Teacher

Describe a favorite teacher or one that you remember well. How did they inspire you in school?

My favorite teacher was my high school Biology/Zoology teacher, Mr. Allee. He saw my potential and expected nothing less. It's because of him that I started taking my Biology class more seriously and ended up with A's in the class. I liked Mr. Allee so much that I took him for Zoology and was his teacher's assistant. He was always kind, helpful and a wonderful teacher from whom I learned a great deal about science.

Sibling Fun

Describe a special time with a sibling. If you do not have siblings, then describe a special time with a friend or cousin.

My brother is ten years older than I am and I completely idolized him as a child. One day after he had stopped delivering newspapers we decided to have a rubber band battle in our backyard. He made rubberband guns and stocked us both with 300 rubberbands (he was a paperboy for a long time) and then said "Go!" Rubberbands were flying all over that yard. It literally sounded like a scene from "Star Wars." I had so much fun that day. I've always loved how my brother would include me in all his crazy activites even though I was ten years younger. By the way, he's still quite silly!

Grow up!

What do you, or did you, want to be when you grow/grew up? Who inspired you to want that profession? Did you achieve your dream?

From the time I was 5-years-old I wanted to be a Veterinarian, specifically a zoo vet. that took care of the baby animals. Who doesn't want to hold a baby gorilla?!? I loved animals and at one time wanted to run a refuge where I could take in all the stray animals I found. Much to my mother's dismay, I often brought home many stray animals. My mother was the person who encouraged me to fulfill my dream of being a vet. However, once I hit college and was introduced to Physics I decided that maybe being a Vet. just wasn't for me. I realized that creative writing, art and music were more for me. Now I'm a full-time mother of three. I love the job of raising my monkeys/children and sometimes I feel like I'm in a zoo!

Best Friends

My best friend growing up was Nadia. We spent the night at each other's houses almost every weekend. We talked on the phone so much that we would run out of things to say so we would make up games on the phone instead. One time I actually fell asleep while talking to her! We were constantly making up games and stories to go with our barbies and stuffed animals. I remember we created our own language called Cucamonga (we had no idea it was a city) where every word you spoke started with the letter "p." For example Pare pyou poing po pthe pore? We were silly and creative! It's interesting that we both grew up to be writers. Her parents were from Afghanistan and Pakistan so I was fortunate to grow up eating their amazing cuisine. Nadia and her family were so kind and generous and I feel blessed to have had her as my friend.

Who was your best friend? Who's your best friend now? What are some things you did with this person? Are you still friends today? Think about a best friend in your life and write about them.

Inspirational

Today take a few moments and think of someone who has inspired you to be a better person. What was this person like? What did you change in your life because of this person? How has their example helped you to perhaps be inspirational to others?


Recently my friend Ginger died. It's because of her that I started blogging. I wanted to be able to keep a record of my life with my family (another blog) and help others record their personal histories. In the process I've been able to write down bits of my own personal history. Ginger also inspired me to take more family pictures. Now I try to take a camera with me wherever I go. After Ginger died, so many people were able to go to her blog and see how much she loved her sweet family. I've been reminded that after we die, all our families have are memories. I want to help write them down.

Your first home

I grew up in a big Spanish style house. It was old, built in 1920 and had extremely tall ceilings. I loved that house. The living room had a mantle that ran the length of the room. I can recall the day I could finally reach the top of the mantle and thought I was rather tall. My room had dark purple carpet and periwinkle walls (hey, it was the 70's and my older sister picked out the decor). The bathroom had dark blue carpet and no shower, just a bathtub. And the doors! The doors were solid wood with crystal doorknobs. They were beautiful. The front of the house was distinct compared to the other houses on the block. There were two large palm trees in the front, a statue of the deer and a small wall surrounding the house. I remember walking along that wall trying to avoid getting stabbed by the bushes nearby. It's because of that house that I yearn for a Spanish style home.

What was your childhood home like? How many rooms did it have? What was the decor like? Why or why not did you love your home? Please take 15-20 minutes to write about your memories of your first home.

Family Trips

Growing up, we really didn't take many family trips. The ones we did go on were when I was too young to remember. However, one trip I do recall (I must have been 4 years-old) was visiting my greatgrandmother in Utah and sleeping in the basement (it was finished!). My ggrandmother had an old toy monkey that when you wound it up, it banged two cymbals together while opening and closing its mouth and shrieking. I loved it! I also remember my sister teaching me how to do dot to dot puzzles. Lastly, I went fishing with my father and brother and remember being rather bored and smelling fish. I love this memory because I loved my ggrandmother so much. My best childlike memory of her is that she would always take out her false teeth for me!

Today, think about your earliest memory of a family vacation or your favorite family vacation, either as a child or with your own children. Take a moment to jot down your thoughts in a notebook. It could be a fancy leather-bound journal or a $.99 composition book (that's many times what I use). Whatever you use, spend 15-20 minutes writing! Once you start, you'll be surprised by what you remember.