The bell rings signaling that class is about to begin. The students' role in to class with a shocked look on their face as they notice that today was not going to be the same like any other. That today they have a new student. I remember being that new student when I was in school. My hands would get clammy as I would get weird stares from my classmates from being someone they didn’t recognize. I would be asked all types of questions but the first one I would be asked was if my dad was in the military. I would simply answer yes and they understood the situation that I was in. All my old friends were gone and were quickly replaced with strangers in a different state. My dad was the one who joined the military. About every two years he would be told that he needed to be stationed somewhere else. So, we would grab our belongings and shove it into a U-Haul. I never really minded moving. I would always enter the car with a smile on my face because I was leaving. Of course, it would be sad because you would never see your friends again but I enjoyed my time there in that location I was staying at. The people made my time great and taught me the culture that was in that state. As for school, I would always be confused with what was going on. Since I would have to get up and go constantly, schooling was never the same. In one place I could be caught up in my work and the next I would be behind. I would be frustrated since each place I go the education would be different. My work could be wrong since I didn't do it the right way but my answer could be correct. I remember them sitting me down trying to teach me a whole new way when I was so used to the way they taught me. When I was having a tough time adapting, my mom would help me out. She herself was a military kid so she understood the struggles that my sister and I faced. My mom would take us outside of the base so we can do fun activities together like going to amusement parks. My mom showed us that it is okay to restart as long as you have a plan to do so. My mom went through struggles of being a military wife but she showed us that everything was going to be okay at the end. I would get annoyed that people thought my father left my mom. He was just under water since he was in the military but people thought differently. People would constantly whisper about how my mom was alone and had to raise children by herself. Of course it bothered her but she kept going which is why I see my mom as my mentor. Don’t let people have a voice in your actions.

I sat in front of an electronic device countless of times typing in my name on the keyboard and each time I do, it is always the same. In bright white letters the screen always says my name means 'She who lives'. As a child I personally did not understand the meaning behind the name. Hearing the people I have encountered as a child, I personally thought they had better meanings. I have met people who are named after flowers that they can grow in their backyards or a Greek God who can create rainbows after a storm. I wanted my name to have a cool behind it instead of just being named after a song with the meaning 'she who lives.' I did appreciate my name for being different though. I felt as if it was a challenge for the area I was living in. I was the odd one out in the area I was raised in. That people would ask why my hair would constantly change and why I sounded funny since I had proper English. Whenever my name was being called, the adult in the room would always make a confused look trying to guess the pronunciation knowing that they would mess it up. I found it interesting that the one name that did not fit the rest of the rest of the class they would stumble on. Other students who would have faced this would have hated people messing up their name so many times. I loved it. I felt as if it was a challenge for my peers that difference is important. Every time my name was butchered, I would correct them and they would quickly learn that it belonged to me. My name is Aisha and as I stated, the meaning behind my name is she who lived. The more I stare at the white letters on my electronic the more I understand the meaning behind my name. I enjoy living my life. I know for a fact I am not going to be the same as the rest of my peers and will constantly be looked at differently because I do not fit the stereotype that were given to me. I will be living my life embracing my differences because that is what I enjoy. I enjoy that fact that my parents have named me after a song and I enjoy the fact that my parents did not give me a modern American name so I would not have to face discrimination based off of my name.

Having a pet was something our family would bond over. As a kid we had an aquarium and each one of us would had our own fish. We would watch the interactions and talk about how they are a little family inside the tank as well each fish had in our life, we would take care of it as a family. My parents showing us the responsibilities while my sister and I would watch the fishes swim around in the toys we had got them. I was born into a military family and growing up, we were constantly moving. Once we settled down, we had to pack our belongings and start all over again. The only companion I had that was the same was my family. We would watch the interactions and talk about how they are a little family inside the tank as well. We rarely seen my dad as a kid. The minute he got off the submarine, he would great us with a smile and a mustache that a teenage boy would have shown to his friends. Since we didn't see him often, he decided to make a father daughter day with my sister and I. We spent the entire day enjoying activities with each other and at the very end we received a special gift at the end of the event. A puppy. My father tried so hard to keep it a secret from us but he told my mom who was dying to tell us. That man came into the car with a smile on his face only for us tell him that we knew the secret too and we did not like the name he was going to give the new addition to our family (which was Doug from up). It took a while for us to come up with a name for the fellow but we came up with the name Hamilton. Since then my family has bonded to the musical Hamilton. We would sit in the living room and watch it with our dog as we sing along. It strengthen our bond as a family. I love having pets in our house. Some people do not understand how much impact on animal can do. Our family was a distant once more up until we had Hamilton. Hamilton brought us together again so we can laugh at the tricks I tried to teach him or the fact that he knows who is who in the house.