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Description
Years ago, a boy was born in the land of opportunity, the first in his family to have been. This boy was, or is, me. I grew up raised by Catholic and Asian parents, making me religious as well as disciplined. The stereotype that Asians are smart(er) is because our parents instill the importance of education in us at a young age. Some choose to take this into their minds, but for others, the message goes in and out of their heads like a breeze.

My mother would make me write the alphabet daily before I was even old enough to attend school. She would hold my hand with a pencil in it and slowly guide me. Gradually, I began to learn small things like that from my mother. That is why my handwriting today looks clean and almost like a girl's. We may not realize it, but mothers shape the way we are. They have taught us the simplest of things that we take for granted. Without them, we would be so much less.

The same goes for my father. When I was younger, my father would go to work in the day, so I didn't see him much, not that I would remember, anyway. He was a cook at this one restaurant. Honestly, I sort of wish he still was. It feels better to say your father is a cook rather than he works night shift at Wal-Mart. Anyway, I became closer to my mother at a young age since I interacted with her more. Nevertheless, I am highly thankful for both of my parents and all they have done for me.

At four, my little brother came into this world. Even though I don't vividly the time I held him in my hands, there's a picture somewhere that makes me feel warm inside when I see it. We're not that close now, as he will barely let me touch him, but we are closer than most siblings are. He doesn't think very highly of me, as disagrees with most of my entertainment choices, but I don't really know what I would do without him. My teacher once gave us a white flower petal and told us we should give it to a person we loved and that has affected our lives because white symbolizes pureness and friendship. I told him that I would give it to my brother, but haven't had the guts to do it yet. Maybe one day when he's older I will, as the teacher had told me that good men keep their promises, and I want to be a good man.

I went to school somewhere around that time as well. To be honest, I don't remember much about my childhood, just small memories here and there. Since it was mostly repetitive and mediocre, I tend to forget. It's not like I want to remember, anyway. In short, elementary flew by, and looking back, I didn't really like myself back then. Middle school came shortly after, and it was quite the same. Maybe I grew up a little, but not much. It was not until the last year of junior high as well as freshman year that things began to change.

Even though it sounds simple, I began to watch television, listen to music, and play games. I started discovering wonderful things, and since I hadn't realized these things before, it made me appreciate it more than most people. Crime shows were and are my preferred genre, though I will watch anything with an interesting concept. As I watched, I started relating to characters. Soft rock and inspirational songs melted my heart, and the intense/intricate plot of games drew me into that world. Soon, I had developed a basic outline to who I was and what I liked. Before this shift in my life, I was a mediocre person who just focused on school and had his nose in books, which isn't bad, just not completely who I want to be.

Along with the various entertainment discoveries, I also began to make friends, real friends, who supported me and truly cared for me. In all the years I've survived before the ninth grade, I really never had a best friend. I had peers and classmates that I talked to everyday at school, but they weren't truly friends. My first best friend came into my life the first year of high school. We had gym together, which was basically a blow-off class, so we talked. Eventually, we knew each other really well and had told secrets to each other as well as had deep conversations. By the end of the year, I was sad to let him go, as we knew that none of our classes would be the same. I did promise him that one day when we were adults that I would track him down and we would meet up again.

During the summer after that year was when I created an account on an online art site. There, over the course of just a couple months, I made more friends than I had in my lifetime. Also, since I couldn't upload my art due to the lack of equipment, I wrote stories instead and got huge support from the community. Now, I can add writing to my list of accomplishments. My time there on that site has been phenomenal and uplifting, and I only plan to move onward.

That sums up all of the positive things that happened, but darker changes also took place during this time. Nothing is ever one sided, including my life. While I was finding myself, I also began to feel emotions. Before, everything was just sort of gray, but now, feelings are beginning to be intensified, which is both good and bad. It's good because I feel more human, but bad because it sometimes seems like too much. In the end, though, I know that God doesn't give you more than you can take, and I honestly believe that. As a teenager, I started to move away from my parents mentally, though we were still quite close since we did everything together. Anger and sadness built up in my heart from various things, but at a point, I started to let it go, and it felt good to be free. Even though it's not all gone, and sometimes I feel like running away or killing myself, I know that I would never do that because I have too much to live for. Feelings conflicted, and it felt like a war in my head. I started to doubt my religion a little, and also began to have feelings for the opposite sex. It was all very weird, but good, in a way. The only thing that kept me sane was the voices in my head. Sure, they were frustrating, but they did aid me.

Now, as I live as a high school student graduating soon, I dream of big things such as becoming an artist as well as doing what I love with the people I love for a living. I will only be spending three years in high school, and then I'm off to college. It still hasn't hit me yet, but I'm sure it will. The future seems dim and bright at the same time. There's a lot of competition, especially in the art industry, and I only hope to be one of the lucky ones. Honestly, I just want a decent life, really. An average life wouldn't be the worst, but if there's one thing I never want to do, it's work in a cubical or something of the sort. I want to travel the world, meet people, and be myself. Currently, though, I'm just trying to make good grades.

In the end, I believe that I'm unique. I hope people can and will see that. My plans are not set in stone, but I do have a general idea of my future. Now all that's left is to just do it. After years of childhood, I am finally beginning to find myself. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and I am intent on finding it.

Description
Years ago, a boy was born in the land of opportunity, the first in his family to have been. This boy was, or is, me. I grew up raised by Catholic and Asian parents, making me religious as well as disciplined. The stereotype that Asians are smart(er) is because our parents instill the importance of education in us at a young age. Some choose to take this into their minds, but for others, the message goes in and out of their heads like a breeze.

My mother would make me write the alphabet daily before I was even old enough to attend school. She would hold my hand with a pencil in it and slowly guide me. Gradually, I began to learn small things like that from my mother. That is why my handwriting today looks clean and almost like a girl's. We may not realize it, but mothers shape the way we are. They have taught us the simplest of things that we take for granted. Without them, we would be so much less.

The same goes for my father. When I was younger, my father would go to work in the day, so I didn't see him much, not that I would remember, anyway. He was a cook at this one restaurant. Honestly, I sort of wish he still was. It feels better to say your father is a cook rather than he works night shift at Wal-Mart. Anyway, I became closer to my mother at a young age since I interacted with her more. Nevertheless, I am highly thankful for both of my parents and all they have done for me.

At four, my little brother came into this world. Even though I don't vividly the time I held him in my hands, there's a picture somewhere that makes me feel warm inside when I see it. We're not that close now, as he will barely let me touch him, but we are closer than most siblings are. He doesn't think very highly of me, as disagrees with most of my entertainment choices, but I don't really know what I would do without him. My teacher once gave us a white flower petal and told us we should give it to a person we loved and that has affected our lives because white symbolizes pureness and friendship. I told him that I would give it to my brother, but haven't had the guts to do it yet. Maybe one day when he's older I will, as the teacher had told me that good men keep their promises, and I want to be a good man.

I went to school somewhere around that time as well. To be honest, I don't remember much about my childhood, just small memories here and there. Since it was mostly repetitive and mediocre, I tend to forget. It's not like I want to remember, anyway. In short, elementary flew by, and looking back, I didn't really like myself back then. Middle school came shortly after, and it was quite the same. Maybe I grew up a little, but not much. It was not until the last year of junior high as well as freshman year that things began to change.

Even though it sounds simple, I began to watch television, listen to music, and play games. I started discovering wonderful things, and since I hadn't realized these things before, it made me appreciate it more than most people. Crime shows were and are my preferred genre, though I will watch anything with an interesting concept. As I watched, I started relating to characters. Soft rock and inspirational songs melted my heart, and the intense/intricate plot of games drew me into that world. Soon, I had developed a basic outline to who I was and what I liked. Before this shift in my life, I was a mediocre person who just focused on school and had his nose in books, which isn't bad, just not completely who I want to be.

Along with the various entertainment discoveries, I also began to make friends, real friends, who supported me and truly cared for me. In all the years I've survived before the ninth grade, I really never had a best friend. I had peers and classmates that I talked to everyday at school, but they weren't truly friends. My first best friend came into my life the first year of high school. We had gym together, which was basically a blow-off class, so we talked. Eventually, we knew each other really well and had told secrets to each other as well as had deep conversations. By the end of the year, I was sad to let him go, as we knew that none of our classes would be the same. I did promise him that one day when we were adults that I would track him down and we would meet up again.

During the summer after that year was when I created an account on an online art site. There, over the course of just a couple months, I made more friends than I had in my lifetime. Also, since I couldn't upload my art due to the lack of equipment, I wrote stories instead and got huge support from the community. Now, I can add writing to my list of accomplishments. My time there on that site has been phenomenal and uplifting, and I only plan to move onward.

That sums up all of the positive things that happened, but darker changes also took place during this time. Nothing is ever one sided, including my life. While I was finding myself, I also began to feel emotions. Before, everything was just sort of gray, but now, feelings are beginning to be intensified, which is both good and bad. It's good because I feel more human, but bad because it sometimes seems like too much. In the end, though, I know that God doesn't give you more than you can take, and I honestly believe that. As a teenager, I started to move away from my parents mentally, though we were still quite close since we did everything together. Anger and sadness built up in my heart from various things, but at a point, I started to let it go, and it felt good to be free. Even though it's not all gone, and sometimes I feel like running away or killing myself, I know that I would never do that because I have too much to live for. Feelings conflicted, and it felt like a war in my head. I started to doubt my religion a little, and also began to have feelings for the opposite sex. It was all very weird, but good, in a way. The only thing that kept me sane was the voices in my head. Sure, they were frustrating, but they did aid me.

Now, as I live as a high school student graduating soon, I dream of big things such as becoming an artist as well as doing what I love with the people I love for a living. I will only be spending three years in high school, and then I'm off to college. It still hasn't hit me yet, but I'm sure it will. The future seems dim and bright at the same time. There's a lot of competition, especially in the art industry, and I only hope to be one of the lucky ones. Honestly, I just want a decent life, really. An average life wouldn't be the worst, but if there's one thing I never want to do, it's work in a cubical or something of the sort. I want to travel the world, meet people, and be myself. Currently, though, I'm just trying to make good grades.

In the end, I believe that I'm unique. I hope people can and will see that. My plans are not set in stone, but I do have a general idea of my future. Now all that's left is to just do it. After years of childhood, I am finally beginning to find myself. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and I am intent on finding it.