Awakenings

This is not one of those stories that everyone can identify with. Not everyone has gone through this, and certainly not everyone feels like this. Yet, my guess is that, directly or indirectly, everyone is affected by it. This is when I first felt vulnerable and weak.

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Seven miles is a lot of area to cover, even more so when running, and especially if it is the first time you’ve run over a mile, period. Possessed by some source of unrealistic optimism, I decided to join my high school’s cross country team. In the first few weeks that I was part of the team, I was asked to run in an annual race. The first few miles were strenuous, but not life threatening, yet as I continued to run, I started to feel the extreme pull of the earth on my legs, and it began to seem as though I was breaking through an endless path of stubborn barriers. (more…)

“Am I tuned? Oh my god, I don’t think I am in tune. Where is my tuner? Oh my God”

While I choked over my own saliva, my friend nonchalantly laid down on the dim lighted stairway and waited for our turn on stage. It was the Winter Art’s festival and I had never felt so out of place. (more…)

It was during senior year that I really began to understand myself well. I realized what my strengths and weaknesses are and what my likes and dislikes are. Beginning of senior year is when every student is applying to college and really pondering their future. All those college essays I was writing made me think, what do I want to do with the rest of my life? It was a grand question. I realized that I cannot plan my life because it just not a realistic approach to one’s future. So I decided to take it step by step. First, I searched to find the college that was right for me. This made think what did I want from college experience? I searched the different studies and realized that I was most interested in an area pertaining to business. I wanted a distinct undergraduate business program that would be easy for my parents to afford. I came across the Baruch Honors Program and was amazed. I get an excellent education for an absolutely affordable price and many other perks that just spice up the deal. Plus it’s located in New York City.

With all the free time I had because of senior year, I realized that I love a laid back lifestyle. In the future, I want to have a job that I’m excited about waking up to every morning. It does not have to be a job that makes a lot of money but I job that I enjoy. I also want to be playing sports, particularly basketball and soccer, almost everyday. When I play sports, I rid of so much stress and worry. It is beneficial to my mental health and my physical health. Playing sports motivate me to take on life’s challenges more zestfully. I also realized how much I enjoy an easygoing lifestyle when I visited Israel last summer. The people there are not rushing every minute of their lives to reach the American dream like the average American wishes to. They have to spend time in the army and then attend university, but they lack the rushing spirit that is found in America. I believe it leads to a healthier lifestyle and a later death.

I was three years old when my mother first sat me at her piano. At the moment I felt like I had just gotten an amazing new toy. As she lifted me onto the bench, I became a king sitting on his royal throne. I thought that my hands would magically float on the keys, just like my mother’s. I tried my best but, to my bewilderment, I wasn’t able to re-create Chopin’s Waltz as my mother had so effortlessly done moments ago. I looked at the sheet music in front of my eyes, hoping for some insight. I banged on the keys for a few more minutes, figuring something was wrong with the piano that wouldn’t magically play for me. Then, as I was about to hop off the bench, her delicate yet firm fingers pushed me back down onto it. Those firm hands were keeping my little fingers from my favorite cartoons and the toys. Eventually, the music coming from the piano became irritating. I no longer found it inspiring, moreover every time I would see a piano anywhere, it reminded me of my mother forcing me to study notes and to practice. This became so upsetting to me that I would often resort to tears. Eventually, I realized that I had no way out. At any moment my mother would anxiously arrive home and would teach me the music she found so inspiring.

Four years later, my grandfather asked me to play a piece for his birthday. I was reluctant at first. My friends were there and I felt like playing with them. Crumbling under my mother’s forceful gaze, I sat down in front of the piano. At the time I was already able to play with both hands. Even though I didn’t play anything extraordinary as I began to play, the crowd quickly quieted. After finishing my last chord, I jumped up, ready to run off to join my friends. However, I was stunned by the astonishment on everyone’s faces. In their eyes, I saw what music had come to mean to me as well, a place of solitude and beauty.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t think of “Tom & Jerry,” toys or friends. Instead, I realized that I actually loved playing the piano. I began to look forward to my mother coming home at night and listening to me play. Piano became a big part of my life. To this day, piano can take me away from the world when I play it, no matter what is going on in my life. Looking back, I am so thankful that my mother forced me to play, because now I know how much I would have missed.

The Big Change
Debbie Apsan
She was sitting on the freshly mowed grass in a little park area on the campus of her new school looking very content with herself, happy with the way her life was working out. But the truth was that she was not always that smiley, friendly girl with whom everyone wanted to befriend. At one point, not so long ago, she was the quiet one that pretty much sat by herself in the back of the classroom, and studied. (more…)

The warm sunlight bathed my skin and caused the perspiration on my face to shimmer as I jogged. To my left, the glittering touch of the sun was on the East River and to my right the sun rested upon the green summer trees and flickered as it lost grip of them when the wind blew. The warm scent of freshly cut grass with the cool misty air of the river complimented the scenic view. (more…)

What defines a person? Is it their looks, personality, actions, experiences, or beliefs? In my opinion, there is no right or wrong answer. Yet, it is all these things that make up someone. With this, I ask myself the same question. Who am I? It sounds so philosophical and deep, but simply, I am me. My name is Jessica Lee and I am 18 years old. In my 18 years of experiences, one has truly made a lasting imprint on my life.

This life-changing incident occurred when I took a trip to Kenya, Africa as part of a mission group from my church. As I traveled there to help those in need, the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of me were put to the test. For two weeks, I lived just as a native of the country would. In the beginning, the transition and adjustment to the culture was strenuous and rough. As I arrived to each separate town or village, I had to live as one living there would. Going to the bathroom was a task that proved most difficult, since the toilet was a hole in the ground, barely covered by a beaten up wooden fence. While enduring the hot and humid weather and barely showering, how I looked didn’t matter at all. All that mattered was that I could help those in need. As we gave away toys, supplies, and books, you could honestly feel how appreciative all the kids were. Also, they very easily grew attached to us. In my case, they loved to hear my stories about the United States and especially loved to play with my long hair. Though barely having anything, these kids were always so bubbly and energetic. To remain so positive and full of life in such grim circumstances showed true character and strength.

As I arrived back home, I forgot how good I had it. Appreciating what used to have such little meaning in my life, I looked differently at how I lived. Just having a home without mosquitoes and vermin was something to be thankful for. A toilet, an air conditioner, a shower, and my own room with all the excessive things I owned were a blessing to have. Living in a 360 degree change back in Africa, my life in the U.S. made me realize that there are bigger problems out there. I understood that you should live life to the fullest and have an optimistic attitude, just as the kids did. Without doubt, this is one event that shaped who I am today.

Many people tend to have certain turning points in their lives. These events can happen at any time and do not necessarily have to be catastrophic occurrences that affect many individuals. Even at my relatively young age of 18, I feel that I have experienced one such turning point in my life that has to do with my relationship with my dad. This important event in my life took place the first time I ever went to my father’s job and saw him working in action.
The first time I ever went to my dad’s job I was about thirteen years old. My dad works at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, Queens, as a Housekeeping Manager. This basically means that he is the head over about 85 employees and directs them around the hospital, assigning them to clean different areas. Now, I have always had a very close relationship with my dad, and do not only look up to him and respect him as a parent, but also as my friend. My dad has always been a very good father, and he loves to joke around with me all the time. You could almost say we’re like “partners in crime.” However, when I entered the hospital and saw my dad in action, it was something completely new to me. My dad was directing his employees with such an authority that I had never seen in him before. With every word he spoke, he seemed like a kind ruler who treated his subjects with respect, but he could also be firm and strict with them if necessary. There was something that was awe-inspiring to me about the way he carried himself throughout the hospital as he gave directions.
When the workday finished, my dad and I left the hospital, and once again he was the regular nice guy that he always was with me. However, I never viewed my father in the same light again after that day. I looked up to my father with different eyes now. I
had gained a new kind of respect for him after only one day of observing him doing what he does every day. He was no longer simply my father, but also a leader who had the strength to command many men, and in a sense he became a sort of superhero in my eyes. I’ve never told my dad of how this day affected me, but regardless I feel a stronger bond with him ever since then. My dad will always be a man that I love, look up to, and respect, and I hope our bond only grows stronger as time passes.

I was born in New York City and lived in the city until I was 11 years old. I enjoyed my life in New York, but my parents decided that we were going to move to the Dominican Republic. I did not mind because I love my Dominican heritage and looked forward to the new experience. Looking back, I thank my parents for taking me to the Dominican Republic, because those 7 years have truly shaped my personality and my perspective on life, especially my encounter with perfection. (more…)