Rihla 23

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I Believe:

One of the most important things in life to me is family. While growing up I never felt a sense of loneliness, because I had so many cousins. I remember when I was about six years old I had gotten to that age that I was able to have sleepovers, but I could only invite so many people. It was so hard for me to decide who I would invite cause I could only invite six people. I thought long and hard about what I should do, but I my mom helped me understand all friendships don't last forever but your family will be with you no matter what. So I just decided to have a party that allowed all my friends and family to be together. Also as I got older, that seemed to become a bigger thing. My family began to get closer and closer. We had gotten so close to whereas we would have large family dinners every Sunday. Then in the year 2008 of family traditions went down hill. My uncle and my great-grandmother both died of health issues. Within my family, my great-grandmother was the back bone of the family and my uncle was the one who kept everyone smiling. So this made my freshman year very difficult. It was hard for me to focus while at home. I was so used to asking my granny for help or my grannny asking me questions about what I was doing that it was hard for me to even be away from her voice for so long. I just couldn't take it, day after day I would cry until I fell asleep. It wasn't until about a month later that our family had gotten together again to talk, that I realized we were all we had. And my grandmother told us that either we fight through it together or let our family fall apart. That caused me to understand everything I would do, make sure it was something that was something that would make my family happy. So ever my four years in high school I've found myself to become a strong leader and one who is always there for others, especially since you never know what someone maybe going on at home. Therefore I feel that family is the thing I believe in most!

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