Never Take Anything for Granted

For the past 3 years, I have had a job as a waitress. While working, I have met very many people from different backgrounds and cultures. Most of the customers became my regulars, and when I got a job somewhere else, they came too. I really built close relationships with most of them.

There was a guy who came in with his wife every Monday and Wednesday night. They always sat in my section and gave me a "hard time" while they played silly jokes on me. One time, I served them their food and the man started screaming that there was a spider in his soup, of course there wasn't, but he thought it was funny to see my reaction. Another time, his wife pretended to choke, and when they saw that I was really scared, they told me it was a joke. They always played tricks on me, and for the most part, I enjoyed it. They knew I love chocolate, so every time I had to work a long shift, they would bring me bars of KitKats and Hershey's so that I would be in a good mood. Every time I needed advice from an adult, and I could not go to my parents, they were always next in line. They became such great idols to me, and I appreciated all the love they had shown me. They did not have any children, so to them, I was the daughter they never had.

Days, weeks. months passed since I had not seen my dearest friends. I began to worry. I thought perhaps they began to dislike me, or maybe they did not like the restaurant anymore and they went somewhere else, perhaps they moved and I would never see them again. I began to fear that I had lost them, and that I would never have an opportunity to tell them how much I loved and appreciated them for all that they had done for me.

4 months passed, I was working a Monday night shift. It was a very busy night. I saw so many faces, but it wasn't until later on in the night, that I saw the faces I had missed. But, there seemed to be something wrong. They sat down, and when I went to the table to greet them, they had tears in their eyes. I had never seen them do anything but smile, so I knew this was serious. I gave them each a hug. Then, I asked them what was wrong. He would not respond, he only cried more. Then I turned my head to his wife, searching for an answer. "What is going on?" She closed her eyes, swallowed hard, and proceed to tell me.

Her husband had been a long time smoke. He began to experience many health complications because of it. Later on, doctors soon found cancer in his throat. The only way to keep it from spreading was to move his larynx (voice box).

When he had walked in that night, he had a scarf around his neck. The scarf covered a hole, a hole that I had once seen before.

My grandfather had also been a long time smoker. He was diagnosed with throat cancer as well. When he was given the diagnosis, he was given 5 years do live: he lived for 3o more years. Obviously, he got his larynx removed and since he had no voice box, I never heard my grandfathers voice, and now I am going to live my whole life wishing that I could of had that opportunity. My grandfather was one of the most important people in my life, and what he had gone through because of smoking is my inspiration for not ever wanting to smoke.

When I saw my friends "hole," it brought back many memories of my grandfather. At that moment I began to cry because I began to realize that his voice only be a vivid memory, not anything I could hear. Unlike my grandfather, at least, at some point, I had heard his voice.

At that moment, I began to realize that I should never take anything for granted.

Freedom

Freedom: The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraints.

America has been established to "provide freedom for all" ever since it was founded by the English who were interested to practice the religion of their choice (freedom of religion).

The word "freedom" is interpreted differently by each person. What freedom means to me, is different than what it means someone else. The way freedom is distinguished is variable among the human population because everyone perceives things differently. For example, my neighbor may be from a country where she could not have practiced the religion of her choice. On the other hand, in America, she could do that, and thus, she would value her freedom of religion more than someone who may have been persecuted in their homeland for saying what they want, so they value freedom of speech more than that of religion.

The posters we viewed in the library showed that the word people define "freedom" differently. The artist depicted what each of "The Four Freedoms" meant to them through art. Though they were based on the same freedom, the pictures differed.

My favorite picture was the one with the obese guy, portraying the freedom of want. The artist was showing that you have the freedom to be what you want to be. I think the fact that America allows you to have that freedom allows for the varying sizes of the people around us. This diversity also accounts for the diverse definitions of what "freedom" is and which one is valued more among various people.

"The Power of Words"

Since humans have come about, words have been an essential in communicating to one another. With this came a lot of problems.

For the most part, people use words to communicate feelings, messages, thoughts, etc. Words can be crucial in determining how a persons day may follow. For example, if we were to begin our day with hearing someone telling us "I love you," or " I hope you have a great day," I guarantee that the day go a lot better then if we woke up to someone say "I hate you, your so annoying."

Unfortunately, words have now become convenient for bullies. The old saying "Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" has become an understatement. Words have come to make or break people.

One of the most widely used phrase by the younger generation today is "Thats so gay." Obviously the ignorant people who say this do not realize how that they are offending not only the person/thing they are saying that about, but also a group of people. Words and phrases such as those have brought up a lot of debate in our society today about freedom. Just because we are given the freedom of speech, does it mean we can really say whatever we would like? The answer to that is no, we cannot. Most Americans are stubborn to the fact that, yes, you can say what you want, but once you step in the boundaries of someone else's freedom, that is when yours ends.

Words can be very controversial. So next time you want to say something, think twice about how other people could translate your message, or who you might offend. At the end of the day, you have your freedom, but so does the other guy, so don't cross the border between your freedom and theirs.

Growing Up

When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of going to college. It was something that very few people in my little village in Albania did. When I came to America, I realized that my chances of my dream coming true were at its best.

People always told me that college was different from high school, that college was all about how much self motivation you have. I never believed it, but now, I live by it. College is completely different from high school. And the self motivation thing-so true. Before, I had "took orders" from my teachers and did the homework they gave me so that I could earn the points for it. Now, wether I do my homework or not is my business. No one checks it, so you have to motivate yourself to do it. Before, I would of never done it if I knew that no one would check it, but now that I have grown up, I realize that it is the best thing for me. Now, regardless of wether the teacher checks it or not, I do it. It does not matter to me if no one else did it, because in all honesty, no one is going to care what I do, I have to care about myself and do what is best for me.

Sometimes I look back on how much college has changed my life, even though I have been there for 2 weeks. It has already taught me a lot about self motivation and were determination will take me. I look back and I miss being a kid and having a carefree life sometimes, but then I take a second thought and think that nothing beats being treated with the respect that you receive when you are considered a grown up.

Remembering 9/11

God Bless all the victims and families of 9/11!

I remember I was in the fifth grade when the tragedy occured. As my classmates and I were sitting in English class, we get an announcement from the principal. She announced taht something had occurred, something really terrible, and she wanted us to go home and talk to our parents about it. I remember so many things going through my head, "Did someone from my school get killed?," "Is school getting closed down?" I was very scared to find ou tthe news.

Throughout the day, I asked faculty and other students if they knew what was going on, and no one would tell. I was getting very anxious and my mind started to wander off to scary thoughts of what could of possibly happened.

Finally it was time to get on the buses to go home. Even our fun and outgoing busdriver seemed rather serious that day. She did not play the radio like she normally would. When we asked her what was going on, we recieved the same response, "Talk to your parents when you get home, I can not say anything."

When the bus stopped at my bus stop, I ran home. When I got inside, my parents were watching the news. There were images of airplanes and crumbling buildings all over the screen. They were some of the most terrifying pictures I had ever seen. People were crying, there were firefighters and police everywhere.

Then my parents made me sit down and they explained to me what the pictures were representing. I remember feeling so sad for what had occurred to the many innocent people. I started crying and praying for all the victims and their families. But, there was also a sense of anger in me. I was angry because I felt so safe wherever I went, and that incident made me realize that bad things can happen to you no matter where you are.

I will always remember 9/11. It opened up the eyes of many Americans. The victims and their families will always be in my thoughts and prayers. God Bless.

First Day

Today was my first day as a college freshman. It seemed like I spent more time searching for a parking spot than I did in my first class. My first class was Composition. Walking into the class, I felt intimidated by all the staring faces. In the classroom full of students, I only knew one. As time passed, I began to realize that my life in college wouldn't be that bad, considering that my teacher was laid-back and my fellow classmates were very easy going as well. the next step of my journey as a college student was familiarizing myself with the campus, and meeting new people. I came in anxious and nervous, but I will be leaving with a sense of satisfaction and releif as I realize that college life is not bad at all, it all depends on what you make it, and I plan to make it a good one.