Things I Carry

There are many things that I take with me day to day. These things help become the person you all know and see day to day.

First and for most, I will and never go anywhere without my phone. My phone has my entire life on it. Literally! Just like any other normal teen, my cell phone carries evidence of my daily life and if was to ever leave my sight, I just might die. I went one day without my cell phone and felt torn away from the world. I vowed to myself I would never go through that again.

My major goal that I carry day to day is to be successful. I come from a family of college dropouts. The last person to complete college in my family was my grandmother and her sisters which was nearly two generations ago. I watch at how hard my mom and dad works everyday to build a life for my little sister and I and seeing them struggle makes me want to work hard to succeed in my life. Just to have my mom one day say "I'm proud of you, you made it Lauren" drives me to stay in school and do my best in anything I put my mind to.

Just as in The Things They Carried, everyone has a "Martha" and mines just happens to be my best friend. In the past, I have had trouble trusting boys and he has made me finding trust easy again. He has always there for me even when I treat him like the dirt underneath my shoe. I honestly do not know why he sticks around and puts up with me but he does. He has proven to me that not all people are the same, there are some amazing people left in the world and I'm happy that I have one of them in my life.

Respect, hard work, and faith. When I think about personality, these three characteristics come to mind. As I child, I was taught to always have respect for others even when they do not respect you. It was a lesson that I was first exposed to by my grandmother and mom and something I take with me and use daily. In order to reach my goals in life I know that it will take hard work and dedication. I have very high expectations for my life and no shortcuts will be available to reach them so I have do buckle down, get serious, and strive for my goals. Yet no matter how much hard work I do or how respectable I am none of these things can not be possible without my faith. As a Christian, it is important for me to be strong in my faith and trust that my God has a purpose for my life. Only then can I peruse my dreams and truly be successful.

Lastly, one thing I cannot live without it my middle school memory. During middle school, I was bullied by my peers and that deeply affected me in a negative way. Yet, because of my situation
I was able to become a stronger and wiser person. It was a traumatic experience for me and even though it helped me grow as person I still think about those events everyday. They take a very strong toll on me and I still deal with the trauma.

All of these things helped shape and created who I am in life. Whether it was good or bad every event had an effect on me and has made me who I am today and who I am becoming.