In a matter of seconds a person’s life can completely change from just one moment. All kinds of things happen to people every single day, but it is what you do after they happen to you that makes us who we are.

Ever since the second grade I have participated in many sports including baseball, basketball, and football. But, it was not until my freshman year in high school that I decided that I was only going to play basketball. That is one decision I think might have changed my life, because up until that point I had a mutual love for all sports. The year started off perfectly fine and the basketball team was winning games and doing great in tournaments. However, it was during one of these tournaments that my whole life was thrown off track. When we were in the second game of a tournament in Texas City, a loose ball went into the air and I decided to jump up after it. When I came down though, I felt a pop and a shift in my leg around the knee area and I immediately collapsed to the ground. I was in excruciating pain, so I grabbed my leg thinking that I had broken it because I could not move it at the moment. After they carried me off the court and I saw the trainer, he told me that I hyper-extended my knee and I would be fine. That was not true though, after a week I went to the doctor to get an x-ray and a MRI they told me that I had torn my ACL. I was so sad and I did not know what to do with myself, I had to sit out and watch my team for the rest of the season. I also never played another sport for my school during my high school experience. And to this day I feel as though I can never get back to my full potential or where I was before the injury.

Comment: Important moment in my life - Divorce

It's not easy for some people to talk about their parents divorcing, and for some it is not even something they can remember; but for me I remember it like it was yesterday. That day, that my dad left and never was to return seemed so strange to me at the age of 10 and I just couldn't grasp the concept of a divorce. Of course my mother, sister, and myself were distraught and confused as to why he made the decision to leave, but at that point there was nothing we could do to change the fact he was not returning.
It was the beginning of the school year when he left, and my sister being younger than me she needed a father figure in her life. I assumed the position at that time to protect her and to help provide anything she needed. To this day I continue to protect her and give her words of advice as she battles through bullying though the final years of high school.
To this day nobody that i talk to understands the level of dismay a divorce puts upon a family. Everyone learns how to be responsible for things in their life, some sooner than others; for me I was one of the ones who learned familial responsibility pretty fast. The day my father left changed me as a person, both in the way how I treat people and also the decisions I make. I have sworn since that day to not become like him after experiencing first-hand what poor treatment to loved ones does both physically and emotionally.

Moments in life

           Like any other human being I too myself have many important moments in my life that I cherish, but there are some moments that are extra memorable. One memory that sticks out to me the most is the first time I ever went to mexico.

            Even though I was going with my parents I was still freaking out, here I am a 8 year old not knowing what to expect I was going to a whole different place from the Unites States, different culture, different lifestyles. Although it was about a 20 hour drive it seemed as my parents were still full of energy they wanted to go met all my uncles, aunt's, cousins and of course my grandmother. The first couple of days I felt out of place I didn't connect with any of my except my grandmother we instantly clicked. Then we found a similarity with my cousins we all loved soccer with a passion. I then started getting along with everybody. 

     When I started feeling like I belonged there as if it was my new home, it was time to come back to the united states. I sure missed my siblings but I loved mexico so much. It was so hard saying goodbye to everybody but especially saying bye to my grandmother. We kept going to mexico for a couple years but we stopped about 4 years ago and I sure miss it and my family there. I think that's why it was such an important moment in my life that I cherish and they stand out the most to me.

Little Sister

        In one moment your life can gain an untold amount of meaning, just with the introduction of another, significant, person. In one instance my life went from having no responsibilities as a fourteen year old kid, to having someone to look after and guide; I gained something in myself simply by gaining a sibling, I was officially an older brother.
        Now, not to lead you astray, I have two sisters: one four years younger than myself, and another who is fourteen years younger than myself but my overwhelming emotion of responsibility and loyalty was not the same as my middle sister. My middle sister and I were the typical brother and sister who fought regularly. Almost at birth with my middle sister I had a vicious desire to just piss each other off; It almost felt like times of war in the house hold, always having to look over my shoulder as to whether or not my sister would pull a prank on me or not. Now, my unconditional love for my entire family was still there but I never had the urge to please my sister, her happiness was never of my concern. But as I was waiting outside of my mothers hospital room, anxiously anticipating this tiny child, I gained a purpose. My mind flooded with different emotions, within seconds I knew that I would strive to be the best older brother from this point forward. Clarity was blessed on my mind and I knew I was doing the whole "brother" thing all wrong. As I was motioned to enter the room, a room to which I left with one less being, my flooded mind surged with joy and excitement. Every ounce of confusion and nervousness was banished just at the sight of this innocent face, and I knew I loved her from the first second I saw her.

First Trip to Mexico. Comment

Many people have an important moment in their life. An important moment can be anything from a sports game, a vacation, a birthday or anything you want it to be. My important moments was when my family and I went to Mexico for vacation to visit our family.

I was 10 years old and it was my first time going to Mexico. My parents were born there, so technically it was no there first time going there. I was anxious and at the same time nervous for this trip. I was anxious because I wanted to meet our family and see how Mexico looked like and see similarities and differences from the United States. And  I was nervous because it was my first time going to Mexico and I did not know what would Mexico be like compared to the United States. We took our car so it took 18 hours from Austin to the little town our family lived in which is called Jonacapa, Hidalgo. When we got there I was a little shy because I did not know most of my aunts and uncles so I did not talk a lot, but as the days went by I would talk a lot. We would play soccer, go visit places, help herd sheep, take care of their pets, and lots more. Mexico was way different than the United States. Where my family lives its is farms and no skyscrapers. There houses are made of cement. You also have more freedom there and have fun. The days went by quickly and when it was time to go back to the United States I did not want to go back but we had to. We stayed there for 2 weeks. When we got home I was sad that we did not get to spend more time in Mexico, but also happy because I got to learn new things, visit my family, and visit Mexico. Today we go every year,but this year we did not go because I started college and it was going to be expensive to go on a vacation so we decided to no go this year and wait until next year.

This was an unforgettable and important moment in my life. There are other moments in my life that are important, but this one was the most important. The reason is that I got to visit my uncles, aunts, and cousins, visit a new country, a new environment, a new culture, a new way of living, and I got to learn many things.

Lifelong Friendship

I remember quite clearly the stale smell, the plain white walls with silver railing, the brown doors with the room number next to it along with the patient’s name. In this case, the room number was 611 and the patient’s name was my mom’s. I was standing next to my dad glaring up at the big silver handle, wondering when I would get to go in.

I knew very well my life was about to change with a new baby brother. In some ways, for the better, and in some ways not so much. I knew that I was now going to have to share my mom with this new, cute, helpless creation known as baby boy. In fact, he was probably going to get most of the attention for a while. I was so used to it just being me that I honestly didn’t know what to expect. My mom warned me of this before the “big day”, and that she was really going to need my help and cooperation. After having that talk with my mom I knew that this “big day”, as she kept calling it, was going to be very special and important to not only her and my dad, but to me as well.

My dad finally opened the heavy brown door with a huge, obnoxious sign that had “it’s a boy!” written on it with big blue balloons being held by a teddy bear. The room was darker than the hallway had been. To the right was a couple of chairs and a small table with some homemade cookies on it, I assumed the oatmeal chocolate chip ones that my grandma makes for every occasion, and a lot of balloons tied to the chairs floating a few inches from the ceiling. There was this constant beeping noise coming from some kind of machine but it eventually faded into white noise. To the left was my extremely tired mom sitting up in bed. She looked very comfortable with all the pillows propping her up. In her arms, was my tiny, bald, and sleeping little brother? For being a 4 year old, this was the most important moment in my life so far. It was hard for me to process that I was once where he was, in my mother’s arms with her smiling down on me. I am 18 years old now and my brother and I are still really close. I tend to forget a lot of things, but I will always vividly remember the day he was born because it was the first day of a lifelong friendship.

Nothing better than baby love

It was the day. Time to all load up and go to the hospital. Time to go wait impatiently for what we had been waiting for, for 9 months. 

When I found out the news that my sister was having twins I was ecstatic. I have always always loved babies and now she was having two and I could barley keep my happiness under control. She had already had a baby boy 7 years ago and the love I got from him was the love that I never knew was even possible so now knowing she was having two more I freaked out, in a good way of course. 

The minute I saw my new baby niece and my new baby nephew, the love poured out all over me again. Even though I had held a new born baby before I was still in shock of how tiny and fragile these babies were. Nothing amazes me more than seeing tiny babies that have been in a mothers womb for 9 months now living in the real world. The first time I held them both in my arms, I felt nothing but great fullness. I was so thankful that God created these two newborn beautiful healthy babies and that they were now most importantly apart of my life. I would see them every day, have an impact on their life and be their Aunt Nina forever. The love of babies is different from any other love I have ever experienced; it reminds you that every person in the world is different in a unique and special way and that no matter how different we might be from each other the love you give out can still be more than ever imagined.