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My Birth Day
I was born into the world at Eden Hospital in Castro Valley, CA at 4:09am, the first child to my parents and the 6th grandchild to my dad's parents, 2nd to my mother's parents. -
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Life
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The First Move
In 1998, my mom, dad, and I (an only child at the time) moved from our small townhouse to a house. This small, quaint house in Castro Valley, CA was the one I eventually grew up in until I was eight years old. That house was one of the best investments my parents ever made as 3/4 of my siblings and I grew up there and 3 of us attended the elementary school right across the street and in the middle of town. We were also able to later sell that house for profit at almost double the sale price. -
Plus Brother Equals Big Sister
On this day, my brother, Vincent (now 14) was born. This was when I first became an older sister and had to learn to share my parents' scarce amount of attention and energy for the first time in my life. My brother and I are still pretty close to this day and although we argue a lot, at the end of the day, we're still [kinda] best friends. He taught me to be a good example through the way I act and live. (this picture from our 2011 Vietnam trip basically sums it up) -
The Start of Preschool
In fall of 2000, I began my long journey of schooling in Ms Laurie's preschool class. There I learned how to make good choices even through something as simple as what snack to eat or whether or not to take a nap during naptime. In preschool, I learned how to make friends and be creative as well as life lessons on consequence and reward -
Brother #2
In 2001, alas, I became the minority in my family being the only girl. My younger brother, Christian has taught me many lessons on kindness and generosity even in his young age. He is always caring and sometimes his example reminds me to appreciate the little things and to be simple. He's overall a very sweet and simple guy, always saving money for future investments instead of thinking about the short term. -
The Start of Elementary School
In about 2002, I began my first days of elementary school at Chabot in my small hometown. There, I learned even more about how choices would affect me long term and short term and skills such as time management. Elementary school also taught me important lessons about friendship and being responsible for myself and my actions -
Caroline, the first little sister is born
In 2005, my younger sister Caroline was born and our family was once again in balance with boys and girls. Having a little sister is something completely different from having a younger brother. According to my parents, Caroline was a spitting image and acted exactly like me when she was younger. Having a younger sister look up to me taught me even more about being a good role model and setting the right example for making good choices, being respectful, responsible, and knowing consqeuences. -
The Big Move: Goodbye California, Hello Colorado
One of the biggest changes in my life was my family's huge move from my hometown of Castro Valley, CA to Littleton, CO. My mom grew up not far from Littleton and knew this was a good place to raise four young kids as well as wanted to be closer to her side of the family (we grew up initially surrounded by my dad's side in California). And so, with those critera in mind, my parents chose the move as the best choice for our family. -
Baby of the Family
In May 2007, my youngest sister Grace was born less than two years after Caroline and our family experienced a slight shift in our family life: the issue of sharing rooms. Up until my parents found out they were expecting again, Caroline slept in their room and the boys had their own rooms. With the addition of Caroline, we adjusted to the space we had and made do with the three bedrooms. This taught me how to be flexible and adaptable in tight situations. -
Starting High School
In the late summer of 2010, I began the adventure that is high school. High school has taught me countless lessons in my past 3 years at Chatfield. I've learned to be more responsible and better at managing my time and prioritizing as well as people skills I will need for the rest of my life. -
Visiting Vietnam
Our trip was something we discussed, planned, and saved up for for a long time. While we were there, we had the opportunity to visit many amazing places, one of them a school in a beautiful but poor village. Experiencing firsthand how happy the children were just to receive something as small as a notebook or a lollipop from us really hit home and made me see how incredibly blessed we are in America and to be more thankful for what I have. (pic is of some teachers and older students) -
Starting Senior Year
Although we're only a few weeks into senior year, I've already learned even more life lessons. With graduation looming around the corner I've had to consider and contemplate much more about my future plans and goals with colleges, majors, and even planning for after college. Soon, I'll be on my own in the world and will have to make decisions on my own using the skills I've learned all my life.
