The Day I Left Vietnam KienCuong Nguyen I still remember that day; it was July 4, 1994. My family including my parents, my three younger sisters, and I were going to leave Vietnam to come to the United States. We had permission from the United States government to come over to the United States because my father used to work for the United States Army during the Vietnam war. I woke

Courage Courage is a feeling that can only come from within. It cannot be learned, and it cannot be received from another person. Perhaps one of the most powerful examples of this is World War II. Hitler completely destroyed the lives of many Jews. Families were separated, killed, starved, and forced to live terrible lives. These people had to dig deep within themselves in order to

The Great Winter Chase The Great Winter Chase It was a cold snowy morning of my sixth grade year. The sun had just come up and lit up the sparkling snowflakes that lay on the ground. School had been delayed due to the few inches of powdery snow that had fallen the night before. My brother Dave, my neighbor Ross, and I, were playing in this beautiful snow with my year old German She

Halfway There Halfway There Miles of people, droves of them, hustling off to their appointed gates with seventeen suitcases strapped to themselves like horses getting ready for a long hike in the mountains. All of them scowling, wrinkling their brows. Hoping to get to where they want to go, and with all seventeen suitcases they came with. Me' I only had two bags, but one of them was

The Healing Bridge I think it all began during the January of 1999, just 18 and recently married to a guy 10 years older; I was inexperienced and scared. Being brought up in a protected environment, I was suddenly thrown into a situation where I had to take upon a lot of responsibility. My husband expected a lot from me and I was not going to be able to fulfill his aspirations. Sensing h

Divorced “ Don’t you have a father'” a question that I had to oppose with everyday. Ever since I had developed a longing for a father, I had realized that one could not function without the presence of his father. Everyday I had to defy with all the criticisms that my own friends bestowed upon me. However, I knew that I would meet my father some day: the father that I had so longed for.

The Importance Of 24 Hours The Importance of 24 Hours I have had important years, some fairly significant months and maybe a few notable weeks, but I can’t say I’ve had too many earth shattering days. It is only 24 hours after all. There is one particular day, however, that could probably be justified as important, maybe even the most important day for me: March 10th 1980. I can

Danger: The Slithering Kind Danger: The Slithering Kind It was mid-July and almost 85 degrees in the small town of Bastin, located in the mountains of West Virginia. My parents and grandparents were going into the big city of Bluefield, population 3000. It was only 30 miles away, but the trip would take them over three hours, round trip, due to all the winding and treacherous roads.

A Place I Can Truley Call Home When I moved to Flagstaff in August of 2003, I was very excited to be submerged into a wholesome college town. I couldn’t wait for the all the parties; the freedom that engulfs you when there are no parents to watch over your shoulder, and the school schedules that allows you to sleep in past ten. I guess you could say that I was excited to go to college

The Lake The Lake It was early July and my friend Chad and I decided to join his family at the lake. Chad’s family was already up at the lake, and had some extra room in the condo. So we figured, what the hell, we could go for some boating. Right. The lake the only about a two-hour drive away. We were driving in Chad’s father’s convertible sports car, so the driv

The Magical Island The Magical Island I can close my eyes and in my mind go back to that exact moment in time. The warmth and heat of a sunny August afternoon kissed my skin. The clear, blue water glistened as the sun shined over it. Sounds of speedboats whizzing by and waves crashing up against the sandy rocks down below. Staring off the rocky cliff out on to the water, I took

Being Afraid Have you ever been afraid' Does a thunder and lightning storm make your heart beat fast' Maybe your mouth goes dry when your teacher announces a pop quiz, or your palms sweat when it\'s your turn to give your book report in front of the class. Perhaps you get butterflies in your tummy when you see that cute someone. I am afraid of being alone in a large, dark house with mult

Priceless Memories Priceless Memories Going along you life there is always that one person and that one place that eternally dwells in our minds. Though our five senses we are able to learn and love the people and places in our minds. The person that I admire the most is my great grandma. She is such an amazing grandmother to my mom, and now one to me. Some of my fonde

The Mountain Stream The Mountain Stream As I was leisurely strolling along the hallway, deep in thought, I glanced at a picture on the wall. All of a sudden this beautiful picture of the mountain stream caught my utmost attention. It portrays an image that is enlightening for families that like to have picnics during the summer. The mountain stream appears to be clean and clear. Its

The Noble Prize The Noble Prize There is a German proverb - One has only to die to be praised. Whether Alfred Nobel had not heard it or not but he set an example to prove to this world that people could be praised during their lifetimes. Alfred Nobel documented his famous will embellished with a novel and unprecedented thought. What he desired was to venerate outclass individual

The Lucky Coin One thing that comes to mind when thinking of a memorable object is my lucky coin. I do not have a lot of things that are special to me, or that I keep as memories this is just something I was given a while back that came to mind. I received this coin about 8 years ago from my grandpa. I remember the day like it was yesterday, it was Christmas and there wasn’t much sno

Reflections Of The Self Reflections on the Self Growing up is probably one of the few invariables in life that we all must go through. This process might take a little longer for some, but the experience of getting older can be difficult. The road to adulthood and maturity can be tough and often is, but it is this path that we take that formulates all of our learning and growth experien

The Misconception Of An Average Guy The Misconception of an Average Guy Just because I’m bigger than you doesn’t mean I’m a killer. I am taken the wrong way very often by people, even people that know me pretty well. I am a little larger than the average guy, and most of my friends are average. It is a general assumption among most people these days that a person bigger than thems

Honey It Broke “Honey, it broke!” I found out I was pregnant just three days shy of my eighteenth birthday. It all began with the words, “Honey, it broke”. Not exactly the most romantic words that have ever been said to me. A simple, “That was great”, would have been just fine. Little did I know those three words would change everything about my seemingly normal life. Imagine be

The Park The Park When I try to think of a place that I have an emotional connection to in this blue and green sphere we call Earth, I can only think of one spot. When I was younger, during the summer months off from school, my friends and I would ride our bikes to Wolfs Pond Park. Wolfs Pond Park is on Hylan Boulevard, it is approximately 3 miles from my house. This park was our seco

My Day Of Realization My Day of Realization Another boring quarterly meeting had been called for my co-workers and I to attend in order to inform us of the new business plan for the new year, as well as letting us know of the millions of dollars that the company brought in the previous year. Dreading the next three hours of lectures and group workshops, we all drudged into the spaciou

Narrative Essay As I walked down the hallway to the back, a strong repulsive odor became noticeable. I walked further and the stench grew stronger. I almost couldn’t take it; the smell twisted my stomach almost making me vomit, but I fought the urge and continued on. As I walked on that’s when I heard it, initially muffled and then clearer, it was cries and yelps. It sounded like some

Descriptive Paragraph You need not look any further than a warm and comfortable chair to enjoy a mild breeze as you lie upon the tender white sand of a tropical beach some place far away. Your mind starts the journey off with each sandal flopping loosely against your heel, kicking up sand as you make your way to the perfect spot. Once settled conveniently beside the calm

Experience That Changed My Life The black pirate hat danced around in the air, weaving and bobbing to some Disneyland music. Attached to it were my head and the rest of me, being dragged along on this wild ride. The only sounds I heard were ones of trumpets soaring higher and higher, trying to hit an absurdly high note. The pirate hat and the warm Florida night had taken control, and my

48 Hours Is A Lifetime Telephones are just supposed to be harmless pieces of equipment that allow people to communicate with each other. These inanimate objects which transport sound allow us to discuss mindless chatter; we might talk for minutes or even hours and say absolutely nothing or maybe something, depending on the day and our mood at the moment. We usually do not think of tele

The Portrait The Portraits: General John Burgoyne and Louis-Francois Bertin By Sir Joshua Reynolds and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres The portrait, a single person immortalized forever on canvas. At first glance, you only see the subject. With a more analytical eye, though, you not only see the image but you begin to hear the voice of the painter and of his time. This is what

The Power Of Language The Power of Language To me, as well as many others, language is more than just words and proper punctuation. It is all that and the ability to communicate. It allows people to accurately express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Language is also used to relay to society, as well as individuals, information about facts and events. Language is used everyday.

Carpe Diem Carpe Diem Speech “Yesterday is our past – tomorrow is our future – but today is a gift… that’s why it’s called the present.” It’s a gift! Right now, right this second, just look around – you have been given the gift of life today. But have you ever thought about the fact that you may not be so blessed tomorrow' Our future in this world is not guaranteed, therefore make t

Lunchtime Lunchtime I remember how hectic it was for me my freshman year in high school just to get lunch. Once that fifth period bell rang it was every man for themselves. Like soldiers in the battlefield all the freshman ran towards the cafeteria. Pulling each other back no one cared who was knocked over, or who was left behind, or even if they forgot a book in class because ever

The Road Not Taken “The Road Not Taken” By: Robert Frost In the “Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, up until the last stanza the poem appeared to be concerning only on the choice between two roads in a woods. The final stanza, however, gave a significance to the apparent choice that was incompatible with just the choice between two roads in a woods because this seemingly insignific