I am lucky to be fortunate and have my own bedroom, I am luck y to have my mother and food, and I am lucky to have never moved. I have lived in the same house for my entire life and my mother has lived in our home for the last 22 years. I feel thankful for all I have and all I am. For some are not as fortunate as me. Some grow up without a home, or living in a room with their entire family. Therefore I have no room to complain, I have never experienced the hardships of some. I remember being told and have always been told to be humble. My mother explained the importance of family and to be greatful for what we have. I am. My mom told me she remembers how her Father struggled to keep up with the money it took to raise five children by himself. My mom lost her Mother at age 7. My parents divorced at age 3. I know no other life than without a Father. So it does not bother me. My home is like the house on TV, I have
everything I have ever wanted and more. When we move, my mother wants to downsize. I have only ever known one home. When we move my mother wants a small brick house in South Carolina. This is after, of course she kicks me out. I will be in the Marines, so it won't matter. My main point is, I am greatful for what I have and thankful to have never moved or had to live in poverty.

My name is Michael. It is an old name. Michael is not a family name. My mom just liked the name. Michael has many different meanings in various religious cultures. In Hebrew he is one of the seven archangels. In the New Testament he is portrayed as a leader of heavens armies. I was not named after this. My middle name James has family importance. It was my great grandfathers first name. I am happy with my name and would not change it. Mainly because I like it, also it was beneficial in elementary and middle school because nobody could turn it into something slander. I was never made fun of for my name like my Uncle Richard was. My sisters name is Mariah, she was made fun of often including me. I called her Mariah Papiah and she used to cry because of it. My mom named he because she heard the name 10 years before when she was in the Air Force. My sister is not named after Mariah Carey. Mariah is a Gaelic variant of Mary. It means loved or beloved. I am fine with the name my mom choose for me and so is my sister.

My family has always owned animals. We will never not own animals. My dad didn't like them, so he quickly adapted. My mom is a wildlife biologist by trade, so she isn't afraid of snakes or any other animals. We always had turtles, snakes, lizards, and such in our home. My mom never liked sports and told me she would rather have animals in the home then go pay the same amount to watch a sports game. Needless to say I have never been apart of a sport team. Recently within the past year we adopted a husky. He was 2 when we got him. Preston is unlike all other huskies. We got him from a rescue center, he was in a 48 hour kill shelter. His original owner is a soldier in Afghanistan. She gave him back to the original breeder but the breeder didn't want a neutered dog so he put him in the kill shelter. When he was rescued we asked to adopt him, the only problem is that he was down in Georgia. From there he was shipped to Virginia cared by many "foster" homes. On the boarder of South Carolina and Virginia he escaped from one of those homes when there was a home invasion and tackled the Burglar and the Police came. While all this was going on nobody bothered to keep track of Preston so he escaped. 2 months later he ended up in Georgia where he had run home to, the same place his original owner had left from to go to Afghanistan. His story is amazing, and fortunately we now have him safe and sound in our home. He hasn't left our side since.

Laughter can characterize us all. Some laughs are stereotypical. Some people laugh to laugh. Some laugh when they hear another's laugh. Some laugh to hide feelings. Most laugh in the moment or at memories to enjoy and experience. My Grandfather is a very stern man who lived more than 20 years of his life in the Army, he doesn't laugh. Occasionally I can get a smile out of him. My mom has a loud laugh, it echos throughout the house. My laugh? My laugh is a laugh, a lot of people think that they laugh ugly, but in reality it is just a laugh. Nobody seems to care but themselves. Laughing is an expression of enjoyment and is also rumored to make you live longer. Anybody can laugh, some to cover hurt, but really laughter can become of any situation. People in poverty can laugh and so do the richest people on Earth. I can make myself laugh, as well as others. In a scientific standpoint, laughter is said to stimulate organs and soothe tension. Laughter is also said to be a stress relief. Long term effects include a healthy immune system and improve mood. Overall, laughter is a universal demonstration of enjoyment.

I always liked off-road riding. I had fond memories with my cousin and family on ATVs. One memory sticks out the most. I am a Young Marine. It is a group sponsored by the Marine Corp and The Marine Corp league. It is similar to ROTC. We had leadership there, I was a platoon sergeant. We were on an encampment, which is the designated word for a camping trip. One night, the last night there because it was a multiple night event, we decided to take a joy ride. The junior Young Marines were inside watching a movie as we, the senior Young Marines snuck out. I was the new NCO and they said, "hey do you want to come with us?" I asked why, and they pointed to the Golf cart/ATV. I agreed enthusiastically. We basically hijacked the golf cart and ignored our responsibilities as a leader. With glow sticks we set off, cracking the glow sticks and tossing them around the campground/neighborhood. Later we arrived at the lake by cart, tossing a glow stick in the lake we realized that they do not float. We had to get rid of the evidence. So once we realized it had gone to far out t reach, we tied a rock to a glow stick to see how deep the lake was. We lost sight because of murky Lake Anna. Eventually we returned in the cover of night as we had left. And that was my joy ride.

Often people associate others with a particular stereotype. Most ask why there are stereotypes, some harsh. Where do they come from? I firmly believe that most stereotypes exist because a large portion of it is true. Where would they come from if to a certain degree of it wasn't factual. Such as particular races liking certain food choices. Also types of people and the way they behave. Most neighborhoods that look dangerous, probably are. My mom always told me not to judge a book by it's cover. But if it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, more than likely, it's a duck. That is what my uncle says. Those who don't know can get hurt. I have been in a couple neighborhoods when cycling where I was not welcomed because I am white. My safety was threatened as well as physical harm. So I am impelled to learn from my experiences. I believe that general experiences among a majority of the population creates stereotypes. My least favorite stereotype is being labeled a redneck. This doesn't seriously bother me, but is annoying. Some think that because I enjoy the outdoors and guns I am a redneck. I guess they could the same argument as I do.

One can relate to this in many ways. Some elderly ladies and people that are close to their pets choose to call them "children". My own aunt refers to her tiny lap dog as a "sister" to my actual human cousin. One day I was visiting and she asked my cousin Logan to take his sister out for a walk, and not to forget the leash. I thought this was kind of odd. I do not know how my cousin feels about it. I guess he doesn't mind, I didn't bother to ask. On a more extreme note, I cringe at the sight of the animal hoarders on Animal Planet. They have episodes of "Hoarders" where massive sting operations are done, and find that there are over 90 cats in a small 2 bedroom home, along with 15 dead ones. The house reeks of cat pee and rotting excrement. Food and water bowls spilled and empty. In a human sense, while in Walmart I have run into families of 6 or 7 children. Single mothers struggle to feed these families. I ask myself why these people have had so many children if they cannot afford to feed them. Was the family well off at one point? Did the Father leave? Is it a religious ideal? I will never know, because it isn't my business. I have a family of three, my mom, sister, and I. I isn't easy without a second parent, I cannot imagine having another 4 siblings to deal with.

On a personal note I, will admit that in school I act like a fool. Along with a few friends we have fun. Why do I do it? I do it because I learn differently. School is necessary, I understand that. Standing up in front of people and teaching is one thing, I do understand that, I have taught wilderness survival and land navigation to many youth groups. These groups include, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Young Marines and JROTC. I have given classes for up to 2 and a half hours, with a limited break. For me teaching I fun. Sitting still paying attention to things I could care less about like geometry, is pointless. When will I never need to know how to cut a pizza into chords? I like to learn, but I like to learn specific things, things that interest and can help me. I would like to know how to breach and clear a building, I would like to learn how to fast-rope out of a helicopter. I would like to know how to survive in the wilderness and conduct reconnaissance on a target. I want to be Naval or Marine Corps Special Operations. So maybe I could learn somethings to help with reaching that goal. I am on a journey to my dream job field, I need to improve my mental and physical strength along the way. Out of school, I am a leader. In school I am a jokester. I am a Young Marine Platoon Sergeant, and I am an Eagle Scout. That is my story.

In English a question was asked. Where is more cruel, middle or high school? In sense of name calling. My answer was middle school. Middle school is the maturing age. Where people realize that you are different or do not fit in. Middle school is where people academically shine, and learn new things. Things that may have been worthy of a "tattletale" in elementary school, are now basic insults. That middle stage is where you know what you think, and know what you are saying, but not mature enough to keep it to yourself. So if you think somebody is fat, in middle school you tell them to their face that they are a "fat doughnut eating jello face". Where as in high school, you would just tell your friend about that person. That is why suicide is more prevalent in middle school. In middle school students do not have enough respect and maturity development to know what you should and shouldn't do. Among those is calling somebody a name to their face. In high school people are mature enough to know that in the real world, you don't do that. I feel as though it is more dangerous for people to call names in high school, even if it is not as often. Puberty puts people on the edge. Some are emotionally week and unstable. That results in suicide as well. In conclusion I believe that it is worse in middle school than high school.

My first time backpacking was my idea. I led my boy scout troop in preparation and navigation for our very first troop backpacking event. I was expedition "leader" meaning that the adult leaders thought that I needed to learn land navigation. The guy who taught me was former Marine Corp Force Recon. He thought I needed to learn from my mistakes. Lets, just say that we walked almost twice the amount we cam to hike because I kept screaming up. My future dream job is special operations. I though to better prepare myself for that, I needed to create suffering, sleeping outside in just a sleeping bag, no fire, no tent, and no pillow. I felt stupid tough. One of the things I decided to help it suck more was MREs military issue meals ready to eat. I had the former Marine, Mr. Dietz, show me how to eat them. I felt so cool ready to eat my first MRE. I was super excited, I opened that thing with the best intentions on a warm, filling, delicious, meal. I was wrong. Cold, dirt-tasting, cardboard, in an airtight bag. The whole weekend I lasted off of MREs. When your really hungry, if you just hold your breath, it gets better. In the end of that trip, wet, cold, and hungry, I go home. I liked it a lot. I went back and did it again. It was so mush fun. I still backpack, I still take MREs, just not exclusively as my only food choice.

My family is from Michigan. To get there is a 600 mile trip. Mainly, we see my grandparents. We only get to go up there 2 or 3 times a year. Usually around Easter, Thanksgiving, and in August. We have celebrations on the holidays. My favorite is when we arrive in August. The temperature hovers around 70 to 80 degrees. Usually, the last day we are there before we leave, a party is held. This party is always at my Uncle's house. In Michigan, there are hundreds of lakes, the lakes are everywhere. This was caused by glacial migration. His house is very large, and on a huge lake, the neighbors are few and far between. The celebration involves everybody, the whole family gets together that live in Michigan. My uncle cooks burgers and hot dogs. Later we go out on an old, rickety boat that has a makeshift roof. We jump off the roof of the boat and into the water. My sister has never jumped off the boat. I loved to yell "Hi!" to my grandfather on the shore. Those are memories of a time that doesn't happen anymore.

I got my first job at 14. I had always wanted to work. I put in for a counselor in training position at a boy scout summer camp. I got the job. What I did not now when I arrived was that I was not going to be paid. They said it was a voluntary position that was more like an internship. Becoming a camp counselor was a lot of fun. We had the enjoyable experience of a camp goer, and the position and privileges of a leader. I got put down to work in the Ecology department. Usually CITs had to switch around at each week when a new set of campers came through. There were different areas pertaining to different categories of boy scout merit badges. Ecology had the , reptiles and amphibians merit badge, environmental science merit badge, oceanography, pulp and paper and merit badges like that. Other areas like handicraft, scoutcraft, and aquatics held different ones. I was very good at eco, so I never had to move. They told me I could stay because of how much I knew pertaining to Ecology. The next year I came back. That year I mad more because I had been a CIT the previous year. My experience landed me a job this year too. I still work in Ecology. Working this job for the past three years has really been a great experience for me as I will keep this job until I leave for the Marine Corp, June 2016.

My family just got a new puppy. It is definitely a learning experience. She was only 8 weeks old when we got her. We named her Dakota. Dakota is a pure white Siberian Husky. We have four dogs now. Nicky, Preston, Misty, and Dakota. I think Dakota is annoying, but she is really cute. This first day we got her we brought her to Pet smart. Unfortunately, she was unable to hold her bowel and bladder functions, I will spare the details. The only thing I will comment on is the fact that the employees had to hose down two shopping carts. Now she is 10 weeks old. Not much bigger, my mom seems to think she is. We have trained her a lot in the past two weeks, she knows "NO' and to stand by the door to go outside. She sleeps in a kennel with NIcky at night. Nicky is our oldest dog at 11. Preston and Misty cannot play with her because they are too rough. Huskies are known to accidentally kill younger dogs because they play too hard. Dakota likes to lick toes, it is really weird. She also Eats cat poop.

I met Sam at camp. He was the nicest guy I have ever met. Very young and enthusiastic. Sam worked at camp with me. Camp Marriott, Goshen Virginia. He worked at New Scout Quest (NSQ) also know as hell. The next year I knew him he became the director of NSQ. Sam played a lot, he was 19. He and two of his brothers worked at camp. Sam live in a big family because he is Mormon. I worked at Ecology. Sam always took the new boys to come visit us at the Ecology department. There, we set up a special area for the new scouts. Those boys are especially annoying. They earn the mammal study and pulp and paper merit badge. Those are my memories of Sam. One day Sam was driving back to Virginia Tech to study. He didn't make it there. He fell asleep at the wheel going 80 miles an hour down I-81. His little Honda flipped four times. It was blue. The little blue Honda came to a rest at the bottom of a ditch.

The creek is simple. Our creek is simple. It was all our own. A little path in the trees led to it. It was like an We had made little fire next to the creek and burned leaves. We set up survival shelters with the new skill we learned in boy scouts. Tried to catch fish with our rods and nets. Until they came. The Machines that tore down our forest. They tore apart our path. They threw their trash in our stream.
When we found it brown like coffee creamer, with dead fish floating on top. What did they do? The construction workers came to build a new walking path for the golf course. When they left there was dirt. In the long wide area of cleared forest was dirt. Through that dirt was our stream. I think they tried to fix it. There is now grass there, sharp grass that can cut you. Everybody knows about our creek now. Where illegal drug use takes place, as well as alcohol consumption. Our creek can no longer hide. Our simple creek.

My parents got divorced at three. So, now it is just my mom, my sister, and I. My mom is a Federal Agent, therefore always on "call". She used to work in Washington. That drive is supposed to take 1 hour, but usually takes three or four. We were really young. Our second home was "Children of America" and the teachers there. We used to wake up before dawn and go to day care, then go home after dark. I never got to play outside further than a playground. I always had a plan to escape, yet I was afraid to act. I had always wanted to be in boy scouts. I had always wanted to play a sport. I had always wanted to do tae kwon doe. That time in Washington was 3 years. Now, our family is still three. Now, my mom has been released from Washington. At 8 I could be a boy scout finally, I could play a sport, and practice tae kwon doe. We still struggle to accommodate ride situations to get to after school activities. My mom's friends used to help her out a lot. Luckily, I am learning to drive. This will open a new door of independence for me.

Living in a community, one should help others. From my time in Scouts and Young Marines I found that not only is serving your community a requirement to advance in rank, but also something that makes you feel good. You may be tired after 8 hours of work. Yet, knowing the big brown cardboard box of food is going to a family in need is priceless. Homeless shelters are crowded. Bad connotations come with being homeless and needy. If one out of six Americans are hungry, then there could be 3 or 4 people in my class each period that can't feed themselves. We volunteered at the food bank one day. My "pack" of cub scouts and I were curios and nervous. What went on inside a food bank? I used to be afraid of homeless people. Until I found out that is not where they keep the homeless people. We boxed food all day. There was a big clock on the wall. It counted down the time we had left. In the last 5 minutes we rushed to finish the last boxes. We had an assembly line. By the end of the day we had a couple hundred boxes done. We all felt great. For us, we realized that these people are not bad, just not as fortunate as us. Every family has their story.

In various Youth Groups you make contacts. Some can be links to your future. Some are teachers, amazing people. One day at Young Marines I was leading a squad through the woods. We stopped so that I could teach a class about land navigation. The class took 2 and a half hours. About halfway through we took a break. That is where I met Mr. David Corey. He is a registered adult with my old unit. He saw my back pack and told me he had one just like it. A "bug out bag". What I had found out later was that Mr. Corey was in the Army. Not only was Mr. Corey in the Army, but he was former Special Operations Green Beret. 30 years to be exact. We talked, and talked, and talked. Eventually, we worked together and he mentored me. Often, I was taught various survival skills and techniques. Unfortunately I left the unit, and I am no longer able to communicate with him. He was a true roll model and hero. He was a smart cookie.

Every morning when its owners left for the days events, it would have a fit. This parrot, who lives in Rockport, Massachusetts, was very noisy. Rockport is my second home. We live there for 2 weeks every summer. I enjoy spending time there so much. We go there every year, as a family tradition. The parrot lives in the next cottage over, with its owners. The neighbors are very quiet, almost like they are never there. But the parrot knows. One year we came back and the Parrot wasn't there. The neighbors were still there. We never found out what happened to it. He was more of an annoying memory. But maybe it was a pleasant surprise, when I go to dry off my diving gear, he isn't there anymore to squak at me. Rockport is a tiny town about 30 miles north of Boston. The water there is around 60 degrees during the summer. I usually use a wet suit to snorkel for extended periods of time. Unfortunately this is one of the last years at Rockport. Our rental cottage was sold. The next year I go into the military. Rockport is probably one of my favorite family memories.

I love my family. I also wouldn't mind moving out. I enjoy living with my mom, my sister is kind of a bitch, but whatever. I do not have to pay rent. I get paid to do chores. The only thing that bothers me is how unkempt my house is all the time. My room is spotless and super organized. I would love a tiny on room apartment with a tiny kitchen/dining area and living area. Kind of like single soldier living quarters for the Army. Everybody has there own space to keep how they want it. Mine would just be OCD clean. There would be community washers and dryers, and nobody would steal your clothes because everybodies looks the same. When I join the military I will get my wish. I will still miss my family, but I will have a clean little quarters to myself. Maybe my military apartment will have a balcony. I will put a chair and table out there for when my family visits. I am still pondering what branch to join. Chics dig Marines, but the Army takes better care of you in the long run, Marines have cooler uniforms, but the Army receives the latest and greatest gear. I am also considering the Air Force and trying out for Pararescueman slot. I have less than a year before I sign a contract to enlist.