I love my dog Taxi who sadly I haven't gotten to see for a while since I'm away due to college. That little dog is what I would call a brat and tends to always be acting like "I decide when we do things" kind of attitude. But really he is just that way and always thinks he is the top dog but really he is a sweetheart that will protect anyone with his life. The main way he has helped me was through the difficulty with my mom's recovery from a c-spine tumor. She was unable to do a lot of things and since my dad was gone on tour doing work on the road for half the year I kind of had to pick up the slack in the household. It was a lot and Kinda made me grow up a lot faster than I should have but I feel the taxi was the one to reel me back and still allow me to have hope and wonder in my life. When I was down trying to deal with school and helping out my mother with her icepacks and making food whenever I seemed to almost collapse in the living room with all that stress taxi would come up to me and always claw as my thigh. Not in an aggressive way but more in a playful and motivational way. It felt like he was telling me to "GET UP!! FEEL BETTER BIG SISTER!!". He may chew up everything but oddly that damn little dog has a way to motivate you. Another thing Taxi has done is my sense of childish play that I feel I lost touch with and he did that by always wanting to play and even though I was tired and sad and didn't want to play with him I did anyways and every single damn time he got me into it. I lightened up I started jumping around like an idiot but a damn happy idiot. I felt I had begun to lose myself with all the pressure but again taxi found a way to lighten my spirit and make sure I didn't lose myself in my own head and all the responsibilities I had. He has always been there and really has just been a fluffy shoulder to cry on and feel comforting and with him always their I didn't fall into dispair and becoming an emotionless robot and instead Taxi inspired me to still want to have the life still coursing through my body and mind and to always be playful and to not loose hope.

It means to have been able to come out of the damage caused to you and be able to see the changes it has had on you and also be able to integrate those changes and accept them as a part of you. No matter it is physical or mental trauma to recover you have to be able to face the trauma and as you recover you can have more and more power to face that trauma and take steps slowly and methodically. Recovery is not going to be accomplished in a week most of the time. To recover is to learn as well to understand yourself and your limits and better understanding that will allow you to truly recover as you will grow from the trauma and not let it weigh you down but rather let it build you up.

Having a plan is something that can help you strive to be able to live fully. You need to be able to understand your body and mind to be able to have a healthy life. I had this issue and just understanding what your body needs such as exercise, therapy, or a new place to work is something to always look for. Examine yourself to then be able to construct a plan to enact upon. Secondly, be active on this plan and always work at it. You don't have to go insanely hard but always have a plan that involves steps you can take every day such as taking an extra walk today that's short and sweet. Take a day to just rest so you don't overwhelm yourself or take some time to meditate. Those little steps will add up and soon you will be able to start running or working out for longer times as your body and schedule get used to it. Consistency and a plan can work wonders in maintaining a healthy lifestyle because to live a healthy life you have to have lifestyle changes that are supposed to last a lifetime.

Alright so let me set the scene. I had just started my first cruises as a gondolier ( the people who row the fancy Italian boats) and I had only taken out 2 couples so I was very inexperienced in general so I was always a tad nervous. It's around 5:00 so close to set for the romantic action of seeing a giant gas ball go down, but anyways I see the couple. The Lady is gorgeous with a nice black and white dress, hair make-up the works. I'm thinking huh guess this is a fancy date night but then I look at the guy. Dear god, this man looked like he walked out of a B movie as a the cartoony villan. He had greased back black hair with a white undershirt, jeans, golden rolex, and I kid you not a gold tooth. EXCUSE ME SIR what goonies film did you just walk out from? So the contrast in the couple was a tad jarring but i didnt think to much of it except on how this guy exists but that is definetly not the end of it. So we contiue on with the evening and I do my noraml rowing and talking and the couple does not seem to be to talkative as the lady seems to be kinda defenzive when ever the guy talked. I kinda didnt know what do since the atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife. But when we got half way through the rowing route is when the akwardness decided to triple. The guy decided to randomly topropose to the lady. As a side note: usucally customers tell us if they are going to do that so we are ready so that was a tad annoying. Anyways the thing that got me and made everything that had lead up to this moment was when he poped the questoin she responsed with words I will never forget. " You want me to marry you after you slept with my mom and my sister . . . really?" I almost had my jaw drop hearing this and the fact she said it with such a deadly tone I felt that this mans life was about to end. But in my mind I mostly was thinking "why did she agree to do this with him, why did she dress so nicley, why is this man on this planet". So it was a wonderful trip with me not knowing what to do and so I just decided to stare at the water for the rest of the time while I hear the guy babling and begging for her to taker her back and all she did was look at the water and I swear I saw a smirk at the corner of her mouth. Meaning she decided to just end this mans whole carrier this was personal. LIKE DAMNN!!! girl nice job because screw that guy Im honestly kinda proud she did it and just do damn well. But afterwards she was so kind and apologized to me for having to witness that and gave me a nice tip and she just walked away while I saw the guy chasing after her with his tail between his legs as he lost that swagger he had before the trip.

I wish to attend college to become an orthopedic surgeon. I have had a passion for the field of medical science due to my fascination with the human body's systems and mechanisms, but it mostly comes from my passion to help people and allow them to take back their life, may it be from a broken bone or torn muscle. This comes from how I have had a mother who is disabled due to a schwannoma tumor wrapped around her cervical spinal cord and even though she is in pain she and I are grateful that she is alive and with that, I wanted to do the same but better for others. I want to allow families to continue on and not have years of a joyful life be ended due to a complication. Seeing patients who are affected by debilitating injuries is truly a crime and if I'm able to learn and grow to be able to stop such tragedies then allow me to do so let me pursue this path to destroying the detriment of illness and injury that have taken and ruined so many lives. To accomplish this goal though I need to start on the learning part and pursue knowledge from University which will allow me to achieve this dream to become an Orthopedic Surgeon that can help this world. I plan after acquiring my Bachelors in Science, majoring in Human Biology, to move on to medical school to then begin my practice to develop my skills as a practitioner of medicine. My plans down the road would be to open up a practice in Ventura or the very least work in Ventura to give back to the community that has raised me my whole life and is the foundation for who I am and will be.

My mom came to the car in tears, and I asked "What’s wrong?" She replied with a fake smile, "it's nothing baby." This was the start of a principal challenge in my life that still persists today. I was 9 years old and my mother was diagnosed with a schwannoma tumor wrapped around her cervical spinal cord. I didn’t understand what was happening, so I questioned her and wondered as I would hear my mother bawling in her room. It was on my 10th birthday when she was to have the surgery that could save her life. I had to and did, hold my own during this long and scary process. I yearned to know what would become of my mother. She could be dead, paralyzed, or made well again. Sadly, what I hoped for wasn't granted. Although she had been saved and the tumor was removed from her neck, the hardware placed in her neck was not properly arranged. Her spine was formed into an L shape causing her head to fall which required her to wear a brace to keep her head stationary. She saw a second doctor to see what was amiss and learned that the previous doctor should have arranged her neck in a C shape in order for her to be able to hold her head correctly. This, in turn, prompted 3 more surgeries, and the cycle continued. I always wondered if I would be able to come home and see her back to normal. The surgeries went soundly, but only momentarily, making her almost whole. The last surgery was the one that took my regular mother away from me. The doctors had complications and she now suffered permanent nerve damage in her left arm. This led to many days of her being bedridden with horrible, chronic nerve pain. She would cry nearly every night. Not having a whole mother and a father that was gone for months at a time for his work compounded this difficult time. Watching my mother live in constant pain and with the uncertainty for her future prompted my dream to be an orthopedic surgeon. My desire is to ensure that issues like what my mother has experienced would not have to be endured by another. My passion for science, for learning, and to help those in need will be the triforce that drives my college career and my future professional goals. I want to give people back their lives and not have to settle for only the bare minimum. I will study and practice to become the best orthopedic surgeon I can be. The world will forever need people who have a passion for the betterment of others, as well as the pursuit of knowledge to heal the wounds of the world. I will forever be that person in and out of the operating room.

My mom came to the car in tears, and I asked "What’s wrong?" She replied with a fake smile, "it's nothing baby." This was the start of a principal challenge in my life that still persists today. I was 9 years old and my mother was diagnosed with a schwannoma tumor wrapped around her cervical spinal cord. I didn’t understand what was happening, so I questioned her and wondered as I would hear my mother bawling in her room. It was on my 10th birthday when she was to have the surgery that could save her life. I had to and did, hold my own during this long and scary process. I yearned to know what would become of my mother. She could be dead, paralyzed, or made well again. Sadly, what I hoped for wasn't granted. Although she had been saved and the tumor was removed from her neck, the hardware placed in her neck was not properly arranged. Her spine was formed into an L shape causing her head to fall which required her to wear a brace to keep her head stationary. She saw a second doctor to see what was amiss and learned that the previous doctor should have arranged her neck in a C shape in order for her to be able to hold her head correctly. This, in turn, prompted 3 more surgeries, and the cycle continued. I always wondered if I would be able to come home and see her back to normal. The surgeries went soundly, but only momentarily, making her almost whole. The last surgery was the one that took my regular mother away from me. The doctors had complications and she now suffered permanent nerve damage in her left arm. This led to many days of her being bedridden with horrible, chronic nerve pain. She would cry nearly every night. Not having a whole mother and a father that was gone for months at a time for his work compounded this difficult time. Watching my mother live in constant pain and with the uncertainty for her future prompted my dream to be an orthopedic surgeon. My desire is to ensure that issues like what my mother has experienced would not have to be endured by another. My passion for science, for learning, and to help those in need will be the triforce that drives my college career and my future professional goals. I want to give people back their lives and not have to settle for only the bare minimum. I will study and practice to become the best orthopedic surgeon I can be. The world will forever need people who have a passion for the betterment of others, as well as the pursuit of knowledge to heal the wounds of the world. I will forever be that person in and out of the operating room.

My mom came to the car in tears, and I asked "What’s wrong?" She replied with a fake smile, "it's nothing baby." This was the start of a principal challenge in my life that still persists today. I was 9 years old and my mother was diagnosed with a schwannoma tumor wrapped around her cervical spinal cord. I didn’t understand what was happening, so I questioned her and wondered as I would hear my mother bawling in her room. It was on my 10th birthday when she was to have the surgery that could save her life. I had to and did, hold my own during this long and scary process. I yearned to know what would become of my mother. She could be dead, paralyzed, or made well again. Sadly, what I hoped for wasn't granted. Although she had been saved and the tumor was removed from her neck, the hardware placed in her neck was not properly arranged. Her spine was formed into an L shape causing her head to fall which required her to wear a brace to keep her head stationary. She saw a second doctor to see what was amiss and learned that the previous doctor should have arranged her neck in a C shape in order for her to be able to hold her head correctly. This, in turn, prompted 3 more surgeries, and the cycle continued. I always wondered if I would be able to come home and see her back to normal. The surgeries went soundly, but only momentarily, making her almost whole. The last surgery was the one that took my regular mother away from me. The doctors had complications and she now suffered permanent nerve damage in her left arm. This led to many days of her being bedridden with horrible, chronic nerve pain. She would cry nearly every night. Not having a whole mother and a father that was gone for months at a time for his work compounded this difficult time. Watching my mother live in constant pain and with the uncertainty for her future prompted my dream to be an orthopedic surgeon. My desire is to ensure that issues like what my mother has experienced would not have to be endured by another. My passion for science, for learning, and helping those in need will be the triforce that drives my college career and my future professional goals. I want to give people back their lives and not have to settle for only the bare minimum. I will study and practice to become the best orthopedic surgeon I can be. The world will forever need people who have a passion for the betterment of others, as well as the pursuit of knowledge to heal the wounds of the world. I will forever be that person in and out of the operating room.