College Essay

Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

When given this question to others, the most commonly found answer would be their parents. Either it is their mom or dad. But not mines. Yes, my parents have been an influence in my life, but the main one who has had a significant influence on me is my auntie, Auntie Kelly. Growing up with my father and five other kids in Vung Tau, South Vietnam. Life wasn’t exactly easy for them growing up as kids. Vietnam isn’t necessarily a rich country. So growing up they didn’t have the most coushioniest life ever.

When she reached the age 10 my grandma and grandpa decided to move their whole family to Honolulu, Hawaii hoping it was going to be a new opportunity for them.  Growing up as a kid for me, I would always stick with my auntie. She even said her self, “ Lina was a magnet to me. Everywhere I went, she would come with me.” Although not all the things she does it the best example ever, I still push those aside and learn from the good ones. Being a single mother and an independent storeowner, I learned many things from her.

   I’ve learned to have a lot of responsibility. Since I was constantly with her as a little kid, I would always help out. Throughout the years, my auntie has had quite a few stores. From having a space at the flea market selling jewelry, a store located in downtown selling jewelry as well to her own company named Island Girls Shoe Company. By her having all these stores, I eventually would have little jobs here and there that I was able to do. By having these small jobs here and there, it taught me some responsibility. For example, I had to make sure I was doing what I was supposed to do and not fool around.

Also, with my auntie being a single mother, it shows me how much stronger she is handling everything by herself. Watching her supporting herself and her daughter is amazing. How she manages to keep up in her busy schedule from work to her 5 year old daughter is just truly impacting. 

Word Choice Graphic

Lina: The middle aged women frantically ran to safety when she heard blaring booms coming at her. The ear-piercing explosions came from an unknown alien spaceship.

College Stuff

^^ For University of Southern California- http://www.usc.edu/

1. University of South Dakota- http://www.usd.edu/
2. New York University- http://www.nyu.edu/
3. Columbia- http://ps.columbia.edu/

sorry.. i didn't finish.. :)

Coming of age draft

Riiiiinnnggggg! As my alarm on my phone woke me up to get ready. It was 7:30 and I needed to get ready for work. I had a few small jobs here and they’re before but those weren’t really considered a real job since it was simple chores I did for my family. My aunty had just opened a new kiosk at Ala Moana Shopping Center around Christmas time and asked if I wanted to make a few extra bucks. Of course I accepted, who wouldn’t? My first day on the job was pretty hard. There were some customers that were so rude and mean that I wanted to scream my head off. But I couldn’t. I had to just keep my cool, and put a smile on my face.

Customer after customer, I was really starting to get the hang of it. I knew what I had to say, how it say it and how to sell the product to the customer. As the day passed by, it slowly came time to closing. The best part of the day. In just a matter of half an hour I would be home to a nicely made bed where I can just crash. From standing up for the majority of the day wearing heels I was so drained that I was about to pass out on the car ride home. I was ready to just sleep till noon the next day but I couldn’t. I had to wake up for work again.

Even though I had to wake up early again the next morning to get up for work, I knew it was all going to be worth it when I got paid. 80 dollars on the weekends and 50 on the weekdays. It wasn’t that much, but it was better than nothing. It felt rewarding when I got my pay after each night. The feeling that I worked for something felt good. Not like before where I would have my parents buy and work for everything I owned. This time, I got to decide what I wanted to spend my money on. Whether it is clothes, shoes, food, or electronics.

But with the large amount of money I was earning for a 15 year old came a great deal of responsibility with it. I made myself remember that I needed to save up the money and not blow it all off on one store. I had to make sure that I was being responsible with it as well. Not leaving it anywhere it might get lost or stolen. Once the weeks passed by, my parents realized they amount of money I was making and started making me pay for my own stuff. They kept on saying “If you want it, you have to work for it.” Which made me have more responsibility because now, I had to buy the things I wanted to buy with my own money and not rely on my parents.

By working at such a young age, I realize that you can’t always rely on your parents because one day they might not be there anymore and you have to learn to be independent and do things your way. By working, it has taught me to be more responsible with money, be more respectful for my parents and learn that hard work pays off. I learned to be more respectful for my parents because its hard working and coming home tired. But they do it almost every single day just to make our family lives easier. 

Blog Revisions

Some changes I have made to my blog are..
- My picture
- The title
- The theme
- Changed the archive of my past blog posts

Mini Essay

With all the fatal accidents that had been occurring on the Hawaiian Island at all their natural attractions, attention has been drawn to cases were some people have died at them. For example, one incident involving the death of 29-year-old Paula Ramirez and 35-year-old Elizabeth Brem at Opaekaa Falls occurred in 2006 when they fell over a steep cliff due to the lack of signs at an unofficial hiking trail. "The women apparently followed the right side of the spit trail as an unofficial hike. At the time of the accident, there was a sign on the left side of the trail advising people to keep out; the sign did not address the rigt side of the trail, nor was there any other signage on the right side. The state should be held liable because it was their fault. They didn't put enough signs to tell people that it was an unofficial hike and that there was a steep cliff above.