I am the product of two worlds rather than one. Since I was six and as long as I can remember my father has lived in Europe. That meant that every summer I was dragged away from my home in El Segundo to spend time with him on the other side of the world. I distinctly remember feeling uprooted and betrayed, but as I grew older I began to see the light in the situation. While I was missing out on the experiences of summers at the beach with my friends back home, I got a completely unique exposure to new things. New things that I would have never seen if I had stayed home. New things that made me a person who does not fear the unknown or a change in environment. It has made me a person who can be comfortable in a world where my native language is not spoken and be able to endure. At such a young age I did not recognize the extreme bizarreness of my situation and my familiarity with change became a part of me; just as walking and talking does to a child. The emotional impact upon me at such a young age was tremendous. The highs and lows of leaving one family to be welcomed by the second were at times overwhelming. I have experienced this departing and arriving twelve times in my life. Even though the first few summers of leaving my mom were not by any means ones of enjoyment, they strengthened me. They forced me to be able to maintain my emotions towards both sides of my family. I could not be completely attached to one side or the other. I am looking at college as a similar experience. I want to forge a bond between myself and where I go to school as a second home. A place to build new memories and create a life for myself, but also I do not want to forget the life I have lived up until now. So I built a parallel in my former life and what I hope my future life to be. From my experiences between my two families, my two worlds, the most important thing I have learned is to not let one thing consume my life but always be looking for new ways to improve, learn, and expand who I am as an individual. 


    My mother and stepfather got married when I was seven. I participated in the wedding ceremony, as one of the groomsman. It is custom for the groom to give a present to all the groomsmen at the wedding. This present is a token of gratitude for being there for him on the most important day of his life. My stepfather bought the groomsmen all watches. Mine however was different. My stepfather took his wedding, and his big day, to teach me one of the most valuable lessons of my life. On the back of my watch there was a little engraving with three acronyms. "NBA, AT, ADTRT". These three little acronyms would have very much meaning and stick with me to this day. These acronyms are things my stepfather believed I should try to remember while growing up. The first one (NBA) stands for never be afraid. To never be afraid can be misleading. I took it to mean in a situation where I must accomplish a goal and there be a daunting task ahead of me to not back down. There are situations growing in where I may have been shy or timid when needing something done when I really should not have been. NBA applies in situations such as these where fear really should not even be a factor at all. The second acronym (AT) stands for always think. Thinking is the most important and most dominant thing that humans do on a daily basis. Whether it is an extremely non-substantial decision or completely life altering it is important to always be aware of the consequences. The last and most important acronym embroidered onto my digital watch, was ADTRT. Always do the right thing, the five words I live my life by. Always doing the right thing combines the previous to acronyms into the final result of which each decision in my life should be based on, either right or wrong. My stepfather probably did not think I would take these three acronyms so close to my heart or even remember them ten years later, but to this day I will never forget him explaining to me the meaning of each little letter. As I grew up I used these sayings as tools to help make the right decisions to lead my life in the right direction. I can distinctly remember using (ADTRT) in every situation I was in. If I had a project to do I would start it earlier rather than later because that was the RIGHT thing to do. Taking a step back and thinking before I jumped into one thing or the other and always making sure the right decision was made has kept me out of trouble. The right direction now is to head to college and progress further through life. The messages conveyed to me through the gift my stepfather gave me had and still has a great influence upon me. I hope to be able to take this watch and the meaning full inscription on the back of it further through life as it has already greatly shaped me, in my adolescence, for the better. The person I am today is someone who will never be afraid, always think, and most importantly always do the right thing.