was named Daisy, she burst out in laughter. It was a bad Idea to let Daisy go outside without a leash. She would run all the way across our neighborhood in order to bark at a person jogging around the neighborhood. Nowadays, Daisy has grown to recognize all four people in my family. I’m so glad that I have her as a pet.

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Warming Up

It was the first day of school. I just finished moving. There was nobody else near me. Only my parents and not even my family. It was new, it was scary, it was hard to move away from the people I knew and loved growing up with. I don’t remember when we decided to move. All I remember seeing was a blank space, almost as if my mind blanked white. Eventually I’d wake up in the car, in the middle of a scorching hot desert. Once we got to the new house, the moving trucks were already here. We unpacked all of our belongings, and I went straight to sleep. Now, It was time to go to school.

I wasn’t one to have or make many friends. There weren’t many opportunities for me to befriend people that well. Everytime I walked past a group of people, chills went down my spine. I made direct eye contact with the wood floor. I hoped nobody would talk to me. I just wanted to get my day over with. I just wanted to go home.

“OW!” I exclaimed.

Oh no! I ran into someone because I wasn’t looking where I was walking! We both fell to the ground. Her pile of papers spilled over, so I decided to try and help. I went to go pick up all of the scattered papers on the floor, then I offered her my hand so that she could get back up. 

“Thanks” she said. “I’m so sorry! I was in a hurry and I ran into you by accident!”

I froze. I knew that it was my fault, because she couldn’t see in front of her pile of books and papers.

“Don’t mention it”, I muttered.

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