Growing Up

I believe that your family can change your view on life. My family is everything, I would put them before anything instantly. Growing up with eight brothers and being the only girl was hard. Sharing the bathroom with them was the worst because either I had to spray a ton of febreze around and suffer the consequences when you walk through the door or wait 45 minutes for it to be free. But they're the ones that always had my back through the good times and bad. Emotionally my brothers made me strong they picked on me and yelled at me when I didn't listen, and physically to deal with the things that brothers do; put me in headlocks, grab me by one leg and hold me upside down, sit on me until I can't breath, or pin me down so another brother can do something to me. Growing up with my family had positive outcomes and bad outcomes, but each thing had a learning experience and made me become the girl I am today. Every day at least, I created a fight or argument with each brother which ended up in me crying or just getting physical fight and having another brother or my mom coming to break us up. Once I got older, it wasn't all about fighting anymore, it was mostly about making me emotionally and mentally strong for the real world today.

Each brother had a huge impact on my life whether it's beating me up to learn my lesson or watching out for me and giving me tip on how to live life and the future, but my parents made the most impact on me. They're the ones that made me who I am. My dad and my mom got divorced right after my younger brother was born, then my dad shortly after died due to liver failure. Since my mom had to do both duties now, she struggled, but it didn't stop her from attending sport events or giving up whatever we needed. My mom has been there for me through thick and thin, tears of anger and tears of joy, even during my brat moments and during my sweetheart moments, and no matter what I do she will always love me. I look up to my mom the most, because ever since she and my dad got a divorce, she has just been focusing on her kids and the restaurants and making sure that we live unforgettable lives. She always supports me no matter how much I make her mad, but she tells me "no teenager can be perfect."

The one day that I was getting along with my older brother, Daniel, he taught me the most, not physically but emotionally and how I should grow up being a respectful young lady. One day he said, "you shouldn't let anyone come between my family and you because it's the strongest bond that you will ever have with anyone. As a young mixed lady you should always be respectful and have a positive outlook with everything that goes into you and out of you. You should also have respect for your body, keep it in shape and don't give it up to anyone you have no respect for. You should always keep your body sacred until you meet that one person that you will soon marry." My older brother inspires me the most because out of every one of my brothers, right now, he inspires me because of his success, personality, and outlook towards and in his life. He's the one who went to college for sports, focused on what he did best, then after college found his first love and is now marrying her this summer. He inspires me to focus on myself, focus on what I do best, and graduate high school, then soon after, college. Then after college focus on everything else that involves me succeeding in life.

I have so many physical stories that I could go on for days about, but there's one that will always stick in my head, and when I get physically weak, I just think about this story. My second youngest brother, Kyren plays college football for Texas A&M. Including that scholarship he had over 30 D1 offers for football, basketball, and track and field, but he chose football because it keeps you in shape both physically and mentally, especially playing for a high D1 college. Before he went to college, he wasn't physically ready which lead him to not be emotionally ready. As soon as he got recruited, his coach told him he had to get physically and mentally tough in a matter of months, which he knew that he couldn't do, he decided to go to prep school closer to Texas A&M to make sure he was ready for what he had coming. Whenever he comes home, which is very rare, he tells me everything, all the stories, good and bad, and tells me how I could deal with it if I ever come across a coach like his. He always comes home with different stories about his college coach, good and bad. As a college coach you’re supposed to be mean, but his college coach takes it beyond meanness, he yells all the time and when he’s yelling breaks objects against anything that’s close to him. The worst part is that one day, he treats you like the best player on the field and his best friend, but then the next day you're his worst enemy. My brother said that, that was the worst thing to get used too, but as you get older, you just get use to the fact. Kyren’s stories almost make me feel like I don't want to ever play college sports but he says, "if you're in good shape, that one less thing you gotta worry about." Kyren telling me all these stories just motivate me into being in physical shape so I don't have to worry about it in college or the years after college.

A quote from the 1 Peters 4:8 states, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” This quotes describes my family perfectly because they might be rough all the time, but in the long run they will always be by my side and have my back.