2024 marks many momentous occasions in my life especially graduating college, but it also marks the fourteenth birthday of my pet turtle, Raphael. This momentous occasion made me reflect on the great aspects...

As a child and into adulthood I grew up around my family and although each member of my family had their own impact on my life but one person that has had a strong impact on my upbringing and my ongoing...

Winter is a month filled with chilly days and while most don’t enjoy the days that they encounter during the winter months, there is a bright side to the chilly weather that I can’t help but love....

When I was 16 years old, I was told by my mother that I should volunteer at our local soup kitchen. I was hesitant to, initially, but I decided to swing by one day after school.   Once I was there,...

As kids, we all had that one movie or show that we would watch on repeat all day, every day while memorizing each character, line, scene and everything in between. For me that show was “SpongeBob SquarePants,”...

I was an only child for the first seven years of my life and rather content with being an only child, so the news of my parents expecting another child was surprising to me. I had never thought about having...

I grew up in a loud family of six—I am the youngest of four sisters and daughter to a selfless mother and honest father. This means I was constantly surrounded by others. I always had to share a room,...

May 15, 2020. To most, this was likely just another agonizing day inside as the COVID-19 pandemic raged on. However, to me, it symbolized so much more— a bittersweet day in which I had to say goodbye...