Write about an important childhood memory and tell us why it was important.

Once when I was little, I got this old jacket that my grandmother bought me. I hated it so much I threw it and said why would I get this for christmas? This is so ugly. My parents later told me I had to be nice about what I got, even if I hated it. I could always get a receipt and return it and get what I want. Since then I have learned to always thank anyone who gets me a gift. I also make sure I can return something if I don’t like it and I just don’t tell them I returned the gift so they still feel special about it.

The breeze blows through my hair, and then a wave rolls in to knock me down! Wham!  I’m sputtering sea water and sand, then daddy picks me up again, safe in his strong arms.
Running along the water’s edge just as fast as my little legs would carry me, and then I stopped suddenly, a dead jelly fish washed up on the sand, looking like a giant pile of snot.  Eww!  As I reach to touch the shiny pile, Mama says not to touch it.  I recoil.
My earliest memory is of a visit to the Atlantic ocean when I was just three years old…


Jellyfish from Flickr, Posted by Mike & Elisa

September 4th, 1995, Virginia Beach, red cowboy boots and a princess dress.  Those were all the key components on my first day of Kindergarten.  I wore those two items almost everyday.  Adorned with dirt and grass stains, I would run around my neighborhood climbing trees and playing pretend with my friends all summer.  As many mothers would do, my mom tried to make me look presentable for my first day as a scholar, which meant no grass stained dresses.  This was news to me as I was told I could not wear my superhero uniform in its entirety.  So of course as any five year old would, I cried all the way to school.  Once I arrived I quickly forgot about my wardrobe mishap and was fully consumed with making new friends.

When I was in high school, I lost one of the most independent, caring and passionate women I had known to cancer. It was my first memorable experience with cancer. Before that, I lost one of my uncles, but I was too young to really understand the impact of it. But in high school, I really felt what it meant to lose someone – I watched someone I love and cared about get sicker as days went on. My grandmother, wasn’t my real grandmother. It’s sounds complicated but it really wasn’t. They were my neighbors and they took in my parents when they move to the neighboorhood as the youngest and newsest couple. Both my parents worked full time and were new to the area, so when I was born they offered to babysit. The rest is history. Having lost one set of grandparents pretty young, and the other being across the country – they were like my other halve. Losing my grandmother was sad. She  was one of the strongest and inspirational women that one would know, and every day she continues to inspire and instill characteristics of independence, drive and ambition into my life. Growing up, she pushed me to be the best person I could be, while also teaching me the importance of standing your ground. Without her growing up, I can 100 percent say I would not be where I was today. But losing, her was one of the hardest things I had to do as a kid.