t was such a beautiful morning one summer day. I was awakened by the sunlight. I felt full of energy. I got up and stood by the window. I was looking at the leaves on the trees and the sparkling grass reflecting brilliant colors from the rain that fell overnight when I saw something moving in the woods. It was a family of deer, they looked so peaceful and calm. I enjoyed this moment so much. For a few minutes I didn’t have anything to worry about. I felt like I was living in a paradise.

I started working on my chores one by one. As the time went by, the energy that I felt at the beginning was vanishing little by little. At the middle of the day I was all worn out! The sunshine was beautiful, but really hot and dry. Now I was feeling so exhausted and my body was sweating, I knew I had to stop. I drank a glass of water but it didn’t help.

I sat down for a little to relax while I was eating a snack. I looked around and I said, Oh no, many things need to be done.

I started again doing my job, but I felt like I was in the desert walking on the hot sand, breathing the dry air with nothing to cool down. But I said to myself, I must go on trying to fight the fatigue I feel. I sat down again to have a little break to recover my strength. I walked so briskly to the laundry room and saw a pile of dirty clothes. I went back to my living room and saw a pile of files.

In that moment I realized I couldn’t do everything at once and I thought I guess this is almost everybody’s daily life. I told myself, Take it easy, nobody is rushing me which made me think about the good morning I had which had been so nice and peaceful. Each day I remind myself to wind my clock and start all over again.

y life growing up seemed to be going good. I had loving parents that took very good care of me. I would come home from school and they were there waiting for me. I never thought anything would ever go wrong until that January day in 1999.

The day started out fine. My father had a doctor’s visit. When I got home from school that day my mom said, Your father is very sick. I said, What? She said, My sweet child your father has Altzheimer’s. Well, I didn’t think anymore of it until he got really bad. In the year of 2001 he couldn’t do anything on his own. I never thought I would be changing him, getting him dressed, and feeding him. It’s still hard watching him go down hill, knowing he will never get better.

Then when I think everything is going fine, this happens. In 2003 my mother went to the hospital for a toothache. The doctor came back and said, You have cancer. I thought, Oh, no, am I going to lose both of my parents? I’m torn between my mom and my dad. Trying to take care of them is so hard. I’m 25 years old and I have two kids. I’m trying to get my GED and I’m taking care of them. Sometimes I wonder what am I going to do. Then I go back to when I was a little girl. My mom would say, "God will not put too much on you that He knows you can’t handle."

Every morning I wake up and wonder what’s going to happen. Am I going to wake up and both of my parents are gone? I feel so responsible to try to do everything for them because of the wonderful life they gave to me. Sometimes I wonder how my life would be if both of my parents weren’t sick? Then I think at least they are still here. Then I wonder, will this road ever get smoother or will it just get rougher? ONLY one person knows. Till then I will keep traveling down the rough road until the end.

Dear Mom

To My Mom,

Thank you, Mom, for giving birth to me. Thanks for making me a strong person by not babying me and not being there for me. I think you had a bad life growing up. That should make you want your life different then you had it. I’m sorry I wasn’t the person you wanted me to be.

It has taken me a long time. But, I’m OK with who I am. You know, Mom, I always tried to make you happy when I was younger and as I grew to be a lady. I’m OK with everything now. It’s fine that you don’t call me on Christmas or my birthday, or when you don’t invite me to go out to eat or go places when you invite the other girls.

Mom, why were you always so angry? I try to think of the happy times. I remember you taking me to Brownies. Your childhood must have been really bad. Because, what kind of mother would smack her children in the face and call them bad names? I wish we didn’t have to move so much. We left so much stuff behind. I guess that’s why I want my boys to go to one school and live in one house.

Do you remember when I had a C-section with Justin and I walked to your house. I asked you to help give Brandon a bath. You did a good thing for me. You told me to get out of your house and not come back till I could do it on my own. I walked out of your house crying. But, let me tell you something, you made me stronger. Good or bad, I don’t like to ask people for help. I wish I had a mom to talk to. I would like to call you for once and not hear that what I’m saying is dumb or be told that "I have too much time on my hand."

I can never forget everything that has been said or done in the past. But, let’s make today a new day. You’re missing out on so much. I have four wonderful sons. They are growing up so fast. Maybe, one day before it’s too late, you can get to know your grandchildren. I have so much stuff to tell you about them.

Your youngest grandson got glasses a few months ago. Boy is he cute! Your third grandson is a good writer like his mommy. Your second grandson is such a great artist. And your oldest grandson loves to ride his skateboard.

Some day, Mom, you will see that you have four daughters and only one talks to you. Something needs to change. I think I’m done talking for now. So, you can either take this and trash it or take it and learn. One more thing before I go, you were right about one thing. You did the best you could. I wish you the best, Mother. Smile and be happy.

he things we do can be funny, but yet can hurt you. This is one of those times. Luckily it turned out ok, but it could have been disastrous.

Everyone had an eye appointment. Since I had to work, my husband went to pick up the girls from school. He picked me up from work, and we went to our eye appointments.

When I got in the car, I took off my smock, and put it in my daughter’s backpack. When we got home, I took out my smock, checked backpacks, and signed their notebooks. The next morning I got up and was getting ready for work, but I could not find my box cutter (the knife!). It was nowhere to be found. I went to work and looked there. It was not there. I went home and checked there again, still no luck! I was running around trying to find that knife! Still no luck! By this time, I was really getting aggravated! Once again I was checking backpacks and signing notebooks. I finally found the missing knife in my daughter’s backpack. This knife was in that child’s backpack for four days. It never fell out!

The crazy thing is I check their backpacks every day. I never saw it in there. How I missed that knife being in there, I do not have a clue. If that knife had fallen out when she was unloading her backpack, she could have gotten in big trouble at school! The school would never have believed this story. The look on my daughter’s face was priceless!

So, as parents we do make mistakes and do crazy things. I keep saying the good Lord had his hand on that knife to keep it in that child’s backpack. I thought I was checking the book bag carefully, but NOW I check that" bad baby" very carefully ever day! I wonder what the next crazy thing will be.

his story that I am about to tell is very hard for me, but then again it’s a lot of change for me. My mom and dad got a divorce when I was fourteen. We moved out and that’s when everything started to change for me. I felt like my life was turning upside down and I didn’t know what to do. Should I stay with my mother who worked hard and took care of four kids? My sister and brother, of course, were older and pretty much handled the stuff that was going on. Then on the other hand, should I stay with my daddy, who very easy on the boys. He didn’t harm them at all; they could go to games. The girls on the other hand couldn’t step outside onto the porch. I knew deep down inside I wouldn’t stay with my father. Besides he would be too busy to take care of me or the others. It’s not easy letting go of an abusing father figure because you are not under his control anymore and we don’t have to be afraid anymore. We could be kids for once.

As years went by, that’s when I met my first child’s father. Something told me he was going to be trouble. He had that cute smile, that thug look that most girls are attracted to.

But then again, what did I know about anything at my age? As time went on, I started doing things I shouldn’t. Mom wasn’t paying me no mind she was too busy with her new boyfriend and left us to keep being free to do whatever. I started to feel something in my stomach, I knew something was going on and I knew what it was. I was so scared. I finally got the courage to tell my mom what was going on. She was so mad at me because I knew better. She called me every name in the book, you couldn’t even imagine. Because of my wrong doing, we all had to move again. My brother was very well off out of the picture when all of this was going on. But by him being gone, it doesn’t mean he didn’t find out what was happening. He was very supportive of me. He kind of put a spin on things to make you laugh when nothing was funny. He also picked on me to make me tough. My sister was doing all the same things I did. She was older during all this time and was never in the picture. My mom and I were okay at this point and time. We became closer when it came time for the birth of my child. He showed up a day after the birth. He wanted to know how it was and I told him it was hard. I had to stay in the hospital because at that age, teen mothers have a difficult time giving birth. I had a pin leak that’s what sent me into labor early. He asked me what are we going to do now? I took on this role and now I have to play the part of a mother.

I knew he wasn’t going to be there for us. We weren’t getting along before or after because he was always hitting me. So after her birth we didn’t talk anymore for a very long time as I was in and out of school. All this time I couldn’t do anything. I had no life. When I stopped going to school, things changed and I got a job. I thought I was going to pull my hair out! As time went on and I got older things got better for me and *Sandy. Two peas in a pod, that was the name my friends used to say. Then people started saying that I didn’t know how to raise a child, and that I was ripping up and down the streets with my child. They were wrong, they didn’t know what they were talking abut. I got my own apartment and Joe and I tried to work it out. But he kept doing the same thing.

As time went on, I met Bob. We were together for 2 ½ years before I had my second child. Her name is Sarah. Everything was great in our family until the night I heard that Joe was shot and killed. They came and broke the news at four in the morning. It was hard for us. It took a long time to cope with the news Sandy was six at the time but we both knew that we had to get on with our lives and I had to realize that I really had to this by myself, things got better and I got smarter. I went out and took this job being a CNA which is a Certified Nurses Aide taking care of those who can’t help themselves. So for awhile I did that and had 2 more kids and moved about five times. I never stopped thinking about him and I don’t think I will ever.

However the main point of my story is my mom nor my dad didn’t want this path for me but as I say again this was my role because I chose it, now I have to play it. But the lesson I learned was to stand up for myself and be a strong woman because no one will always be there. Every one should cherish their loved ones because you can also wake up and they’ll be gone.

*The names in this story have been changed in order to protect their privacy.

y hair, up in a ponytail, still smelled of green apple shampoo. My breakfast was going up and down in my stomach. My brand new white uniform was perfectly ironed and stiff. The night before I had patiently attached the school shield on the left sleeve of my uniform. I was meeting with my peers in the Hospital Hallway. It was the first working day at the regional Hospital for the twelve students of the regional Physician Assistants School. For some reason, which no one in my family could understand, I had decided to enroll in the program. My mom was worried, and when I was not around, she shared her concern with the rest of the family: "I am wondering how she will be doing, if she almost faints every time she sees a drop of blood."

I was very clumsy and I made quite some damages. Throughout the year, I broke seventeen thermometers. I had to pay for every single one I broke. My little money was gone, like the mercury of the thermometers. The hospital staff nicknamed me "Thermometer Girl" until I made a bigger damage that changed my nickname too.

My first year was almost over. I was at the last station, the Lab. One lazy afternoon I was filled with energy and decided to do some cleaning. I decided to clean the shelves in a lower cabinet. There was a huge two gallon brown glass bottle filled with a transparent liquid. I read the label: 98% Chloric Acid. The bottle was too heavy and I accidentally bumped the bottle against the working surface. The bottom of the bottle broke off making a terrible noise. The transparent liquid fell all over my legs and onto the floor. The acid was damaging the floor, the furniture, and the chairs right away. I stood still and didn’t say a word. My first and only thought was, "How much will it cost me to replace the wasted liquid?" I could feel a strange tickling all over my legs. The smell was awful. Someone grabbed me and put me under a shower. They rushed me to the nearby emergency room. My legs were all covered with red and purple burning scars. While the surgeon was working on my legs, they had to evacuate the whole wing around the lab because of the toxic gas. The ER team was worried and surprised that I did not complain. One by one they peeled the purple crusts from my legs, until the surgeon started to laugh. The purple scars were not scars, but the remains of my red tights that were corroded by the acid. Under the tights, my legs were perfectly fine. It definitely was one of my lucky days and I was grateful to the Hospital that did not charge me for the damages.

It is hard to believe, but I graduated two years later! Despite my family’s bad forecasts and my clumsiness, I loved my job over all. My employers were very happy with my performance. I sacrificed my profession after twenty years of dedication to fulfill an even more demanding job: to be a fulltime mom.

y life changed when I found out that I had to have triple bypass surgery. I had three veins blocked going to my heart. I took my time to decide when to have this done.

But I faced it with an opened mind. I am glad I did. I feel like I have been "reborn."

f I had my life to live over, once more, And a chance to make memories new. I would walk, more slowly, through days of my life, And avoid all the hells I’ve been through. I would live without hate and envy and greed, And share with my neighbors the wealth of my deeds. Between the two worlds of sinner and saint, I would choose my new life to start. Every goodness and joy of heaven and earth and the loves that grow in my heart. I would live without lust and anger and woe, And cultivate kindness to harvest and sow. My memories then would bear no regrets like the many that haunt me today. For all of God’s treasures of mercy and care I would reap and re-sow everyday. I would revel no more in my sins of before, if I had my life to live over once more.

e start from a sperm cell that our parents created. From two loving people that God created. We stay in the womb until the egg starts to grow. It gets bigger: our heart, brain, all of our body parts, start to grow. In no time at all, here we are - nine months later. Our mother feeds us. Some of us are bottle fed, some breast fed. Our parents take a lot of time showing us don’ts and "dos" like eating, crawling, walking, being there when we are sick.

Now we’ve made it to teenage years. You have boys or girls on your minds and all the peer pressures of life as a teenager. That stage passes by.

You become adults. There’s more pressure: taking care of yourself or yourself and family, having a job, house payments. Taking care of children, taking them to the playgrounds, loving them, having fun with the children -- the pressures continue.

Now time has come again. Now we have become older -- like grandparents. We look back. Again time has passed by us. We wonder where has it gone.

When you have a loving environment, people that love and care for you, time does pass by. Some people aren’t so lucky to have that, so life isn’t so good.

Overall we start as a child to teenager and then adult. Many of us become a child again because we’re not able to take care of our self -- just plain old age!

’ve learned over the years the hard way that by having more education you’ll have better paying jobs. People will look up to you because of more knowledge that you have. You can go so much farther and get more out of life by having an education. I encourage others to stay in school. Get all the education they can, be wise and learn all you can learn for life.

My GED teacher has helped me tremendously to get to the level that I’m on now in all my learning. She also has helped me to believe in myself when others don’t.

y life changed when I got married. My wife and I had been living together for about three months. She went to visit my sister for two weeks. When she got back something was different about her -- like her mind was somewhere else. Well, it was. She left two days after she got back to date her ex-boyfriend again.

Then in July, we started talking and hanging out again. July shut down at work rolls around and we decided to spend it together. This time I was saying I want to get married too. Paula said she didn’t want to right now.

So with the night of Thursday we’re going out to get some food at McD’s and she looks over at me and says "You want to get married?" I looked back at her and said, "really?" "Yes." So I called my best friend’s mom and asked what I needed to get a marriage license. She told me. Then, she asked me why? I told her and she said she would marry us because she can do that.

So Friday morning we called everyone and anyone who could come was invited, but we weren’t waiting on anybody, including my mother and father. The reason why we didn’t wait was we weren’t getting married for anyone but ourselves.

We’ve been married for five months now and living in our home with our dog and cat. We are learning everything we possibly can about each other and what makes him/her happy --how we can help each other around the house and stuff. I think it was the best thing that I ever did! We’re doing an actual church wedding on July 23 so that my mom and dad can see us re-tie the knot.

hen I look back to my teens I think I knew there was something missing. I had always been a good girl. I belonged to a church and attended regular, but now remembering how strict my parents were I was probably just using it as an escape.

About two weeks before my eighteenth birthday I ran away with my boyfriend. I had no idea how well off I was at home. Anyway I lived through a short horrific marriage of two years. The only thing good out of it was my daughter, Susan. So now here I was a single mother alone and scared. The first thing I did was get a place of my own. Even though my parents were very supportive, I didn't feel they were responsible. My life had changed so dramatically. When I lived at home my worst worry was probably what to wear that day. Really wasn't ready for marriage or bill.s Now here I was with a baby.

A few months passed and I met a guy named Carl. He also was in the middle of a divorce. Well my little girl just adored him and he did her. He loved us both and offered to take care of us despite the fact I was battling muscular dystrophy. The doctors said I would be in a wheelchair in a few years. Although our life was good, it had quite a bit of rockiness. Even though I had no idea there were any problems there was something gnawing at me still.

In 1991 Susan was nine and I thought it would be nice to let her take clogging lessons which were being held at the local civic center. This unbeknownst to me was the beginning of my new life.

You see, all of the women at clogging were Christian and unbelievably nice. They invited us to their church which was also held at the civic center. So Sunday morning Susan and I were at church and next thing I knew we both accepted Christ as our Lord and savior. Now my life was complete. Everything was different. The small things that used to annoy me didn't matter anymore.

It took us awhile but we finally got Carl to attend and shortly thereafter he was saved, too.

It didn't take us long until we both knew we should be married. So the church quickly put together a small wedding for us and by the grace of God though I am in a wheelchair I'm still here to tell my story. This truly has been a life changing event for me. This was all I ever wanted.

I am now writing poems mainly about Jesus and my faith. It is my hope by including one, that you can see how my life has changed. My poems are all true and straight from my heart.

This was the first time I heard such beautiful sound of singing. I loved it deeply. Since then I have learned a lot of song from the radio.

Gradually, TV set, tape player, CD, video and stereo were popularized in Chinese household. I had opportunity to recognize many famous singers. I like these splendid sounds so much. I couldn't help but sing following them.

Last year, my husband went to America for his post-doctoral research. My daughter and I came here to lvie with him. Because my English was not good, I couldn't understand most of TV show, let alone the pop songs. I felt very lonely.

Occasionally I met a Chinese student who was a member of Chinese Association Chorus Group. She introduced me to join the group. I agreed with pleasure.

After then, I joined the singing every two weeks. I was so surprised that some members were very professional. The leader of Soprano, Shannon, was a protagonist of a high level amateur chorus before she came to American. Her voice was bright and beautiful like a singing bird. Our president, Cissy, was born in a musical family. Her husband and she both like music. They love to carry forward Chinese culture. They volunteer to organize this informal chorus group. Each meeting they brought the stereo, computer, electronic organ, and song materials. They even prepare drinks and snacks for every member. We meet together to have vocal exercise and practice singing. Through their warmhearted instruction, my singing skill made great progress.

We often received some invitation from local celebration. On November 13, we had performance at Cultural Festival in Old Cable House at UVA. We sang two Chinese traditional songs. One was "Beautiful Jasmine Flower," which is a famous Chinese folk song; the other was a song written by Chinese folk singer Luobin Wang, and it conveyed the love of a young man to a lovely girl on the big meadow. Our singing won ardent applause from audience. I felt very proud of our group.

Chinese New Year Festival is approaching soon, which is usually on the end of January or the start of February. It's the biggest holiday in China. During these days, Chinese government usually holds big celebration ceremony. We have brilliant TV program and magnificent firework. All family members go home to visit their parents. Kids put on new clothes and get gift money from their parents. We sit together to have big feast and enjoy the wonderful TV show. Every year at this celebration, our chorus group brings new songs for American people in Fashion Square Mall. So after New Year's Day, we'll practice more than usual.

I can't believe I have this chance to sing in a chorus in America. This was almost an impossible thing if I was in China. Though my family will leave Charlottesville in several months, I'll keep in mind this precious experience forever.

n my life there have been good things with my sons and husband.

My husband and I work together to make the future.

Sometimes we don't have a lot of time to be together, but when we have the chance we take advantage of it.

One day my children were going to have a soccer game at the same time.

I didn't know what to do, and my husband couldn't help me because he was working.

What could I do?

I needed to be at both games.

The god thing was that both games were at the same place.

My decision was to go from field to field.

The other parents saw me go back and forth.

When they found out what had happened, they laughed.

They asked me if I liked the games, and I said, "Yes, they were fun."

My children wanted to go home because they were very tried.

It was too cold for them.

"Let's go home, Mom You watched both games! Mother, you did it! Thanks."

y grandmother's name: Rosa Maria. She a good teacher. For 40 years she worked in high mountain in Peru. She taught people in a native language, Qechua, which was the language of the Inca's culture in South America.

I remember when engineers, teachers, physicians, lawyers and other professionals visited to my grandmother. They always thanked her for every lesson she taught them. "Thanks, Mama Rosa for your teaching," they said.

She said, "These people, when they were children, were my students in the high mountains. They are now professionals." She also told me, "Jaime, study is the key for becoming successfully in the life. You go to another cities and explore the world, but remember, the key by to growth is study."

Now, my family chose a new life. We live in United States of America ...land the opportunities and thanks God for that.

I remember my grandmother; and my family studies here. My wife and I study at Piedmont Community College PVCC we studied Biologist and Engineer. And my daughters studies too, my older daughter studies at PVCC and she wants transfer to University of Virginia UVA; and my younger daughter is at Monticello High School and wants to study at UVA too.

My first step is studying level which is English. In the future I want to teach to Forestry at the university, similar to what I do in my country.

For these reasons, I thanks do. All teachers in this country, and others countries for the magic they do.

y mother told me this story.

Once upon a time, some ladies were boasting about their jewelry.

Some of the ladies asked a poor lady how much valuable jewelry she had.

"I have the most beautiful and expensive jewelry," answered the poor lady.

"Can you bring your jewelry tomorrow to our meeting?" asked another lady.

The poor lady accepted her invitation.

Next day, they wondered if she would bring her beautiful jewelry. As soon as she arrived, they asked her to show her jewelry.

She raised the cover on her backpack. There were her small son and daughter, and she introduced them proudly.

"They are the most beautiful jewelry in the world."

When I was young, my mother often told this story. Now I have two daughters, and I tell this story to them.

It's so hard to take care of my children, but I find more shining light than jewelry in my children's smiles. I think there is another piece of jewelry. It's my mother because she loved me for my whole life.

Mommy...I really thank you, and I love you.

came to America with my family three months ago. Now, we are comfortable and enjoying our life here. But when we arrived at Dulles airport, I could not read any signs, brochures, or anything else written in English. Friendly people talked to me, but I could not understand what they said. My mind was filled with worries about what would happen in our coming life.

My greatest worry was about school life of my children. At first, my four children hated to go to school. Every morning, they said, "I don't want to go to school." My children couldn't speak or understand English well, so they didn't know what their teachers and friends were saying. They began to lose confidence. My youngest daughter, Misako, was 7 years old. She cried throughout the whole school day.

During those days, I thought that Englishability was the most important skill, and that once my children improved their English, they would be comfortable at school.

After we were in the U.S. for a month, Misako finally began to go to school without crying. Then, an interesting thing happened. It happened when Misako's friend began to cry in the park. Misako went up and said, "What's wrong?" It was the first sentence Misako spoke in English. I guess her teachers and friends had always said the same phrase to her when she was crying at school. They touched her gently and her mind was finally opened. She thought she would be kind to her friend who was in trouble, and she said the same phrase to her friend.

We are living in an international community with people from various countries. Many people here helped us when we were in trouble. We also think about how we can help others in our community. There are many differences from our own country, Japan. People in other countries have their onw lifestyles, customs, and religions. I think taht the most important factor for living together with people from other culture is a mutual respect. We could not have understood this important thing if we had stayed in Japan. My children and I are learning how it is important to understand and respect the people from other countries. I wish that my children will learn about "World Peace" through this precious experience in this city.

am from AFghanistan. Two years ago I came to Charlottesville with my family. I left my native country in 1998 when Taliban captured Kabul and their fundamentalist Islamic government held the country in 1996. After two years, I moved to Pakistan. When I was twelve years old, my mother always said to me, "Don't be absent from school because in your future only your school will help you and no other." One day after noon I came home from school and I saw an old woman that we called her aunt. She came to our house and stayed for a week. After a short time she talked with my mom. Suddenly I noticed her face. Her face was very wounded. I asked my mom, "Why is my aunt's face injured?" She said, "Everytime that she becomes alone she beats herself with her hands." I asked again, "Why?" My mother smiled and said, "She didn't have husband and she lived alone without children. Nobody is talking with her. Now she is old and needs a person who should help her. If you don't take wife, your future will be like your aunt." My mother said and continued, "So I tell and recommend to you: when you are a young man, I will choose for you a beautiful and good girl. You must ahve children in future. Children are good and the help you." It was a good recommendation for me. Now I have children and I am proud of them. And satisfied with them that will finish school and university. So I am not alone like my aunt. It was not only a regular speech, but it changed my life. In the end I say, "God bless my mom and all moms in the world." Thanks for your patience.

e experience many different abusive situations in life. As we reach our teens, we think our abuse is over. What little we fail to realize is we then become our worse abuser of our life.

I lived a very physical, mental, and sexual abuse from many family members. The sexual abuse starting as young as 5 years old (at least) and lasting to the age of 15 years old.

I found myself turning to drugs, alcohol, abusive relationships, violence, crime, suicide, and reacting my past abuse out.

It is then we can say it is ourself that has become our own worse abuser of our life.

I lost my kids! I had no place to sleep or eat, but under bridges and Salvation Army. I experienced this with several dozen stitches in my face. My head got busted from front to back. I had to have back surgery from abusive relationships.

On June 20th of 2000 I experienced the worse experience of all by the mind control subsistence alcohol? I had lost my boyfriend due to a car wreck. The hardest thing to accept is I was so drunk I can't remember what happen. I am now serving a 7 year sentence for his death and unable to say if I am guilty or innocent.

In October of 2004 I made a very serious attempt of taking my own life. In December of 2004 I came to realize I was my worse abuser of my own life. I choosed getting drunk, doing drugs, and abusive relationships.

So now I realize by choosing drugs, alcohol, and abusive relationships made me my worse abuser. I'll like to share some of my experiences, reach out to the teenagers, and try to make them realize by doing drugs and alcohol will make them their worse abuser of life.

Once the abuse is done there is no changing it! Don't abuse yourself.!

was much afraid of water.
I think that is an inherited characteristic.
My mother was also like that.
She sometimes told me
      "Be careful with the water"

One day I came near being drowned.
After that I was more careful of water.
Sometimes I went to the waterside with my friends.
I couldn't play in the water with them.
It was unsatisfactory but unavoidable for me.
Frankly speaking I envy them who can swim well.

When I went to the university,
I applied for a swimming class.
But I failed the learn how to swim.
That was a bitter experience.

Ages of time passed and I became a mother.
Surprisingly, my son is like me.
He liked to play in the bath but feared the pool or sea.
That was a serious problem.
So, I decided to try again to learn swimming/
I still feared water very much.

During the first month I regretted everyday.
But I couldn't give up.
I picturd to myself playing with my son in the water.
I dreamed forward to such a day instead of surrender.
I felt to improve in my swimming skill day by day.
Finally, I mastered all kinds of swimming style.
That was a great experience.
Now, I have enjoyed swimming with my son.
Moreover I can do scuba diving.

In 2005, I am in the face of challenge.
That is just E.N.G.L.I.S.H.
I sincerely hope
English is another swimming experience for me.

rowing up on the farm had its "ups and downs." When I was about four years old, I drank all my daddy's wine while he was asleep. I got drunk, fell down, and then went to sleep. I got sick after I woke up, and my daddy laughed at me.

When I was five years old, my nephew, Dean, climbed up a tree, and he told me to come up there to get my tootsie roll candy. After I climbed up, Dean jumped out of the tree and left me sitting up there. I couldn't get down, and I cried, so he had to come get me. Dean then gave me the tootsie roll.

When I was six years old, my mother had a corncob pipe. I picked it up, smoked it, and I got high. I got scared and hid down underneath the clothes on the floor.

My daddy let me pull tobacco in the field and drive the tractor to the barn. One day, I climbed up on my daddy's tractor and was driving it. I ran into a tree because I was driving too fast. The tractor cut off so I climbed down and left it. I went home and told my nephew. He went to get it.

On the farm, we had hogs, chickens, and dogs. I fed the chickens and the dogs in the yard. I fed the hogs by climbing up on the fence and throwing the corn over. Lassie was a pet dog. Black boy was my mother's dog. He stayed at my home with my mother. I did not like the dogs when they got big. I played with Lassie when she was a pup[y, but when she got bigger she knocked me down. Black boy scared me because he would jump up on me and bite. He did protect my mom though and did not let anyone touch her. One day when I was riding my bicycle, I ran into the ditch and was thrown off to the road. I took my bicycle and left it in the bushes. I did not want anyone to know I had wrecked it. I walked home, and daddy asked me where my bicycle was. I told him the truth, so me and my nephew got up and went to get it. I do not know what happened to the bicycle. These are a few of my "ups and downs" on the farm.

became an "early bird" on the day after Thanksgiving. My friend and I got up at 5:00 am and hurried to Staples and joined the "early bird" line outside. The line was not too long at 5:30 am, about 30 people in front of us. But five minutes later there were more than 30 people behind us. There were more than 100 people in the early bird line when Staples opens the doors, though the temperature was near 32 F. However, this line was not as long as the line outside of Best Buy. There "a guy is sleeping in a tent and he's not even the first in line," a friend behind us said. Staples' holiday sale began at 6:00 am. When the doors opened the stream of people entered the store in an orderly manner. Staples is generous. They offered many free items for the "early bird," like the AT&T phone and Staples socket and shredder. ("Free" means you must pay money first, then rebate will be mailed in.) I believe more than 100 people received free items. My friend and I each bought a Wireless Router and DVD Writer and some other things. Then we were off to Office Depot and Circuit City, together with some other "early birds."

I experienced a special morning. I like this sales style, not because I bought something for a low price, but because in the USA I do not see long lines of people, except in the DMV.

t was certainly a warm and nice day in the spring. My husband and I took a drive to Ivy Creek. We parked the car in the parking lot and took a walk along the river side. The play of sunlight was shining through the trees on the river. We saw very beautiful scenery.

We also heard the mysterious sound around there, like "Croak, croak." Suddenly, my husband found something. He returned to the car in a hurry, and came back with a camera. My husband was excited and began to take some photographs. I wondered why he was so excited!

Then, all of a sudden, the frog was there. As a matter of fact, I'm frightened of frogs. I looked around the neighborhood. There were countless frogs there.

I screamed involuntarily. Then, my husband snuck up on me and tried to put the frog on my shoulder. It frightened me and I screamed and ran away.

At that time, the chorus of frogs and my scream could be heard throughout in the forest.

I promised him revenge!

n Tuesday in August I went to class. My teacher, Ms. Margaret, told me she had a homework project for me to do. She gave me two weeks to write a composition on making pickles. I was a little surprised, but the class is all about learning to read, write, spell and to use correct punctuation.

Now I will tell you about making all kinds of pickles. First I pick out my recipes and then go shopping for the ingredients. The first pickles I made were dill, which were very easy. I washed the cucumbers, packed them in clean jars, added the ingredients in each jar and applied the lids, then I put the jars in a bath of boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes so they can seal. They will be ready for eating in two or three weeks.

A few days later I got my recipe out for bread and butter pickles; they are a little harder to make but they turn out just fine. They call for more ingredients such as red, green and yellow peppers, diced onions, sugar, mustard seeds and vinegar. I yield twenty-four pints. (Just last week my husband brought me some green tomatoes from the garden and I had to make those pickles!)

I am getting ready to make watermelon pickles. It seems like the more of these I make, the harder it gets. To process them you make a syrup, heat it and soak the rinds overnight and the next day you removed the syrup, heat it and soak the pickles again. Then you heat the syrup and cook the rinds after which you pack in hot jars, seal and you are all finished. I have also made chutney on several occasions. Chutney is a relish made with fruit and veggies. Chutney is one of the best relishes to use on meats, veggies and for making dips. I am one of those people who love to eat pickles, also give them for Christmas gifts.

I have made so many pickles, I decided to write a recipe on how to preserve and pickle my husband. I was very careful in selection; I gave my entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use. I did not choose too young. I know some wives insist upon keeping them in pickles, others constantly get them to sour, hard and sometimes bitter, but I make my husband sweet, tender and good by garnishing him with love, seasoning with kisses, draping him with charity. Keeping him warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion, serving him with love and happiness. And he has kept for years!

Pickle making can be lots of fun if you put enough of yourself into doing it. Try it -- you might like it.

y son was about to go to school, but he woke me up. I woke up and I asked him what was the problem? He said that something noisy was in the attic. Then I woke up from bed and I heard a noise from the attic and when I heard the noise was really strong, and I was afraid because I have never heard a noise like that. Then I told my son to go outside and see if somebody was on the roof, but nobody was outside, there were only two big crows and we started to laugh.

Well, my son went to school and I went upstairs and I heard the noise again, but stronger than before. I was afraid and my heart started to beat fast.

Then I called my husband and I told everything about that noise. Then he told me whenever he comes home he will look into the attic, and he told me that because ther might be a vampire.

"Now I'm not afraid I'm angry."

When he came home we went upstairs and we took some weapons like a big stick and the broom, when he got into the attic. He wasafraid. He started to search for the vampire but at the end he didn't see anything.

remember when we moved into our first home. It was a little, small apartment on Rougemont Avenue. It had only two bedrooms, so with a three-year-old and a newborn, space was really tight.

While dealing with the many issues of space, transportation was also a big problem. Working three part-time jobs while my wife worked as a bank processor made getting around quite an obstacle. AFter all day running from job to job, I couldn't wait to get home.

One day I got off early and decided to surprise my wife by cooking dinner. I was so excited for this would be the first meal I had ever cooked. Finally, we all sat down around the table. Everyone's eyes widened as they gazed at what I thought were masterful dishes. Needless to say, just after a few short minutes into the meal, we all decided that it would be a great time to go out for dinner!

At the end of the day, I didn't win the cook of the year award, but I did receive praises and lots of love for having the courage to attempt such a task of cooking dinner in our new apartment.

ave you ever realized that a striped zebra exists in almost every road in Charlottesville? Believe me, there are lots of them!

I am from Croatia and working in Charlottesvill as an au pair. In just one day my life was turned upside -down. New environment, new people around me, new customs, culture, country, new continent, and finally a new language I am trying to implant in my head!

No book can teach English better than a person whose native language is English. The base of everything we learn is our courage to try and our readiness to accept our mistakes. That has been my guiding philosophy since I left my country and ran into an unknown world.

Five year old Dial, the child I am taking care of, pulled my hand intending to go over the street in the fastest possible way. "The zebra is over there!", I told him, showing by my hand the direction the zebra was "standing." "We are not allowed to cross the street here," I added.

"What?" Dial asked uncertainly.

"I said, the zebra is over there." And my hand once again showed him the direction of it.

"What zebra?" Confusion covered his face. His growing pupils were searching around in an attempt to see an unusual scene of a striped animal walking proudly in Charlottesville city streets. "Where?" he curiously asked, looking for the mentioned animal one more time.

"We just ran over it," I answered.

He became silent.

Dial was probably too confused to ask any additional questions about the invisible animal which is hiding somewhere nearby.

I had almot forgotten that event, when one month later his mum mentioned "crossing lines." And finally I realized there are no zebras in Charlottesville's roads!

In Croatian language "crossing lines" are called "zebra," probably because both of them have white stripes on the "body!" This is what happens in the attempt of literal translation from one language to another! No matter how carefully we try to find a logic, in some segments of life it doesn't exist!

hen I was a young girl I lived in the country. My grandfather was a very classic man and was a farmer, and grew his food in the garden along with my Uncle Jake. They had a little of everything in the garden. He was a very good farmer and cook. He help to raise six children by my grandmother, three girls and three boys and also help to raise some of the grandchildren. We watched them kill the pigs when it was time to be killed them and was taught by him how to clean the chitterlings and cut the meat up and make lard from the skin of the pigs. I also was taught how to cut wood and slice it in the middle. He also showed me how to fix a fire in the old wood stove to heat the house up, grandmom showed me how to cook at a early age, some morning she was not there to cook for us, my mother worked to help them out with food and other things too. They washed on a old washboard and hung them out on the old clothes line to dry. My grandfather left and move in with some else and I haven't seen him in a long time, he is deceased now. My family has move on, but still miss him very much, I do.

y job is housekeeping and cleaning restrooms, classrooms, offices, floor care, remove of snow and ice.

My job is important because the parents, students and faculty want their area clean.

When the parents they notice how clean the school is.

What I like most about my job is that I can work at my speed. I work by myself most of the time.

What I do best is floor like buffing, stripping, waxing, etc. Nothing special happened on the first day of working, but through the years I met some nice faculty and students.

I met three students that I saw daily. We became friends. Sometimes when I was cleaning the classroom, one of them would be doing their home work.

They would ask me could they stay in the classroom, and I would tell them yes. One guy I met was Sam. He would talk a lot, but one day we got on the topic of health, and he was telling me about his health. He told me that he had leukemia, but it was in remission. He seemed like he was doing pretty good because I would see him about every day. We would talk to each other about what we did that day. Then I met one of his classmates, and his name was Sterling. They both were majoring in being a medical doctors. Some time they would have some interesting looking books especially the pillbook. That was a neat book. It had all kinds of pills names in that book.

I would see them every day most of the time until I noticed that Sam wasn't there, so I asked Sterling have he seen Sam and he said that he hadn't seen him but, that he would let me know if he heard anything, and I thanked him.

The next day Sterling told me that Sam was in the hospital, but I didn't know which hospital until later and I found out that he was in the hospital in Washington, D.C. I guess his family and his girlfriend were from Washington. So I asked Sterling the following week. He told me that Sam had passed away.

That was extra sad because he was only twenty-three years old. He didn't get to fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor because death took his life.

y job is hauling the US Postal mail. Well, each day I am down to my tractor to do a pre-trip inspection on the great big rig. ONly got fifteen minutes to do this job. But I go around kicking those large rounded tires, pulling on my pig tails (wires and air hoses), and now down my long trailer.

Wroom, wroom starting up and on my way down 29 north, wind in my hair to the airport to get loaded. Backing in I have to use a swipe card to enter. But once in I get loaded and scaled and back on 29N to Northern Virginia.

Traveling 29, you must stay at 55 mph and watch for those ladies on cell phones. They think they can stop on a dime and give up change!! Ha, ha.

Coming back down 29S I have a lot of people blowing their horns and waving of hands. Thumbs up as if to say how clean my big rig is. I love my job so much that twice a week I clean my truck up, shine my tires up so well that you would think I went to Express Car Wash. It is a great feeling when people pass you and wave a hand and point to your big rig. "Hey, hey, hey! It's all OK. And a better day tomorrow."

Every night when I return, I always stop in at the Texaco station to check on two young ladies at 2 a.m. and to say, "Another blessed day, and we will do it all again tomorrow."

I am now upon Route 29, Gainesville, VA, and on to Marysville Post Office and inside this very large plant, lots of bright lights, noisy machines, but lots of great people.

Well, it's time to open my bay door and wait to get my seal cut off, so I can unload and reload, but while I wait, you know me, I have to tell a joke or two, or just say, "How are ya, well and blessed!"

Well, time to go back to Charlottesville and do everything backwards.

Now, I am home. Mail in the house, checks, and IOUs are on their way. Another day in paradise.

ork is hidden everywhere. This is one element of our simple life. Everybody is doing some work...in all different ways.

Deep down in the Pacific Ocean in the city of Bikini Bottom lives a square yellow sea sponge named SpongeBob Square Pants. SpongeBob lives in a pineapple with his pet snail, Gary, and love his job as a fry cook at the Krusty Krab.

• What's up Squidward! This will be a beautiful day to work! -- said SpongeBob.
• Yeah, yeah, yeah! -- said Patrick, SpongeBob's best buddy -- This will be a beautiful day to work!
• Oh...get out of my way! -- said Squidward -- What do you know about work, Patrick? I can sum up your big life ambition in four simple words: "Uh...I...uh...forget!"
• Hey! Why Squidward is so cranky? -- asked Patrick
• I don't know, but he thinks that he is better than everyone else and everything annoys him...the Krusty Krab, customers in work, even Mr. Krabs! -- said Sandy Cheeks, SpongeBob's thrill-seeking squirrel pal.
• You know what Patrick? -- asked SpongeBob -- Don't take it personally, Squidward has probably a mean mood today, he will be better a little later You will see Well, now I must run back to work, because my one minute break is over...Krusty Krab is calling; I have a lot of Krabby Patties to do!
• What do you think you're doing, SpongeBob? I'm not paying you for talking with your friends! Get back to work before you ruin my business! You will work loooooooooong hours for little payment, because of your break! -- said Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's boss and the owner of Krusty Krab.

Well, as you can see, for Mr. Krabs making money is what it's all about, and he can usually be found in his office counting his cash and adding up the day's receipts. SpongeBob Square Pants make his job with passion. Squidward is just tired at the beginning of the day. Patrick the Star it's the best in "doing nothing", and Sandy Cheeks...hmm...probably her work is to bring some action and adventure to other lives

work as a cashier in a grocery store. I love my job, but sometimes it can be stressful.

I enjoy talking to my customers as I ring up their items. Some make the day go by quicker, others make me want to walk out, but I just have to deal with what the day brings.

It's an easy job, but after a few hours of standing, I need a break. After a break, I'm ready to tackle it again. I like working the express line sometimes because there are fewer items to deal with; however, there are more people coming through the line. When I'm not on the express line, I kind of slow down. On the regular line, it's easier when there's someone to bag. Bagging can be stressful when it's a big order.

I think I am good at my job. Being a cashier can have its ups and downs, but it's worth it in the long run. I can brighten someone's day or maybe they can brighten mine.

y job as a private sitter is very interesting. I take care of an 86 year old lady. The lady I take care of was a school teacher. She taught grades first to third. She really seems to have enjoyed teaching very much.

The things that I do for her aren't very hard at all. I help her to get up and sit in her wheelchair because she can't walk. When she first came from the nursing home, she had fallen at home. They tried to give her therapy in the nursing home, but it didn't work too well.

I help her by bringing her tray of food so she can eat. She still can feed herself. I fix her hair at times or she goes to the hairdresser. I make sure she is clean. She can stand at times so I can help her get into bed.

I Stay with her 6 hours a day. Sometimes we play BINGO, and she seems to enjoy it very much. She had other activities that she enjoys, too. When she has a doctor's appointment, I take her to those. We ride on the Jaunt bus.

At the end of the day, I make sure she has finished her dinner and is comfortable. I make sure she has her call bell before I go home.

It is a very nice job. I enjoy taking care of my lady very much, and we have a good time together.

have always wanted to be in the USA, since I was a child. Now I'm twenty-five years old and this dream is happening.

I came here as au pair for to take care of four children (Adriel - 10; Shannon Kate - 5; Grace - 4; Theo - 2). I have only been here for fifteen days, and I intend to be here for one year, I signed a contract for this.

I don't have a large vocabulary and sometimes I don't understand some words, but I try hard because I need speak English fluently.

Everyday, or better, every night I'm so very tired, because I have always a busy day.

Let me tell you one day in my life in America, sometimes is very funny, because I'm adaptation another culture, another times, etc. In this week, for example, I lost myself in this city. I don't memorize very well the way of the children's school and while I was going the child said me everytime "Wrong way," "wrong way" and I never found the right way. Finally, I found the right way after 30 minutes and this child arrived in your school 20 minutes late, only gosh knew how I felt me, I was nervous, i wanted cry and the same time I was laughing.

At noon I had to picked up her sister in the school, but when I try turn on the car, the battery was low. Thanks God, a man help me and the car turn on after 30 minutes.

And for "close the day" with a "gold key" at night I had class and lost myself again, said for God, "I don't believe this, it's not possible" and smiled for myself again.

In the same day, much wrong things.

I pray everyday for God blessing me and make me a courageous person. Problems on another side, the America is so beautiful and wonderful.

I love this opportunity of the to study here, certainly my future will be better.

started to work for Parks and Recreation in April of 2000. My job was helping to clean the parks in the City of Charlottesville. What I liked best about my job was making the parks look good again after picking up the litter and broken glass. That's what made my job important.

It was very important to clean up the parks each and every day. Children came to the parks everyday to play, so it was very important to pick up the broken bottles, clean the glass up, and pick up the trash.

I also had to keep the shelters clean. I'd wash down the shelters so they would be neat and clean for the people to have a clean place to eat their food. I would look at the clean shelters and the parks, and I would tell my foreman that I was doing a fine job. We would both laugh.

I enjoyed working the parks. I found money a lot of times picking up trash in the parks. One saturday, a co-worker and I were cleaning up a park downtown. He walked over a twenty-dollar bill. I picked it up. He said, "You are very, very lucky." We both smiled and kept on working. He said it would be his turn the next time.

y job is a caregiver for elderly people, and I really like working with them. My client is a woman I work with in her home. I cook for her and also clean. I help her with her baths, take her out for rides and to appointments, help her with her exercises. The thing I mostly do well is cook for her. I think she loves my cooking.

It is very important to be with her and look over her to make sure nothing happens like if she were to fall or something. I am there to prevent that from happening.

The most remembering day on my job was when we went out for a ride to see different houses and just see the view. We had a wonderful time together. My first day working with her was also very nice. I caught on to everything very quickly.

It will be two years in February, 2005 that I have been working with her, and I really like it very much. There are other people who also work with her to relieve me when I need a day off. This is a really good working field to learn about.

live in Charlottesville, and my work is very heavy, but I like. It's easy and my boss is a good man, because he never are angry and always uses plain speech.

y name is Lailuma. I live in Charlottesville, VA. I really like it here a lot, but I still miss my country, Afghanistan, a lot too. I lived here for two years and five months. When I first came here I start working in Rosewood. I worked there for eight months then I stopped working there because the job was really hard and also the bad thing was that I had to wake up early in the morning like at 5:30 and get ready and be there at 7:00. Also sometimes I walked there and I will never forget my first days.

Since now I have a car and a better job in the Whole Foods Market, I am so happy. I work in the day. The people there is really nice to me. The first day at work I was really shy and didn't know what to say. But now I am really proud of myself because my boss thinks that I do really well and that I am a really hard worker.

o My Mom,

Thank you, Mom, for giving birth to me. Thanks for making me a strong person by not babying me and not beig there for me. I think you had a bad life growing up. That should make you want your life different then you had it. I'm sorry I wasn't the person you wanted me to be.

It has taken me a long time. But I'm OK with who I am. You know, Mom, I always tried to make you happy when I was younger and as I grew to be a lady. I'm OK with everything now. It's fine that you don't call me on Christmas or my birthday or when you don't invite me to go places when you invite the other girls.

Mom, why were you always so angry? I try to think of the happy times. I remember you taking me to Brownies. Your childhood must have been really bad. Because, what kind of mother would smack her children in the face and call them bad names? I wish we didn't have to move so much. We left so much stuff behind. I guess that's why I want my boys to go to one school and live in one house.

Do you remember when I had a C-section with Justin and I walked to your house. I asked you to help give Brandon a bath. You did a good thing for me. You told me to get out of your house and not come back till I could do it on my own. I walked out of your house crying. But let me tell you something, you made me stronger. Good or bad, I don't like to ask people for help. I wish I had a mom to talk to. I would like to call you for once and not hear that what I'm saying is dumb or be told that "I have too much time on my hand."

I can never forget everything that has been said or done in the past. But let's make today a new day. You're missing out on so much. I have four wonderful sons. They are growing up so fast. Maybe, one day before it's too late, you can get to know your grandchildren. I have so much stuff to tell you about them.

Some day, Mom, you will see that you have four daughters and only one talks to you. Something needs to change. I think I'm done talking for now. So, you can either take this and trash it or take it and learn. One more thing before I go, you were right about one thing. You did the best you could. I wish you the best, Mother. Smile and be happy.

n Dec 26, 2004, my husband and I went to Washington, D.C. for a tour. We woke up early and got ready for a journey. I heard there was no restaurant near the tourist attractions, so I prepared some food and drinks for lunch.

"All right. We are ready! Let's go!"

We drove about 2 hours and reached Washington, D.C. We went famous places, the Lincoln Memorial, U.S. Capitol, the Washington Monument, and my favorite place -- the National Gallery of Art. They were great!

We walked a very long time so we were exhausted. We returned to our car and ate some food which I prepared.

Before we went to home, we decided to go to the Jefferson Memorial. We parked our car and looked around fast because it was near dark and the parking lot was located in a place which was isolated.

After looking around there, when I almost arrived at my car, some heavy man in the parking lot stared me. He looked restless and uncomfortable. I was scared, but soon I could feel he didn't want to scare me. And then he approached my husband who was following me. I wondered what they said. So I walked to them. He said something so urgently. I could hear his voice.

"Sugar! Sugar!" My husband just stood in a dze. At that moment, suddenly an idea came across my mind. "Diabetes!"

My grandmother had diabetes and I learned about it last semester at ALC. If this condition continues for a long time, it may become dangerous to a diabetic patient. I ran as fast as possible toward my car. I hoped I would find some candy, but I wasn't sure. When I opened the door of my car, my lunch bag came into my sight.

"O.K. It's what I want!"

There was a bottle of grape juice which was an extra lunch. I gave it to him quickly. He said, "It's the best for me." And he drank it in a hurry. After that he sighed and he seemed to be relieved. He said, "Thank you very much. You saved me!"

I asked him, "Do you have diabetes?"Yes, so I need sugar." And then he gave some money to me. I declined several times. He said, "I have to give it to you. You saved my life." And he put the money on my car and went back to his car.

I was very delighted because I helped another person. It was small what I did but maybe it was important to him at that moment. While I was coming back I was so happy. It was great trip.

come from a very dysfunctional family. My family could be kind and intelligent at times, but they were also violent, and they were drunks. I don't think I got love from them because I was the only dark skinned child. I wa always the black sheep of the family.

My mother worked all the time but was a functioning alcoholic. My father I really didn't know. I only knew his name and what he looked like. I have two sisters and one brother. We never close because we had different fathers. From the age of three to five, I was molested. I was molested by one of my uncles, my mother's brother, as well as other uncles and friends of my mother. I was violently raped at the age of eight and eleven, also by a friend of my mother. This continued throughout my childhood.

In 1974 at the age of eleven I was kidnapped by a man named Joe. He was also a friend of my mother. Joe took me to Washington, D.C. and told me that I was his daughter. I did all the cooking and cleaning and was never allowed to go outside. Joe was abusive to me and I suffered many beatings. I could nevef do the things normal kids got to do because if I was even one minute late getting home from school, there would be trouble. Joe had a live-in girlfriend, Joyce. I also witnessed many terrible beatings Joe gave her. At the age of fifteen, I dropped out of school. I had completed the ninth grade.

As strange as it seems, I had met another man named Joe. He became my boyfriend. Joe was twenty-two years old, and I was fifteen. I told him what was going on with me at home, so he and his mom took me in. Joe and I got married when I got pregnant, and I had two children with him. After having my first baby, Joe became abusive and he too began beating me. We still lived with his mom, but she didn't want me there because I was under age.

I left Joe at the age of nineteen -- taking my six month old baby with me. This was the first time I experienced life being an independent mother. I searched and found my biological father. This turned out to be a bad choice because he also tried to rape me. I never spoke to him again. For seven years, I worked, took care of my baby, and lived a somewhat quiet life for te first time ever.

I was working two jobs and taking care of my baby but still only making ends meet. Then I was given an offer to make more money by selling drugs. The New York drug dealers were paying my rent, buying my clothes and food, and paying me three hundred and fifty dollars every night for using my apartment. For six months this went on.

My husband found out I was selling drugs and took my son from me. AFter losing my son, I felt there was nothing left for me, and I became a regular drug user. I started getting into trouble with the law at the age of twenty-seven when I had become addicted to drugs. Men and drugs brought me to my lowest point.

From 1995 until the present, I was in and out of lock-up on different charges. Things became continually worse. I have a violent record and am currently incaracerated at Fluvanna Correctional Center. I am doing fourteen years prison time and two years on probation for a murder charge following more abuse from a man. When I get out, I will live again. I will have survived here in this human hell doing time. Thank You, Jesus, for the life you allowed for me. I am only human!

n November the 25 of 2000 on a sunny cold afternoon I received a phone call from the hospital letting me know that my mom had passed away from breast cancer. That was the toughest time of my life. This was a huge challenge for me because from then on I would have to live without her in my life, which was not easy.for me and my family. But personally what helped me get through this difficult time was relying on JEHOVAH. He gave me the strength and the courage to move on. I also had teh love and support from my congregation back home, which was New York. At the time, without the faith in JEHOVAH I wouldn't know how to cope. Thanks to my friends and family, I was able to get through.

was a lucky child. I grew up in the complete family. I had one mother, one father, and one brother. I think we were an ordinary family. As I say, I was lucky child. Not every child is so lucky. I know lot of children, my friends from childhood, who did not have a brother or sister. Some of them did not have one of the parents.

The life of adults is sometimes very strange for children. It is very difficult for children to understand why their parents often swear. It is very difficult for parents to explain to their children why they do not want to stay together anymore. Children do not understand why their parents do not want to stay as a family. Why would they want to divorce and live separately?

Some of my old friends never had a sister or brother. Maybe their parents did not wish to have anotehr child. Maybe their parents were not able to have another child. These friends never understood what I have. I have a brother. I have the best friend who knows everything about me, despite that we live in different cities, different countries.

The morning newspapers are full of bad news. Somebody was killed, murdered for couple of bucks. He left a wife and two children. A cause of bad luck of one family. Sometimes we hear or read about disasters which affect more than one family. Suicide attack. Fifteen people were killed. Fifteen families lost somebody who lived with them. Earthquake. More people who will never return home and join their families. And now the tsunami. Everybody heard, and everybody read about this. The newspaper, radio and TV keep bringing new information.

When I heard about the tsunami for the first time, I was depressed. Probably, as everybody...I could not imagine how this is possible. How many people were killed? How many human tragedies occurred in one short moment...?

As the time ran on, I started to not pay attention to this news. If you hear about something each day, you do not pay attention any more. So what? This has happened to other people. Not to my relatives, not to somebody who I know. These people are far from me...

One night, I was sitting and watching TV. It was an ordinary evening. It was one of these evenings which do not bring anything special to your life. Suddenly, lots of things, that I knew so far, changed. My phone rings. It is a phone call from far, far from Charlottesville, where I live now. It is a call from my native country. My mother tells me that my uncle, my lovely uncle who I knew from my childhood, this morning passed away...

or thirty-five years, I have not been in school. I got married and became a mother at a young age. The man I married began beating me. I was in this abusive relationship for awhile. I have gone through a lot in my life both physically and mentally. However, I have turned bad circumstances into a positive journey.

I divorced my abusive husband and became a single parent. I workied one and sometimes two jobs to try and get by. Because I was having such a hard time, I began selling drugs for more income. A PB 15 was issued for probation violation, and I was sent to Fluvanna Correction Center for Women, a maximum security prison. The judge sentenced me to a two year prison term and one year on paper. I still have two years left to serve if I get into trouble once I am released. I don't plan for this to happen!

AFter going through all this drama in my life, I enrolled in Ms. Gathright's Adult Education class at the prison. I am doing very well considering I haven't been in a classroom for thirty-five years. She makes learning not only interesting, but also fun. School has been a positive experience for me. I know that I am stronger, and I refuse to give up or give in to any of life's challenges. I will continue my education while here. The journey won't be over when I am released, for when I am released, I won't stop until I receive my GED.

y the time I was 16 years old I was a mother of two and had dropped out of school to raise my children. As time went by, and my children and myself grew older I realized how important education was to make a comfortable life for us.

From the beginning as a young adult without a GED, I was unable to get a higher paying job. I had to take jobs that paid minimum wage. Even earning minimum wage it was hard to provide for my three children and provide them with things they needed. However, time marched on and somehow we struggled through.

Later in life I got a better paying job which made life a little easier. I could now provide my children those things I hadn't before, yet if I had my GED I could be in a supervisor's position and earn more. I had always taught my children to go a step, if not farther,than their parents, that with an education life offered more opportunities. My oldest child works as a technician assistant at a hospital for drug dependent people. My middle daughter recently retired from 24 years in the Air Force and has started a second career as a Registered Nurse. My youngest daughter has been in the Air Force for 19 years and plans on becoming a schoolteacher when she retires. I'm proud of my children for getting their education and making a good life for themselves and their families.

In conclusion, when I was younger I didn't realize how important getting your education, but as a mother and a grandmother I realized how really important it is to get your education. I want my grandhchildren to be able to pick and choose their lives, because they choose to get their education. I made up my mind to get my GED and I'm determined to get it. AFter I get my GED, I plan on taking some college courses at the Community College.

hen I was growing up in the little town of Franklin, Virginia, I was in school, going to church, and doing what I was told. Boy, my life changed, as I became older! My biggest problems began when I started hanging with the wrong crowd and using drugs. I believe that I can now live a better life without drugs and alcohol in my life.

When I was about five years old, a car hit me while I was crossing the street. The accident caused great physical and emotional injury. My right ear was torn off and ended up on the other side of the road. I had to go through skin grafts and plastic surgery for about eight years to have my ear restored. Because of the accident, I missed a lot of school and my grades and learning ability decreased significantly. As a result, I was placed in special education classes. After that, I never felt that I fit in with the so-called smart kids. I became stereotyped. I was called retarded and other names. Other kids made fun of me. I never had any friends.

By the time I was in the eighth grade, I began getting into trouble, anad I didn't want to go to school. I started getting into fights and falling asleep in class. When I was about sixteen or seventeen, I felt that I didn't fit in at school at all. I met a girl who became my friend. I thought she was my best friend, and I always wanted a good friend. I liked spending time with her. We began hanging out at her house instead of going to school. Her mom was at work, so she didn't know.

I would do most of my schoolwork, and I would get bored and fall asleep. After I got caught a couple of times sleeping, I started trying to stay awake. I began trying to do my work to pull my grades up and doing what I needed to, so I could go to the next grade. I ended up quitting school and getting into more trouble.

I began using drugs to keep from feeling the pain and hurt I was feeling, but it wasn't doing me any good. Determined to stop using, I signed up to take GED classes at the community college. I went for about three months and stopped because it was too hard for me, at least that's what I thought. I just thought I was too dumb to learn. I became even more discouraged.

I went back to drinking and smoking pot, but even worse this time, I started smoking cocaine. I began doing anything to get the alcohol and drugs I had to have. I had gotten so bad that I ended up getting caught with drug paraphernalia, and I went to jail. I stayed in jail for about eight months then I got out and started going to NA and AA meetings. I did well for about two months. Then it got real hard for me to concentrate on the group, and I began to go and drink a beer after group. Needess to say, I didn't go to the group very much after that. When I thought things couldn't get worse, they did. I began selling.

I would go and find the drug dealer, get what I wanted and then go try to sell some of it and smoke the rest. While selling some, I got caught again. This time, I got locked up for a long time, and now I regret the day I started using alcohol and drugs. I pray to the Lord that I will not return to my old ways again because I don't want to live that kind of life again.

I want to change my way of living and live the way of God. I now know that I am able to learn, and I am not as hard on myself as before. I am not dumb, stupid, nor retarded like those kids said. I always wanted to be on my own and be happy about myself. Because of my disabilities, I will probably always be stereotyped as "slow," but I like myself now, and that makes me smart.

have chosen to write about education because I think it is an important part of my life. A good education will give you many valuable lessons -- they can. Education has tuaght us many valuable lessons. One is that you need a good education to get a job, the other is that you have to know what is going on around you at all the time so you can understand the world and how it all fit together. Some base-skills you will need to know are how to work in maths, language, speak, write and work skills to the computer, all of these are good reasons for us to learn and reach our goal and have successful learning experience.

Knowledge is power, bless you all.

have a tutor whose name is "Linda." She is my English tutor. She and I first met on October 12, 2004. When I heard her voice on the phone, I thought she was a young girl. She, however, was an old woman. She has a warm heart like a girl and always listens to my story very well. She teaches correct pronunciation and reads books to me. Whenever I meet her, I am happy. I am so happy.

After I came her, I had my first birthday in the United States. Actually, I worried about loneness on my birthday. Maybe she knew my mind and suddenly visited my house for celebration. I couldn't believe her appearance. She gave me a birthday card, a flower and Halloween candies. After that, she started to read the contents of a birthday card. "Celebrate this day -- This is your day!!" I was much impressed by her mind. That day was the best birthday in my life.

One day, I happened to hear that she needed a surgery. I couldn't believe that bad news. I worried about her healthy and I cried for a few days. But she taught me English just before the operation day. While she was in the hospital, I visited her with fruit and a flower. She looked feeble. I helped her walk around her room and eat lunch in bed. She said to me, "You are a good nurse." It was my pleasure to help her.

After I met her, I felt a warm heart from her. I realize that I not only learned English but also received her heart. I will never forget her heart. If I have a chance that I teach someone, I will also teach with my whole heart. She is my precious teacher in my life.

t the age of 10 years old I was put in school, the school house was two big rooms. It was first, second and third grade in one room, and fourth, fifth, and sixth grade in the other rooms. My teacher was Mrs. Brady. She was a lovely looking Lady, brown skin, black hair, nice white teeth. She were very pretty Lady. I was very shy in school and around other people. I didn't talk much. As the week passed I heard the children saying Friday was payday. That made me happy. Because I was thinking that everyone of us was getting some money. But when that time came it was pay day all right. She called each one by name and took a ruler to beat our hands. It hurt so bad I jumped up and down. She didn't stop till she finished the job. I didn't like her very much after that day. I know that I got punished for something that I didn't do because I never talked in class. I tried my best to learn as much as I could because I liked going to school Well, I got to know her as the time passed. We started to look at things in a different way. We got to know each other better and better as time went on. She would ask me to write math or any other writing that day to be put on the black board because she thought I could write well. She would ask me to help her make cocoa for the class and pass it around to everyone. I really liked doing that and she knew that I enjoyed it. We became close friends. I got to know her very well, I grew to love her as a mother because my mother was not in my life.

At that time of my growing up I looked up to Mrs. Brady as a mother figure. I loved her very much. But then a time came when I had to leave the school. I think I was only in school for about 6-8 months. After that I never went back to a regular school. I did go to adult schools for a while. I miss Mrs. Brady not seeing her anymore till later in life. I was married and had children and she taught some of my children. I thought that was amazing that she taught some of my kids!

My daughter asked me a few years ago, "Mama, I didn't know that Mrs. Brady was your teacher, too." It shocked me when she asked me that because I never realized that. She said it was about twenty-six years from the time she had taught me. I met her later in life. She didn't remember until I told her who I was. It was a good experience for me to recognize and to go throughl. It helped me in my lifetime to try to do the best that I could do no matter what come my way. Always do your best. After all is said and done I know that I love her very much. I miss her. She will always be missed. My friend and inspiration. "God bless her."

y name is Marylou, and I am fifty-four years old. I learned how to read and write after coming to prison. I have been incarcerated for six years now.

For the first two years I was in class, but couldn't understand and didn't learn anything. Ms. Gathright then took over the class, and I started learning. She gave me a Wilson Student Workbook by Barbara A. Wilson, and I learned how to read and write stories.

The book, Helen Keller, inspired me a lot. If she can do it so can I! Some of the books I have read are Ben's Gift and Pat King's Family. I wrote stories about what I read on both of them.

When I came to prison, I had a two-year-old grandson who also gave me reason to want to learn to read and write. Now, I also have a granddaughter, too. Now I can read and write to them. My goal is to be able to read and write without any problems by the time I go home in 2007. I can then help my grandchildren with their school work in Math, Social Studies, Spelling and Reading. I know I can do this for them.

I have finished work books I and II, and I am now reviewing III in the Wilson Workbook. I am getting ready to move on. I have come a long way in such a short time. I have faith, and I know God has a plan for teaching this older dog new tricks!

ducation to me is very important, and getting education means a lot to me.

Education is something that people take for granted till it's needed. I didn't get the education that I needed, but I do want it now. That's what I did. I went through life making sure my children did not take for granted their education.

As for my opinion, and the way I feel, you can never get and have enough education. You can use it in so many ways, more than you can ever expect. I never thought that I would need education, to do other things, but I look at it in a different way. You do need your education.

To me, getting my GED means a lot to me and that it is the education that I really want and need and something that I really want to do. It is worth all of the hard work that one has to do to get through it, and thinking it's worth all of the hard work helps you do it.

n education is something everybody needs to have. So why is education important? Why do we need math and social studies? Why do we need science and history? Why do we need black history in the classroom? These are questions that many want answers to, even me.

So why is education important? "Why?" you ask. This is why: You can get a lot out of education. "Like what?" you ask? It can help you in making life decisions. Also, it can help you in solving problems. For example, knowing math can help you understand your paycheck and make sure it's right, that it has the correct number of hours and the correct pay. Math can also help you run your own business. Knowing your history is another good thing about education. "Why?" you ask. It's because knowing your history helps you to learn about your background and where you are from. It will make you feel good about yourself.

What can come out of having a good education? A lot of things can come out of it. "Like what?" you ask. It can give you a better job opportunities and a chance to make more money. In addition, with a good education, you can help your children with their homework. And finally, it can give you a better life for you and your children.

came to America and I can not read well and I can not write well. So I decide to go to school and improve and communicate with friends so that I will become somebody good in the future.

However, in the other way I will like to learn how to speak well so that I will get better job in America here. Because if you do not know some thing better, you can't do nothing good.

I need more help with books. I want to learn more and more.

I need help with English. I want to learn more and more English to improve.

I need help to drive more and more help because without driving I can't live in this country. Because driving is important in this country. If you find a job far off you have to drive there. This is the importance of driving. On the other hand, without car you can not go any where fast. For example, when school were off yesterday, I couldn't get home because of the cold. That's the importance of car.

I came to this country with two children and I will like for my children to be well educated, for them to become somebody good. If I do not know well, I will like for my kids to know something good in the future.

ducation is very important to me because basically the more you have the better of a job you can get. Back in middle and high school I didn't think too much about education because I felt, "I'm still in school, I won't be needing a job any time soon." Not thinking long-term about having everything in order and the proper education I so desire and need, it cost me a lot because now I can't just go and get any job I want. My valuable lessons definitely would be to "stay in school" because without education you have nothing. You are stuck in a position where you don't have a say like others with education. You can't jump into a higher position and make money to be able to provide for yourself but also for your family.

I have a younger sister who's 12 years old and I would go crazy if she decided she didn't want to finish school because I've been there and done that and it's no fun. When you are younger, you don't make the right decisions and that can cost you your future. I'm thankful that I have the chance to get my G.E.D. and make some changes in my life.

I also have an older sister who's 29 years old, and she's the opposite. She went through school and college like it was nothing. I didn't have that kind of feeling of being in school, but I do wish I had finished high school at least because I would've accomplished something.

Now I have another chance and my sister is my inspiration to move on and get the job done. I want to be proud of myself and feel so confident in what I do. I want to go out there and achieve my dreams. EVen if I have to struggle to make it, it will only make me stronger.

ducation is important to me because education is the key under the sun. A man without education without live. I encourage another people by telling them about the story of education and by reading the book.

know without knowledge all is lost. I hope someday people will be able to acquire all the beneficial knowledge their minds can hold. The world today is a place of many forms of information, some good, some bad. This is why I must be vigilant in my quest for enlightenment.

I hope that I can decipher all of the bad and some of the good information. This is my dream. Let me be able to see the information in its truest form. Some knowledge is detrimental to our health and hot helpful. For example, weapons of mass destruction: they kill. This is not the type of knowledge I would like to fill my head with.

I hope I can help people to see that there is a need to learn. But we must beware of what we take in because it can sometimes cause harm to ourselves or to others. Pece and happiness are two things knowledge can help us to gain. Please don't let anyone keep you from learning!

ne of my most pleasant experiences in life came during a period of incarceration. I was doing a five-month sentence in Farmville Regional Jail. This particular jail housed probably sixty percent immigrant women, mostly from AFrica. I was very intrigued with their situations and culture. These proud women were from various parts of Africa, such as Ethiopia, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, and Somalia. Their stories were horrific in various ways. They fled their countries seeking citizenship and a better quality of life. The easy part was getting to America. The hard part was being able to stay. That's where I came into their lives and where they came into mine.

Most of these women could speak little or no English and they were supposed to present their cases to immigration judges through interpreters. So every day I would set up a little classroom in my cell and teach these women English and small American customs. They were so thankful to me. It made their daily lives so much easier just being able to understand a little. I was so honored to have met these women. They taught me much more than I could ever teach them. They showed me how lucky I have been and how fortunate I am to live in America. These women come from countries with no government or court systems -- countries which suffer from famine and disease. They risked their lives to flee and come here.

It was my pleasure to lend a helping hand to these women when they needed it. I honestly feel if the situation were reversed, they would have done the same. Although I will never see them again probably, I will remember them always and I hope they will not forget me.

ducation is important to me, because it helps you out in life alot, like in getting a good job that you like doing and in getting into the college that you want to go to. It helps you with what you are weak in and makes you good in that subject and helps you learn what you don't know yet. Education is important to me because there's always something to learn.

My sister is a great impact on me, because after she had her baby she was ready to go back to school and get an education. I have mesed up in school and found out just how hard it is, without an education, to find good paying jobs that you enjoy doing. Without an education, it's hard to find a college that you want to study in. Some classes won't let you in without a 12th grade education. You can't play some sports with out a good, passing grade.

An education makes life a whole lot easier. It gives you respect from others, and it shows that you are not a quitter and that you worked hard to get where you are now.

I think that everyone should get an education, because without one, there's no life at all. Everyone can make something of their lives and can be what ever they want to be.

hen I sat down to write this paper, I was trying to come up with who I'd want to write about as my favorite family member. I have to be honest and say that I cannot write about one specific person, so I'm going to write a bit about four of them.

I'm going to start with my grandmother, Beatrice Heerman. I've had a lot of people in my life that have given up on me. She has not been one of those. No matter what decisions I have made, she has always stood by and supported me. She has seen what kind of person I can become and always pushes me to reach that goal.

The woman that I call "mom," Sharon Allen. She is my hero. She has encountered numerous life-threatening diseases and survived them all. I have never met a stronger person with so much love and compassion for everyone and everything.

JDavyd Williams is one of the single greatest people that I have ever known. I count myself lucky to have had him in my life for the past year. He's always by my side when I need him the most. He has more talent in his little finger than most people do in their entire body. I don't know what I would do without him.

Patrick Allen quickly became one of the people who I trust the most. He has a wonderful personality and always has something clever to say. He's like a big brother to me.

Everything about these people are what make them my favorites. That is why I could not choose just one.

here was once a little baby whose name was James. He was adopted by foster parents. James gew up in a little town with his foster parents. James and his foster parents did not get along very well with each other. James ran away.

James grew up and then he got married and had a son and a daughter. He was very happy with his new family. Finally, James has a very happy life.

y family lived in Gleiwitz (now Gliwice, Poland.) At the time Gleiwitz was a town in Upper Silesia and part of Germany. That soon changed after the Russians crossed the border during World War II.

This was in January, 1945. The Russians had advanced towards Gleiwitz and we could hear the rumble of the Russian tanks. My father desparately tried to get my mother and us seven boys out of danger. He managed to "borrow" a truck to help us flee. My mother's youngest child was a six month old baby and the oldest was 14. All she could take was her children and some clothing and blankets.

We said goodbye to our father. He was ordered to stay, but told us he would join us as soon as he could. He and a few other men had to defend the town. They had ammunition and one anti-aircraft defense cannon. We never saw him again!

The truck bed was loaded with machinery and we had to find a place to sit between the machines. It was very cold. We managed to get to atown about 40 kilometers to the west that still had a cargo train running. The cars we rode in were bare. No seats, no heat, but we were glad to race away from the Front.

I was four years old and I have memories of the train stopping and my brothers getting out and gathering up snow to heat for the baby's bottle. The train often stopped because of air raids. Mother sat in the freezing car, often for hours while the older boys tried to find food outside. The train would suddenly move and my mother was terrified that her boys might not be able to get back on. This went on for several days and we had no idea where the train would finally stop. All we knew was that we were running away from the battles, which were moving closer every day.

We finally were told to leave the train when it reached Austria. Since we were refugees, we were placed with an Austrian family. We were lucky, they were treating us kindly. That was not always the case. We were also lucky that now we were in an American Zone. Our rations as refugees were very minimal. But sometimes the American soldiers sneaked candy bars to us. One evening we had the window to our room open. It was dark outside and suddenly a package sailed into the room. It had cheese, butter and bread inside. Someone who knew of our situation wanted to help. We were very thankful.

We stayed in Austria until May of 1945 when the War finally ended. We then had to leave Austria and were put on a train to Germany. We knew no one in West Germany. Our destiny was unsure. My mother had no idea bout our father's fate. The train stopped in a small village in Southern Germany and we were told to get out and wait. A farmer with an oxcart came to pick us up. He let us know that he was not happy to be forced to take us in: a woman with seven children. I can only imagine how my poor mother must have felt. However, as a strong woman she overcame this challenge, too, and after this farmer and his wife got to know my mother and all of us, they became our friends.

The years my mother spent waiting to hear about my father must have been the hardest. We became part of the village and the Catholic Church became our second home. Two of my brothers and me were accepted by the Palatine monks and moved to their monastery to live and be educated.

I think my mother's biggest accomplishment in life was being there for her boys and seeing to it that all of us made something of ourselves. She was a great example on how to overcome challenges and to belief that one can survive anything as long as one has faith.

he most beautiful person I ever knew was my grandmother. She was young at heart, always full of laughter and there for me when I needed her most. To me, she was the greatest gift that God ever gave me. If I could choose one person to be like, it would be her.

She kept me a lot when I was very young. I can remember living on the farm with her and my uncles. We lived in Goochland, Powhatan, and then Schuyler. When we moved to Schuyler, I started staying with my mom and dad, but my heart was always wanting to be with my Grandma.

When I got my first place that I could call my own, my Grandma would come and stay weekends with me. We would sew, play cards, watch TV, and sometimeswe would talk about the good old days, as Grandma would call them.

One day I took my girls up with me to see Grandma. She got real excited and spoke for the first time. She said "Itty Bitty" and that's what she called her great grandchildren when they would go see her.And Lord firbid, after that day I had better not go and see her without the girls with me. Grandma always loved children, I guess that was why she was such a great Grandma.

She stayed in Towers for about twelve years. During that time she lost two of her children, my mom, her only girl, andmy uncle Hubert. Their deaths took a heavy toll on Grandma, she died of stomach cancer a few months later.

There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of my Grandma and smile. Yes, she was my angel here on earth and I miss her every day that goes by.

I don't understand these children of our generation, hating their parents, hating their grandparents. I have four grandchildren whom I love dearly. But I have always said, if I have one of mine love me as much as I loved my Grandma, I would be the luckiest Grandma in the world.

et me tell you about my kids, starting with my son Jason. When he was born, he was planned. He did well when he was a baby. He didn't cry at night or day much. He slept pretty good at night. Then when he started growing up and got older I thought he would go to college, but he didn't. Even now he still has time to. For now he's working with me for the same company. Then comes Kaitlyn. She was a sweetheart. She didn't cry much either, night or day. She slept pretty well. When she got in the 3rd and 4th grade this girl thinks she's the boss of everyone in the world, and tries to tell everyone what to do. She is very smart for her age. One thing about her, I hope she keeps that strong faith in being a lawyer. She loves reading, even at night before she go to bed. I hope she keeps that up because reading is good for her. Then come Markell. He is the youngest. He slept pretty well at night and day, too, most of the time. He does things he see his sister and brother do, mostly his sister Kaitlyn. But in school he does what he ask. He remembers everything they do and what they read during the day at school. I hope he keeps that up, that's good for him. That's just some of things about my kids.

t was July 3rd, 2001, a day I will never forget. I was three weeks away from graduating basic training. I had to get up at 4 a.m. to do a 20-mile march. Shortly after 2 p.m. the entire company had returned to the barracks where the drill sergeant was waiting for me. He said, "Go get cleaned up, we are going to talk with the chaplain." After getting cleaned up, the drill sergeant and I went down to the chaplain's office. After meeting the chaplain, he asked me to sit down and he told me he wanted to ask me some questions.

"Are you - - - - - - - - - - ?"

"Yes, I am."

"Do you live at 145 Braden Ave., Warsaw, Missouri?"

"Yes, I do."

"I'm very sorry to tell you that today at 12:03 p.m. your mother killed herself."

After getting the news I was devastated. I was speechless and I could not stop crying. It was not over yet; I had to tell my brother the bad news. It was his first day of basic training.

When I got the news, it felt as if my life had stopped. It was hard to believe that my mom would not be there for me anymore. I loved my mom with all of my heart. Not only was she my mother, she was also my best friend. She was a wonderful woman. My mom would do anything for my brother and me. She was the most caring person I have ever met.

As a family we never had much. She was not the type of woman who thought of herself first. She always thought of my brother and me. She only bought herself things out of necessity. But for her two sons, things were much different. When I was ten years old, my mom bought me a Ninja Turlte cake. She went to serve the cake and it fell to the ground. She was very upset because she spent all of her money on the cake. At that moment I realized that she cared more about me being happy than anyting. I went over and gave her a hug and told her "everything is going to be OK." Then she finally smiled.

I think about my mom all the time. There was so much I needed and wanted to say, but I will never get the chance. I wish I could have talked to her just once to let her know how much I love her and need her in my life.

Please take it from me, don't wait to tell the people in your life how you feel. You might not get another chance to tell them that you love them.

y family has a unique event on New Year's Day. Here is the story.

In my country, New Year's Day is the biggest national holiday. Korean people come together with their family on that day. Wearing a traditional cloth called "Hanbok," they perform a New Year's bow to their parents. And parents give their offspring well-wishing remarks and New Year's gifts -- mostly it is money. The extended Family have a good time preparing food for their ancestor memorial rites, playing a stick game called "Yut" and eating various holiday foods. These are common customs in Korea.

When time passes just like arrows, the traces of living remain in the pictures. They became a family album made up of the family pictures for many years. There is the history about my family growth. I usually get a new nephew or niece every other year. It is very interesting that the number of the people in the picture increases more and more.

he last year was a good year for me. I had a chance to go on a vacation at the beach and amusement park. A park is very nice and is very big and have a big water games, and my wife she have a lot fear to go of the games. She is very happy and she like to watch a big screen with SpongeBob and alike to watch racing. She don't want to leave. I hope to go again this year.

y daughter is very loving. When I arrived at home she will me kiss and she plays with me all afternoon and she like to go every day shopping and stores and watch TV. She sleep very late.

y name is Maria. Sometimes feel me happy living in America, because here I have had many opportunities, for example to learn my English, drive a car, to know different cultures. This part is the most interesting. But other times when I think in my big family in my country, Colombia, I wish back, when I had good parties, and I miss, too, my friends. I like feel near of them.

Now I enjoyed a lot my new job in the coffee shop, because every day, I can practice my English when the people take coffee.

hat does friendship mean to you? It's someone who sticks with you through thick and thin. Someone who will help you without any question and you can count on through the night. A friend who won't turn their back on you.

He or she can be a special one and a family member to you when you can count on them. A friend can help you walk through sunshine when no one else can. They can make you smile when you are feeling low or when you don't want to smile. Just being around that person makes you feel good. A friend you tell your most intimate secrets to. He or she will stop whatever they are doing and come to you and you do the same for them. A friend who will let you drive your car if you had too much to drink or will take you somewhere when your family won't take you.

A friend goes with you to a hospital when you are having your baby. And a friend, he or she can think alike. You can talk for hours and hours on the phone or act silly with each other. A friend you can tell if you are afraid of something like swimming or jumping off a cliff or wanting to be a racecar driver.

He or she can help you through some good or bad times like a death in a family or when you lose a man or woman in your life. Also he or she can help you keep your head on straight on the right path. A friend can tell you a joke and tell you something like you give each other a signal to let one another know what is going on. A friend can help you look for something in life that you are looking for. A friendship you have to choose very, very carefully in life because you say you have many friends but there are only really one or two in your life.

A friendship you can't make a snap decision. A friendship you have to keep working on the relationship, just don't stop talking and years later you wonder what happened.

ingo was our last dog who died last year before we left Africa. He was given to us by a friend coming from Russia.

Lingo was so pretty when he arrived with his dark dawn color shining from the head to the tail.

In his first months, he used to follow and play with everybody. He was well nourished, but he liked taking milk, carrots, rice, meat (fresh ground), and sardines. He was very greedy.

Lingo liked to be pampered everytime and when anybody hadn't time for him, he seemed to be rejected and began to change.

A few years later, Lingo couldn't stay with us because he ran after everyone. Lingo became aggressive and dangerous. He often attempted to bite all the persons he didn't know. Even though he had takne all the immunization shots, that disturbed us too much.

So we decided to build a niche outside in the corner of the house, and locked him up all the days and released him all the nights. When he heard any strange noises, he barked loudly and frightened the neighborhood. He became unahppy. So, when our son came back from school in the evening, he held him on his leash and walked around with him. On the streets, people feared him and walked on the other side of the road. When he grew up, he became very strong, tall and weighty. But Lingo hated to be locked in his niche.

On Lingo's seventh birthday, he felt very sick. We tried our best to heal him. My husband is a physician. But after all treatment we found him laying down in his niche without any movement. Lingo passed away. We were so sad and lost our joy for some days.

There is no cemetery for dogs in our city, so we buried him in our house. Peace to your soul, Lingo!

hen I am come in this country, I am not happy because I do not understand when some people talk to me in English.

I am very sad because I miss family: my father, my mother. When I am come to Los Angeles, California, I have one sister and two brothers, but right now my brother is here. In Charlottesville I am have two sisters. She have only two year old. I love my family, miss them, and think of old days.

live in Charlottesville almost 10 months. In March 24 of 2004 I came to Charlottesville fromAzerbaijan. My birthday is May 30, 1949. I'm finished medical college, 25 years work as nurse. I'm married. I have husband and two daughters. I have two sisters. My husband is an engineer. My older daughter finished university. She is a fashion designer.

When we came here a volunteer from the IRC help us. They give us first English lesson. Now I and my husband study in Adult Learning Center. We want to say "Thank you so much for your help." I'm happy my family lives in Charlottesville. 1/20/05

hen I was a young teen, my two sisters and I found a family that would take all three of us and love us. We had been in foster care since a very young age.

Our father was a very stern, yet loving man. He always tried to get us to learn new things. We played flag football and water-skied. He even went as far as buying us cleats and shirts with our own numbers on them. I always had to be the hiker, because I was the baby. Needless to say, I did not stay on my two feet much; I was knocked down again and again. I would get frustrated, but I always came back up for more.

It turned out to be one of my most loved things in my life to do. It's an experience that I'll never forget. I event went a little way with no skis at all. It's called barefoot skiing. It's very difficult and takes lots and lots of practice. I didn't go but about 30 feet, but I did it! My father was so proud of me that he went and bought me a tee shirt with little feet going up and down the shirt. It read "Barefooting Sher" --- that's how I got my new nickname. He taught me not to give up when a task seems almost impossible, but to keep trying -- it will pay off in the end.

Now I know why he pushed us so. I'm 32 years old and just achieved my goal of passing the GED. I look back and smile and take courage to continue pressing on today. Thanks Dad, I love you!

he one person I admire more than anyone is my wife. I admire her for all the things she does for my children and me. I just don't understand how she does the things she does all day. She's always cooking, cleaning, working, washing clothes, shopping and still seems to have time for the kids and me each day! Shaking her head, most of the time, she always gets us together and argues about us leaving our clothes all around the house when we get up in the morning! And for some strange reason, she always seems to be right about everything!

But a bad thing seems to be happening at present. She wrote to me and said that she has had two mild heart attacks isnce I've been here. It was because we had differences that we didn't get a chance to settle before I came in here to ajil, she said. And I shed a bit of tears about the situation since she has written me about those mild heart attacks. I know things are pretty hard for her having to do everything alone! Things like getting the kids up for school, paying all the bills and babysitting. But, I know she can maange because to me she is a "Superwoman." She's all into whatever it is that has to be done.

I enjoy winning at video games when we play. Mainly because it is definitely a rare occasion for me because most of the time she wins. You know, even then, I believe she lets me win because she feels sorry for me!! What do you think? I really believe it.

I feel that I admire her because she always seems to make everything work like magic. I really love her with all of my heart and soul. If anything happens to her, I probably would lose my mind because I feel that Ireally do not and cannot live without my "Lois!"

uesday, December 3, 2002 at approximately 8:30 a.m. in delivery room 8107 in UVA's Labor and Delivery on the 8th floor, our first-born son, Elijah Hezekiah, was born. Oh what a proud and very emotional moment it was for us. After twenty-four hours of labor, our precious "l'il boy" was here. Everything was happening so fast that I became a little disoriented. Unfortunately, Elijah had gotten turned sideways in the birth canal, and was unable to traverse under his mother's pelvic bone. We could see his head begin to crown the more she pushed. But, Elijah couldn't crown completely, because, being sideways in the birth canal, his shoulder couldn't get past his Mother's pelvic bone. So the medical team performing the delivery decided to assist in the delivery. It was decided that since Charlene (Elijah's mother) was extremely exhausted and that Elijah wouldn't be able to crown on his own, they would use a vac to help deliver Elijah. So, the doctor carefully turned Elijah and then applied the suction cup on his head and with one last big push he was born.

As if that wasn't bad enough, after a few hours in the nursery, it was discovered by his mother and I that something wasn't right with our baby boy. So we alerted th health care team. They took Elijah back to the nursery and examined him andmonitored him very, very closely. They immediately brought him down to the Newborn Intensive CAre Unit and then came up to us to inform us that our son was having seizures. Apparently, he had suffered some type of brain injury. Elijah at first wasn't expected to make it, but by the power of God he survived.

Elijah is almost two now and very, very bactive. He is 25% behind on his gross motor skills and has been diagnosed as having a mild form of Cerebral Palsy. If you saw him and how he interacts with others, you wouldn't know it unless you knew what to look for. Elijah is my inspiration, my motivation, my air and my breath.

y father is a very energetic person. When I was a child he was very busy and had only a few holidays a month. Although he must have been tired, he used to go hiking with us in the mountains and go to the river where the regatta team (he was a member) were practicing, on his holiday. In spring, we cheered for him to run a marathon race. In winter he taught us skiing.

We moved to the countryside from Tokyo and stayed for several years because of his transfer, although most of families chose separating for children's education. He thought it was a good occasion to see the world and wrote our teachers some letters which explained his idea and asked them to allow us to be absent for a few days. They willingly agreed to do that. We enjoyed travelling, the nature, the culture, and the historical places which were wonderful and so different from Tokyo's. We have various cultures in every area although Japan is a small country. That was a great experience for me and my brothers. I appreciate him and would like to do the same things if I had children.

n China, there have two well-known statements. One is "Human will live better if they embrace relocation; the tree will die because it can not." Another is "Humans walk to higher ground; water flows to the low places."

Nowadays, the U.S. is famous for its universities. To go to Harvard University, Princeton University, Rice University, etc. to study is an honor for an excellent Chinese student.

My husband is one of them. AT the first month in U.S.A., I always slept during the day time, woke up at night, we call this case as "Bodies clocks in different time zones." PK time is twelve hours later than Washington, D.C. When PK is daytime 12:00 pm of Monday afternoon, here is Sunday midnight.

Before we came to the U.S. my friend told me, we didn't need to bring too many goods with us because America has everything. But when we first walked on the downtown mall, we couldn't find any favorite goods and clothes or furniture that we needed. I was so sad. The famous University of Virginia and the city of Charlottesville were so small and yet walking to shopping everywhere was very far. We didn't have a car and I didn't know how to drive a car. (It is unnecessary to drive a car in China.)

The foods that I saw were so expensive and the choice was so limited. The worst was I had no friends in Charlottesville. We felt lonely 8ntil one day the UVA International Students Association planned a trip to Washington D.C. for international students. We not only saw the famous diamonds of the world that are in the Natural History Museum, but also made new friends WD and his family.

WE came from China also. He has a beautiful daughter and a kind wife. They knew we were new in Charlottesville and we didn't have a car. So, since then, every weekend, he picked us up to go shopping. They are the same age as us, but they took care of us like an elder brother.

After awhile, we bought a quilt, furniture, dishes, and I found Charlottesville has a lot of shopping squares. Fashion Square, Seminole Squre, etc. Far to Sam's club -- I didn't know these before. The merchandises come from all over the world. I found that Charlottesville shopping malls have different names, different times for sale. Some times the goods were only thirty percent of the original price, especially after Christmas Day and Valentine's Day. I compared the price and found that it's even cheaper than in China!

WD has an American friend, Ray, who is a lawyer. When Ray knew that we just moved to here and didn't have a sofa, Ray and Ray's friend delivered a beautiful sofa to our house. They carried this heavy sofa to our second floor apartment. The sweat wet their T-shirts. How nice they are!

That was fall season, the season looked colorful, and my heart began to lighten. I didn't feel lonely any more. I began to meld into the community.

In International Center "Book study group" and "Conversation group," I made some friends who came from Korea, America and Russia, etc. We often exchange our study experiment, shared our snacks. We took care of each other. We joked; we hold pot-luck lunches and tasted different country's foods.

Life wasn't boring any more to me. Life is full of fun. Every the other Thursday "International women group" leader Antoinette lifts me to attend different programs: Visit purple house, learn quickly cook delicious food from whole food cooker, listen music, watch movie, go mountain to pick apple, learn craft for Christmas, etc. Every event is full of surprise.

I began to love this city.

I should say that friends gave me a lot of help. Life is fruitful because you have friends. They share your sadness, increase your happiness, they help you past the difficult period. These friends are real diamonds in your life.

y friend worked all his life and very hard here and there since he was a young man. Years ago, he came to the UVA Hospital to work.

He worked there 37 to 40 some years then thought of retirement. He had all the papers drawn up for the retirement and then went for his Doctor's appointment.

The check-up was fine the Doctor said to him. But the only thing was high blood pressure. The Doctor said that he'd give him medicine for the blood pressure. The Doctor did but he still didn't feel like himself. He went back to the Doctor. They ran tests and found cancer. My friend was in shock from the news he got.

William's family was overcome with fear. They prayed for me to get well and I am better now. I overcame it!

have been volunteering in my daughter's kindergarten class for four months. In the beginning of last semester, I could often see the notice about volunteering in a class but I was not interested in that, because I thought my English skill was poor. I thought also many English speakers will apply for that, and my pronunciation in English would not be helpful.

After one month, I went to school to participate in a school event. Then I heard suggestions about volunteering in class again from the teacher, but I still had negative thinking about that.

But a few days later, suddenly I reflected on it. Of course my English was still poor, but I realized that there is no one to volunteer in my daughter's class. And I thought, even though my help is little, if I can give my help to the class, I will try that.

The next day, I sent an e-mail to my daughter's teacher and let her know my English level and I asked about the possibility for volunteering in her classroom. The teacher immediately replied to me. "No problem. You can do it."

I had some experience in teaching children in my country. To tell the truth, my major in the university is partly related to education.

At last, it was my first day of volunteering. I was nervous but I went to school bravely. All children curiously watched me, but they soon gave me a warm welcome. My duty of volunteering is teaching the activity of art.

That day, I made a spider on the web using painted marbles.

The children looked happy and really enjoyed it. I also felt happy and I could have confidence since that day. The teacher asked me to come to school once every week.

NowI got to school every Wednesday. Meanwhile, of course, I don't feel comfortable and pleasure always and there were several difficulties. There were naughty boys and I had a problem of communication with the children, so sometimes I was depressed because of my poor English. But I did the best I could.

Now the new year has started and a new semester! I think again about my volunteering. I will do my best and I also will enjoy it. I'm sure that the special experience is valuable and meaningful in my life. I think I will not forget the memory of this volunteering forever.

ifficulties arise in all of us, especially for you
What is important is dealing with the circumstance, deal with changes and getting through to the other side of lfe
It takes a strong person to deal with the tough times
But you are determined and unbreakable of what you have and are
We will be there, waiting for you
It will turn out that way because of the special person you are
Take the power and don't be afraid to see what you can be
It is there; ahead of you for you are in the driver's seat
It's there for your fight
But you are who you are
Don't forget that!
Do what you have to do
And in the end it will be just for you/

(This was written to Anne Jellen before her passing November 30, 2004.)

y name is Claudia. I am from Honduras. I came to the United States with a dream of improving. But it was difficult.

I didn't speak English. I didn't have family that was responsible for me the first days.

I have a brother living in U.S.A., but he was very immature. I needed to work two jobs and I need to pay my rent, and my brother too for the first month living in U.S.A. My food and my clothes I paid myself. At that time I need somebody to help me. I didn't have a car.

I thought that I need to hurry to find some friends. I found my friend. He give me ride to my house and to my jobs. After 4 months living in U.S.A. I was pregnant with my best friend's child.

Now I have been married for 2 years. I have a car, and I own a mobile home. My dream is to buy my own house and learn English and to have a better job.

My life is not perfect, but I want to get my dreams.

oday I am a professor and teach sociology and manage a laboratory of studies of violence in my university in Brazil. I am happily married for ten splendid years. We own a nice flat. I have lived a genuine bourgeois life for the last eight years. But my life was quite different in my twenties when I was a hippie early in the eighties. Now when I look back at that time, I feel so different but nostalgic.

Now let's talk about that incredible phase of my existence. I think that was a great period in my life. It was in Lyon, France, an old city with plenty of young students as me at that point in time. I had a lot of fun, and I experienced so many singular situations that I don't have any regret from that period of my existence.

The classes I tried to attend were in sociology. I say, 'I tried' because I was lethargic in the mornings and slept through many classes. Lunchtime for others was breakfast time for me.

However, I was nt lazy. It was another dimension of life. Meeting people from all over the world and talking about social problems in developing countries leaves a man very tired. All these reflections revolved around glasses of wine. Nobody considered going to bed before the first croissants were ready in the neighborhood bakery.

I attended a spontaneous philosophical study group. We read French writers like Foucault and Sartre. We were seven passionate young people from Brazil, FRance, and Germany. My God, such fine time we had together, smoking and drinking too much, eating too little and rebuilding the planet. I miss that blonde German girl, with long legs, a profusion of consciousness and great love to share. She fought heroically to make the French sexual revolution alive. We all had lots of lovers. The main rule was to have no jealousy over a sexual partner. This was before AIDS.

I had long beard and hair. I was dressed by The Salvation Army and used the same boots year around. I was a soldier of love, peace and counter culture. Some of my lovers said that I was Che Guevara. Such a flattering remark!

Our group wasn't only intellectual students. We met also libertarians, vegetarians, third worldians, gays, young poorly paid workers and all sort of unemployed folk.

I survived by working in a Brazilian restaurant until 3 am three days a week. I earned little money and had to wear a hair net. Some times I delivered advertisements to mail box when I wasn't too exhausted. The hard jobs I got were evidence that I wasn't a part of the consumerist market. Lots of my fellows had rich relatives and went home the weekend to eat good food and ask mom to wash their dirty clothes. I had to work, order the arriving revolution, study, wash my socks and arrange my little unheated apartment. I felt proud of myself.

Our group met in an abandoned flat occupied by libertarians. We decided to invade the local headquarters of Socialist Party to protest against the French nuclear tests in the Pacific. Some of us chained their limbs to the furniture. I have never been so afraid in all my life. My fear grew when I saw buses with hundreds of armed cops. I was there and couldn't run away. We took pictures for the alternative newspapers.

My life has changed a lot since then. When I moved further into my studies and did my PhD ]my point of view altered. But my return to Brazil completed the adjustment. I had aged! People say we can't trust anyone older than thirty. I have to agree with them.

was a Tibetan monk. When I lived in the monastery, I had to wear monk's robe, which is maroon color. After I came to America soon I became a layman. I had to change the way I dress from monk's robe. I started wearing western clothes.

I like Charlottesville. I like my job, but I would like to make more money. I would like to buy a new car. I love my family.

Thank you.

y name is Lesha. I am a thirty-six year old woman, and I would like to share a little bit of my life with you. I grew up in Newport News, Virginia with my grandmother, mother, and four sisters. I didnt get along very well with my mother because she verbally abused me. She told me that I was not her daughter and sometimes I felt like it. So, I didn't fit in. I always felt angry and depressed and didn't care if I lived or died. I tried to kill myself in sixth grade and on several other occasions.

I always felt that something was missing out of my life because I couldn't read, and I didn't love myself. My teachers kept on passing me to the next grade until I quit in the ninth grade. My teachers and family didn't seem to care about me being in school or at home, so why should I?

When I was fourteen, I started drinking very heavily and smoking pot to kill the pain that I felt from all of the abuse I experienced most of my life. I was introduced to crack cocaine at the age of seventeen. I ended up getting into trouble for assault and battery when I was eighteen years old, and I went to jail for the first time. I got one year of probation and treatment as punishment. The life I was used to living led me right back to crack cocaine.

When I was twenty-seven years old, I got locked up for possession of crack cocaine. While I was locked up, I was embarrassed and ashamed because I had to have other people read my mail for me and help me write letters to my family. When I was in jail, I met a lady named Ms. Kay who would read the Bible to me every night. One day, Miss Kay came in from work, and I told her that I wanted to read the Bible myself. She taught me how to read by reading Psalm 141. Every night, I would read this to her.

In 2003, I came to prison and was diagnosed with major depression disorder. To help myself, I started therapy and going to school. Ms. Gathright, my teacher, introduced me to the Wilson Reading System. It has taught me to look at the syllables and vowels and to pronounce them out loud. I am learning more and more each day. I am finally proud of myself. I can achieve anything in this life now! I am working very hard on getting my GED.

My message to you, after reading my story, is that no matter what has happened in the past, I have hope today, and I can achieve my dreams. I also set goals for myself. God picked me up and carried me through each trial, and he will be with me, carrying me through what I face, in the future. I am proud of myself today, and I know that you are, too. So, never give up on God, and always have faith in yourself. God will help you with whatever life gives you. This is why I say, "Look at me now!"

rowing up as a kid, my life was hard without my father in my life. My mother worked all the time so that my sister and I would have food, clothing, and shelter.

At the age of two, I had to go and stay with my grandma because my stepfather didn't care too much about me. I lived with my grandma until I was four years old.

After my uncle died, I felt like I had no one to call on when I had a problem and needed someone to talk to. Sometimes I would go to my room and just start crying. I'd ask myself, "Why? Why can't I just be like other kids?" During my school years, I was always to myself. I felt like I didn't have any friends because most of the time the other kids had their mothers and fathers with them.

When I reached my 11th grade year, I dropped out of school. Then my life started to change. As I grew older, I received God as my Lord and Savior, and then I started going back to church. Awhile after that, I decided I wanted to go back to school and get my GED. I realized it would be hard in life without a good education.

Soon I found the woman of my dreams, Phyllis. We got married a few years later, and along came my handsome son. This was a big responsibility, but I was ready to take care of and provide for this child of mine.

Because of all the changes in my life, I am a different person, more responsible, and a lot happier. It's amazing how a 51-year old man can remember the troubles in his life, back when he was only four years old.

hen I was living in N.Y., the mailman's arrival was the highlight of the day. I remember one time the mailman was late with SSI and Social Security checks. The people got mad and chase him to beat him up. It was a sight! Some people even commented that if a person didn't get so much as a bill from a bill collector, they were a nobody. Mail is very important on the inside and outside world. Just ask people waiting for tax return checks.

Since my incarceration, getting mail has changed for the worse in my life. I was accustomed to rent due, phone bills, and piles of junk mail. Those days are long gone. Mail call is the highlight of the day in the prison system. Men and women long for letters, pictures, and cards from loved ones. They long for just a line or two to say how do you do.

Today I long for even junk mail. At least somebody's thinking about me. People don't want to be forgotten in prison and mailcall keeps you feeling like you're not forgotten. To express how not getting mail has changed my life, I've written this poem.

was about two years old when my mother and father were worried about my health. It was about 1951 and my family lived on Jefferson St. My parents took me to UVA Hospital to have me checked by the doctor. I could sit up straight but could not walk too well. The doctor examined me and did blood work and other tests. He told my family that I had Cerebral Palsy and seizures. Also, he said to them, I had a crowfoot and he had to put a brace on my right foot.

It was hard for me at first to use crutches because I never used them before. Yes, I got used to them. I only remember what my cousin June told me because I was only two years old. When I was about six and seven years old, my father took my shoes to be built up so I could walk better. At about twelve years old, I asked my mother what was wrong with me and I got no answer. My mother would not tell me because she felt guilty. My mother felt guilty because she had a child that was disabled.

I was around forty years old when I had surgery on my foot on May 11, 1989. The doctor put a new leader in my foot to help me walk better. After the surger, I had to have therapy for months, so I can walk straight with my foot. My brother-in-law needed help and an occupational therapist to help him. She helped me with my right hand and foot. She helped me learn to use my right hand and foot.

It made me feel different from my family because of my disability. I had the determination to learn how to do things myself.

was supposed to spend a gorgeous life in London. I imagined that I would drink tea at a fancy tea room after hanging around downtown London and would send email to my friends about my troubles understanding the frivolous English words spoken by Hollywood stars because I'd become used to a British accent. The first time I heard about a small town named Charlottesville, a string of thoughts occurred to me, like "How come I can live in such a small town like Charlottesville in Virginia? I don't know anything about Virginia. Who's afraid of Virginia State? No! It's Virginia Woolf. I read some crime fictions which take place in Richmond written by Patricia Cornwell. According to her stories, many serial killers seem to be hanging around in Virginia. I don't want to die yet. Charlottesville? What a long name! I'm not sure if I will learn how to spell it by the day I leave there."

When my husband told me he had decided to go to Virginia instead of London where he first planned to go, I was dragged away from my fancy about gorgeous London life. He had applied for some business schools in the U.S.A. and England, but the business school in London had rejected him, which in turn brought us here.

Sionce I had never lived in a small town in my life and I thought I was a city person, it was no wonder I felt nervous about moving into a small town where a university occupied a large portion of the town. Actually, for the first 3 months, I was homesick and couldn't adjust myself to here. However, I have certainly been getting used to life in Charlottesville. I have gotten to love to take a stroll with my 3 year-old daughter in a large open field next to our apartment. I found it more comfortable to walk in nature than in downtown. My daughter also loves taking a stroll, picking flowers and acorns and seeing squirrels. When we lived in Tokyo, our apartment was surrounded by busy roads, which never allowed my daughter to take a walk without holding my hand. I especially love the fall in Charlottesville. Leaves which turned red and yellow are really beautiful as if they came from picture postcards. I sometimes see deer running in the field, which I never came across in Tokyo. In addition to the beautiful nature, this town is convenient and comfortable. I can get almost anything I need here including Japanese foods.

We'll go back to Japan next May. I still love Tokyo, a crowded, noisy, but exciting city in which my parents and a lot of my friends live. However, I'm sure I'll miss this small town where I got rest and relaxed apart from a busy life in Tokyo. While I'm seeing bright colors of a sunset over the field with my daughter, I breathe deeply, and feel this is a different version of my gorgeous life.

hen I was in Pakistan I used to wear a scarf. Now when I'm in Charlottesville, I don't wear scarf anymore because whenever I wore scarf people would have said I'm the one who have come to destroyed our country so that's why I don't wear scarf. I used to cover my face so other people couldn't see me. Now I don't really have to cover my face anymore.

In my country we used to sleep on the floor. But now we don't have to sleep on the floor because we have our own beds that we could sleep. In that time I used to stay at home and couldn't do any job. You can see I work here now. In Pakistan I didn't know how to drive.

I live in Charlottesville almost five months in August of 2004. I come to Charlottesville I am not happy because I do not understand English. When I first come here I do not like water and fruits. I miss my country. I miss my mother. I miss my friend in Thailand.

Now is good, 2005, I can understand people say because I learn English night class. My English feeling better. I have a job serving fruits at Omni Hotels. My teacher is very good and I want to learn English.

I plan for the future I can speaking, listening, reading, writing English. I want to learn drive car and get my license. I want a better job. I like to read.

But I miss my country. I miss my family. I miss my friend. Charlottesville, America is good English country.

our years ago marked the beginning of a new era for my life. It was when I moved to Charlottesville from China. As soon as I boarded the airplane, I could feel my life beginning to change. I became sure of it when I got off the plane and stepped on the land. First, I gave birth to my younger son Jesse after about two years of living here. Since then, I have become a homemaker instead of the college professor I used to be when I was in China. My older son John has grown very much since he came here in fifth grade. He is very tall and his voice changed; he isn't a little boy anymore when he was in China. I used to help my son with his school work and social life, but that's all in the past now. He has become very independent and takes care of himself very well in all areas such as school work. With my little son in my life, it is as if I went back to the years when John was still a baby, childish and wayward. Jesse brings much joy to the family, though he causes trouble sometimes. Another chnage that has taken place in my life is that my family and I have become Christians. We got to church twice a week to worship God, and bring our children along for youth group. Through worships of God and studies of Bible, our family has become closer. When I was living in China, I always rode my bicycle until I got here, and learned how to drive a car. Above all these changes, I have to learn English as hard as I can in order to become a fluent speaker and be able to communicate. My husband and I have learned English from a volunteer tutor Myra Spencer for a year. She is very nice and kind and always helps us. Through learning English, not only did I improve my English, I also learned the history of the U.S.

he challenges in my life include addiction and single parenthood

I started using drugs at the age of 14. My father was the first person to turn me on to drugs, especially alcohol. I had a 16 birthday party and I was provided with a case of beer. I though I was in heaven. Many people don't understand that this addiction can have a tremendous effect on your everyday life.

Another challenge is bringing up two beautiful children by myself. The issue of drugs has put a burden on the children. At the present time, Nick and Noelle are in temporary foster care. They've been gone for almost a year, but I see or talk to them once or twice a week. I've also lost my job, due to not coming to work and being the best worker I can.

By not working, I don't have a place of my own. These two factors can have tremendous levels of stress. Stress is the number one thing in African-Americans.

In conclusion, I would like to thank my higher being GOD for keeping my head above water and a smile on my face. When the chips are down, he's the only one in my corner. Keep a support system for backup and avoid negative people, places, and things. Relapse can be right around the corner and believe me, it's not easy overcoming these challenges that are given to us every day.

his is about how I overcame feelings of guilt and shame. One of those times was in the early 1980's. I was traveling home down Interstate 95 in rush hour traffic when the Holy Spirit spoke to me of a traffic accident. Even though I was taking an EMT class, I had strong emotions of being unlearned to the point of being unable to help. I was working as a Certified Nursing Assistant for Hospice of Northern Virginia. I had my uniform on and my stethoscope around my neck. Truck drivers began waving and honking their horns at me. I thought they were fliring with me, so I took the first exist and went straight home.

Being still shaken, I got ready for my EMT class. When I turned on the television, I then heard there was this bus accident. I felt more panicked at what I was about to hear. A bus had gone over a bridge on the Interstate. There were fatalities and serious injuries. My insides were in a battle knowing that this was what the Holy One had told me. My class was canceled for that night.

I remember going to my class two weeks later. Our instructor said that he saw the bus go over the bridge. He was the only one who stopped to help. Those truckers must have seen the commuter bus since they tried to draw my attention to it rather than fliring as I had supposed. The instructor said that all he could do was to hold two heads out of the shallow water to keep them from drowning.

My thoughts of being unlearned and not listening to the knowledge given to me by God became more overwhelming to me. Seventeen neighbors had died and lives of others would change, including relatives and friends. I became consumed with guilt and shame because I felt responsible for the 17 people who died on that bus.

My thoughts were in a constant uproar. I had known what the Holy Spirit had told me clearly, but I was so angry at myself for disobeying His calling. I lost hope of God ever loving me for what would seem for an eternity. I would not know for many years just how much I needed to grieve my losses such as my friends on the bus who died, my personal hospice patients, and my relatives who I took care of until death.

It seemed impossible to face, as I was sure that life was over, that God could never use me or love me without being a CNA. I felt so unworthy of living that I pleaded with God to take me home. But thedevil is a liar, and Jesus could not carry His cross alone either. So pride comes before a fall, and my pride was huge to think that I could carry this burdne alone.

But I can honestly tell you in my darkest hours, when no one could bring me to life again, God was with me. I was motionless and speechless, standing for hours at a time, but God never left me once. I remember how the tears fell that I had held back from years of grief and hardship that had come my way. It seemed the tears would never end. There were times I wanted nothing more than just to be in the Father's arms, wrapped in His love like a newborn baby in a blanket, secured, safe, cared for, and carefree from all harm and cares of this world. The Lord says in Hisword, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30)

I made a conscious decision not to look back, butto be ready and not to refuse when God would choose to use me again. The truth is that God forigves those who ask. We have all been through tragedies, but yet we have never been unloved. Remember to hold on to Jesus. He says in Romans 8:38-39, "that neither death nor life...nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God."

If you do not know Jesus, John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Life Changes

ife has a lot of changes. See for me, I thought I had the best life up until the age of 12 -- that is when I started to skip school and began my life of running the streets and crime. By the age of 13, I earned a charge of "carrying a gun." At that time, your parents could come and get you from Juvenile Court and that is what my Mother did. I didn't wait an hour before I was gone again. A few months later, I earned a "drug charge." I was sent up state to do a six to twelve month bid in Hanover and got out when I was fifteen years old. I stayed out about two months and was sent back up state to Beaumont where I did three months and escaped off campus. In the year of 1990, I came to the jail and did 60 days for the escape and then in 1991 I earned my first "drug charge" as an adult. I did 18 months. Then in 1995, I earned my second "drug charge" and a "murder charge." I beat the "murder charge" and was given 25 years for the "drug charge." I did three years, six months and got out. I then earned a charge in Maryland and got out and got married. My life started to change because I came to realize that life is not all about me anymore -- because I lost my Grandmother, Uncle, and I now have a wife and kids that need me. So, here I am today working on getting my G.E.D. to give my family and myself a better life.

y name is Lhakpa. I was born in Katmandu, Nepal in 1984. Nepal is a nice and beautiful small country. There are 125 million people in Nepal. There are lots of temples. All Sherpa people worship Buddha and all Sherpa people are mountain climbers. Most Sherpas are monks. The last Mount Everest climber's name was Pasang Lamv Sherpa. That was in 1998 or 1999. She climbed to the top of the mountain and put a Nepali flag there to show she had made it to the top. On her way down, she dropped one of her picks and she fell to her death. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. A lot of Americans come to Nepal because they like to take pictures and they like touring, trekking and climbing different mountains.

I was born in Katmandu City. I stopped going to school when I was eight or nine. Now I realize education is very important. One thing about Nepal, it does not have laws like in America. I came to America when I was 14. When I turned 18 I got locked up in Charlottesville, Virginia.

When I was 13, my family and I once climbed a mountain called Makalu. It was very exciting and it was very fun, but scary. There were leeches that would get on your skin and suck blood from you. It was very painful. I really don't want to experience that again. We have bridges in my country, but they are made from ropes. The bridges are dangerous because when you cross the bridges the river is below.

hallenges and changes have been a very big part of my life. I've had to face a couple life changing situations. I've battled with depression and raising three children on my own and finding a very supportive husband.

I was fourteen when I had my first diagnosis with depression. It was very confusing and scary for me at a young age. I didn't understand what was wrong or going on with me.

Throughout my teenage life, I had to battle with keeping appointments and taking medication. It ws hard, because when I did feel good, I wanted to stop therapy and the meds. I had to face taking medicine every day. It was going to be a lifetime thing for me. Stop taking it would be giving me an opening to fall back down and give up.

Over time I have learned and accepted that it was something I couldn't control on my own.

My three children have really been an experience. My first baby I had when I was still a baby myself, seventeen. I had support from my mother, but I had to grow up in just a few minutes.

My second, I was twenty three, a lot more mature, and not quite ready for another, being a single mother. When she was born, she gave me the strength and another look at life. Having two girls is fun. Takes me back to my childhood, dressing up and playing dolls.

My son came a whole lot later but sooner than expected, two months early. I was so happy to have a son, a protector in the house.

My children's names are very special to me. Alanna was named after a name my Aunt had picked out. Mikayla was picked by her older sister. Her middle name is after my late grandmother. Mychall is named after my late baby brother.

They all three mean the world to me, although I still fight depression. Alanna, Mikayla, and Mychall show me I can fight a battle and be happy at the same time. I have a lot more help with my husband there. He is a great support for all of us.

Challenges in my life have been a good growing upexperience. They have made me a better and a more open-minded person.

ome people prefer to live in small towns. Others prefer to live in big cities. I think both have some advantages and disadvantages. For me, in some extent, I would rather like to live in a small city, like Charlottesville. I have been here for three years.

Before I came to United States, I lived in a big city. I grew up in a small town. After I graduated from the university, I stayed in a big city. So I have experienced the good and bad sides of both. In China even though today like many young people, I love to living in a big city. Before I came to America, I never thought that I would like living in a small town. After mnore than 15 years of living in one, I can not imagine living in a small city again. But I was wrong.

Here American cities or towns are different from China. I like to live in a small city. Small cities and big cities both have some problems about transportation. Although in a big city there are many kinds of public transportation to choose, big cities generally have heavy traffic and expensive parking. So it is expensive to own a car. It is a little inconvenient. Otherwise, in small cities, the traffic not bad, you can have your own car. It is very convenient for you to drive.

I love small cities. They have slow pace. They are quiet and peceful. There are also lower rate of crime than big cities. The people are more nice than big cities. I love small city, because it has little factories. So the air and water are fresh. Factories bring smog and pollution. Theyu also would destroy the quality of the air and water. In the long run, the environment will hurt people's health.

All in all I love to live in a small city, like Charlottesville. It is safe and easy to travel.

his is a story about the life of David. He ws born in Waynesboro, PA. He was the third could and would be followed by two more sisters.

He was brought home to the family farm located in Franklin County. The three-story farmhouse, built in the late 1800's had solid brick walls, thirteen large rooms, and a full basement. It had three chimneys, two stiarways going from the first floor to the second floor, and five fireplaces. It sad on a 150-acre dairy farm.

David grew quickly in the fresh country air. He was very fond of animals. He learned at a very young age that helping with the chores was part of growing up on a farm. He loved feeding the baby cavles, and pulling fresh grass for his pet rabbits. But there was one animal that David loved more than any other: horses. He collected pictures and cards with horses on them and cut them out of cereal boxes. He would stick these all over his dresser. As his Mom or Dad drove around the countryside, he would be the first to spot horses out in the field. He loved to look at books with pictures of horses in them.

He started school when he was seven years old. His Mom and Dad took turns driving the Volkswagen bus to and from the private church school about 18 miles away.

His first grade teacher was very strict and critical. David felt like he could never please her. This along with the fact that David's father was also very hard and unloving made going to school very stressful. He would try really hard, but was always told he could do better. As David started his second year of school, he was thrilled to find a nice and kind second grade teacher. Her name was Verna Yoder, and the children called her Sister Verna. She loved to help them and was quick to compliment on a job well done. David learned how good it felt to receive a compliment and decided that was the kind of person he wanted to be. Of all the teachers he would ever have, Sister Verna would always and forever be the one he loved the most.

After David completed ninth grade, his father decided he needed David at home to help him with the farm work. So at age 15, David's full time career of farming began.

Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. This was David's slogan. The alarm would ring at 4:00 a.m. each and every morning. After dressing quickly, he would walk to the barn in the cool morning air.

Milking the 60-65 dairy cows was the first chore for the day. After the milking, all the animals were fed and everything was washed and cleaned thoroughly. When all the chores were completed, David would head to the house for a big, hearty breakfast. After breakfast, he would head out to the fields to plan or harvest crops for all the cattle.

David got married when he was 23 to a beautiful girl named Frances. After a two-week honeymoon to Florida, he and Frances returned to live in the big farmhouse and to manage the farm. After seven years of farming together, they decided to quit farming and do something else. David decided to go into sales. What an interesting and instructive experience. David loved it and found many new customers. Some of his customers became very best friends. David loved listening to people and finding ways to help them As his business grew, he got to take many very nice trips that were paid for by the company. He got to see many beautiful places, including Seattle, Washington. Sales became his favorite line of work. He liked people and enjoyed listening to them.

ell, I'll tell you something about my new friends! They are my church friends; I had just met them. I have known them a good couple of months. I met them through a mutual friend. My church is Woodland Baptist! I have a room to share with a roommate. I am getting my God. I watch TGIF on Friday nights. I don't like it when my friends don't see me until Sunday. Well I love it here in Lovingston, living here. It's sort of peaceful and sort of drives me crazy. The cars and tractor trailers andt he place I go to during the day drives me crazy too. This is all I am writing for now.

etting my G.E.D. has always been very important to me. I have tried to get my G.E.D. five times, but something always came up and I had to quit.

I want to get my G.lE.D. because of my kids and myself. I feel like it's something I have to do for myself. I advise others who haven't finished high school to try to get a better education. Just don't give up. Think "What if I do it for myself?" Just keep saying to yourself, "I want this. I am going to do this for me."

Ever since I had to drop out of school I wanted to receive my diploma. So I feel like this is something I have to do for myself. I also feel that I will be letting myself down if I don't. This is also for my family, too. When my kids were going to school I could help them in the lower grade, but when they got to the higher grades I couldn't help them. I told myself I was going to do this no matter how long it takes me. I will be a grandmother some day and don't want them to think I don't know anything about school work.

Anyone who is thinking about going back to school for any reason; go for it, no matter how old you are. Think of the joy and proud feeling you'll get out of it. One day down the road this extra education might get you a better job.

One of these days I will receive my G.E.D. and make my family, mostly my kids, proud of me. I will be so glad when that day comes. I will be so proud of myself for sticking with this for all these years. This piece of paper is going to be the best gift anyone ever gave me -- my G.E.D.