English Honors 10--Essay 2

Lyndzie Garro

Mrs. Bosch

English Honors 10

5 August 2006

What Contributes to Who I Have Become

I know this may sound really corny and cheesy, but I am unique, and I

can guarantee there is no one else like me. I can say this because

there are certain aspects about my life, or my family’s life for that

matter, which shape me into who I was, am and will become. But this

does not apply to only me, the same is true for everyone, well maybe

not identical twins, but they still have their differences, it may be as

little as a different ribosome in their DNA, or it can be a big

difference like height or where they live. I am different in every

aspect because I come from a small town, small family, but huge

goals and dreams. Ever since I was born, I have lived in the small

town of Patterson. Yes this is sad to admit at times, but as much as I

may dislike my hometown at times for lack of activities, I have so

many memories, friends and things to keep me occupied. You see,

growing up in a small town which used to be mainly orchards and

fields, I was never really exposed to all the violence, drugs or as

much vulgar language which is often heard of in larger cities such as

New York or Oakland. But sadly, this town which I have grown to love

is not so small anymore. More houses are being built every day, and

with more houses come more people, but none of these people are

my relatives. I come from a small family of five, with three

immediate cousins. Growing up, I was mostly around boys because of

my older brother, which might be why I seem to get along better with

the boys. Boys do not have the drama which seems to come with

girls; boys come with sports and fun. Although girls have much more

drama than boys, I still get along with them just fine. I grew up with

two girl cousins whom have helped me get into cheerleading, which I

now love, and older girl friends, they were sometimes sisters of my

brother’s friends so it was not always that bad having a mean big

brother around. When my little sister was born, I thought it was

going to be awesome, I would always have someone to play with,

well, I was wrong. Along with my sister came the messes she made in

our room, and her annoying friends who I tried to avoid, but it is kind

of hard since I am their cheer coach. But growing up taking care of

my sister and her friends has helped me be more independent

because I have coached cheerleading for three years, helped coach a

children’s pageant and managed to score a well-paying babysitting

job for four children. But my brother had his pluses too, first there

were his cute friends, second they made me fall in love with football,

and last but not least they made me adventurous. Because my

brother’s friends and I were always doing things out of the ordinary, I

am not afraid of heights or to get a little dirty in the mud like most

girls are, actually I think it is safe to say that they made me accident

prone. But for every upside, there is an opposite, my brother and his

friends loved picking on me because I was littler than them, I had red

hair, freckles, and since I am Swedish, French, Italian, Irish and

Scottish, I am extremely white. I was always called “Speckle,” “Pipi

Longstocking,” “Whitey” infamous “White Girl.” This always was not

that bad because it taught me to stick up for myself and be strong.

Their taunting allowed me to rely more on myself for support. It

prepared me for the real world because not everything will go your

way, and I cannot always turn to Mom to solve my problems. But my

family, although it is small, has made a huge impact on who I have

become. If it was not for my family, I would not have made it through

anything. They were always there for me to turn to when I needed

help because, although this may seem impossible and completely not

true, they went through the same exact things I have, am and will go

through. My family is my support in school, sports and religion, they

are there for everything. Every time I needed help in math or English,

the people I could turn to was my parents, my brother and sister were

not really there for me in that aspect because my brother was not all

that smart, and my sister is five years younger than me. I started

getting involved in cheerleading when I was in fourth grade, ever

since then my parents have not missed a single game, and some of

them are hours away in the freezing cold, one year it was snowing

and they were cheering me on while I was on the sidelines trying to

yell, but instead I stood there, shivering. They have supported me in

tumbling, although it took me a while to get where I am at now, they

still gave me the extra boost of confidence I needed to get me where

I now stand today proudly saying I can do a round-off back handspring

layout. My family even sat through the four hour long award

ceremony at the 2006 Academic Decathlon, knowing Patterson was

not going to place in any category. As you can tell, my family has

been there for me in the past, present and will stand by me in the

future. My family is proudly supporting my decision to go to college

and become a surgeon, a biophysicist or a search and rescue fire

fighter. They stand by me for these occupations because they know I

have always wanted to help people like they have helped me. As you

can see, growing up in a small town with a small family has greatly

impacted my life. If I lived in a larger city with a larger family, I

probably would not be in the great position and state of mind which I

am at today.