A thing I wish I could change

If I could change one thing about my past, it would most likely be my time spent in Georgia. I moved to Georgia from Ohio in the summer before my 2nd grade year. When we arrived there we had no money, so we could only afford a small, old, worn down trailer in a disgusting trailer park. This did not bother me at 6 years of age, I never quite understood until years later. The thing that did bother me while living there was all the violence, we lived in a neighborhood with many gangs and street violence. There were rival gangs and you had to be carful who you talked to and who you befriended, at least that was what my mom told me at the time. I always had to be carful. I was grateful enough to make one friend though, he lived right down the street from me. His name was Eric. Second grade there was hard, many of the kids there did not like me, because I looked and acted different. I was paler, had a northern accent and was extremely shy, so many of them chose to be either mean or ignore me all together. This was only a minor problem for me, as I had Eric and my cousins that lived out there. Living there was very hard, my dad had to stay in Ohio to try and help us financially, because as I said, we were very poor. We could barley afford our home or anything else for that matter. Despite the rough conditions my mom insisted we try and make it work. Things seemed to be going okay for awhile, but then there was a drug bust in the house next door to mine. The man in the house, in a fit of panic, almost hurt my grandmother to try and get the cops to go away. This thankfully did not happen, as my grandmother got away. This pushed my mom to want to finally leave, but as if that was not enough Erics father commited suicide two days later. He did it on his front porch in broad daylight. This was jarring to my mom, so she packed us up quickly and left back to Ohio. I can honestly say I would not be who I am today if it had not been for living in Georgia, I do not think any of my family would. That experience effected us all. Living on the edge of being homeless makes you appreciate things more, you realize how important the little things are. We all value our things so much, and we never tease or make fun of someone for being different. We only lived there for a year but it effected us all in such a drastic way, it is unforgettable.

Cats

The thing I cherish most would have to be my cats, their names are Carlos and Crystal. They are both black and white, Carlos is two and Crystal is eleven. I got Crystal when I was six and she was the first pet I ever had. Sadly, we soon learned that I am allergic to cats, but I refused to let my parents give her away. Now she is old and skittish and kind of crazy, she hates humans and other animals alike, besides me of course. We got Carlos two years ago when he was just a kitten, from day one he was crazy. He bites people, eats dandelions, loves angel food cake, and has an infatuation with paper. He is a strange cat. My cats hate each other, we have to keep them separate at all costs because if we don't they will fight, but when they are in my room together they call a sort of truce and are calm. I love my cats, and being around them is hard sometimes with the fact that I have to wash my hands after I pet them, and be careful not to get scratched, and have to deal with the sneezing and itchy eyes, but I would honestly trade them for nothing else. Animals love humans on a long term relationship where they have to get to know each other, animals are not obliged to love humans, but as cliché as it sounds I really think my cats love me and that is what makes them so special to me.

Summers and Taco Smeared Cars

My summer was rather uneventful until I found myself in a car with my cousin, 12 tacos and a rude person in the other lane. This story starts with the fact that Hannah, my cousin, and I were hungry. So we went to taco bell and bought 12 tacos, even though that is far to much for the both of us. Anyway, we were driving down the highway in mid -July after this, when suddenly a man swerved into our lane. At first we thought this was no big deal until the man stomped on his brakes causing us to almost hit him. He then swerved back into the other lane and resumed a regular speed. This went on about six more times, as the man made the situation increasingly more dangerous, Hannah and I were becoming increasingly angrier. Finally we managed to pull up next to him so he could no longer swerve in front of us. At this point I was equal parts scared and angry, so acting in such emotions I grabbed one of the tacos, unwrapped it, leaned out the window and threw the taco at the car. This resulted in a cool ranch Doritos Locos Taco being smeared all over the side of his car and him looking very stunned. Of course after we did this, we did the one thing most young adults do after preforming an act of vandalism; we sped away before we could get in trouble.
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The Bird that was Meant to be Victorious

Victoria.
A name that I never quite saw as mine
When I hear it I think of arrogance
When I see it, it never shines
The name is meant for elegance
But I find it only confines.

Victoria.
A name my mom loved
A name my dad cherished
I tried to hold it as a beloved
But the effort always perished.

Tori.
A name I discovered young
One that fit me right
One that easily rolled off my tongue
The name that lit me up bright.

Tori.
It is meant to mean bird
Simple and Small
It is what I have always preferred
The name that had me enthralled.

Victoria.
It is meant to mean victory
But it does not seem that way to me
When I hear it I only think of history
Queen Victoria, the one nothing like me.

Tori.
Though it may often be spelled wrong
With a 'y' instead of an 'i'
It makes me feel strong
And like a bird, helps me soar high.

Optimism, the best rule to follow

I believe one rule all people should follow is to be optimistic in as many situations as possible. Life is short, and we only have one life to live and I believe it should be experienced in the utmost amount of happiness. Being positive makes life more enjoyable because people see the good before the bad, and I think it attracts and encourages others to experience life in such a way as well. Being optimistic allows people to live life to the fullest, because they are getting joy out of the smaller things in life. Examples being things like a warm cup of hot chocolate on a winter day or taking a walk in the fall and seeing the leaved change color. The optimism in life allows you to view these small things in a much bigger way because optimism not only brings happiness, it brings appreciation. When people keep themselves in a positive attitude they are able to see the greatness in all people and things, because they believe there is happiness in them as well.