#5 Sam's Birthday Party (1988)
My
older brother 14 was babysitting for a woman out in Middletown, CT. My older
brother would watch the woman’s son for about maybe 6-8 hours while the woman
would be at work. My brother told our mom this funny story about how the woman
he babysat for son Sam acted up really bad one time (Sam used really bad
curse words and tried to fight my older brother) that my older brother picked
Sam up and hung him on the coat rack in the living room till
Sam’s mom got home (funny, lol). Anyway, Sam's mom had planned a big birthday
party for Sam because he was turning 6. Sam's mom had invited my brother &
me to Sam's birthday party in Middletown. Sam's mom picked us up from Hartford
and she drove us to the party. Sam’s mom had a really cool popular game hit the
pinata that was a lot of fun. Sam’s friends and family were at the party. When
me & Sam met, one of Sam’s friends thought that Sam and I were brothers
because we got a long and I was 10 only 4 years older than Sam. I will never
forget the fun we all had that day (I still remember how we were all grabbing
the candy from when Sam whupped the pinata)!
#4 My older brother's
Appreciation (1990)
My
older brother turned 16 and my mom threw an appreciation party for my older
brother on his birthday. My mom had my brother's big surprise birthday party at
then Valley's Steak house (now The Chowder Pot) in Hartford. So many people
came out to my brother's appreciation; among them were Ms. Bloom our 2nd grade
teacher & Sam (the boy my brother babysat in Middletown) and his mom. There
were some people who couldn't make it to my brother's appreciation in Hartford
who lived far, out of state but they sent money. You want to talk about
something that was really well-organized & really good it felt like being
at the Grammy Awards the way they were saying so much good things about my
older brother (I remember that was the very first time I tried the
Non-Alcoholic Shirley Temple drinks & absolutely loved it). My brother's
appreciation was a lot of fun!
#3 My older brother's High
School Graduation (1992)
My
older brother at 18 graduated from Weaver High School in Hartford. My brother
graduated from high school with high honors (I do believe he graduated with a
3.8 GPA). My older brother is considered the "miracle baby" because
of what he went through when he was born. The doctors didn't think he would
live or even walk but my older brother not only beat all odds but my older brother
always got good grades in school. My older brother had people of all ages who looked
up to him (younger and older as well as the same age) when my older brother
graduated from high school, my older brother inspired me to work really
hard in school like my older brother did so when it was my time to graduate, a
lot of family & friends will be at my graduation like they were at my older
brother's graduation. My brother's graduation was great!
#2 My High School Graduation (1997)
I
was perhaps discouraged in every possible way a person could discourage anyone
in school from elementary school, private school, and high school. I had
problems with a few teachers that discouraged me and I was even recommended by
a teacher to be put in 2nd grade special education when my mom took me out of
1st grade from a teacher who took it upon herself to discipline me. My special ed teacher held me back in 2nd grade and was very
discouraging to me and from there I was taken out of special ed and put in Ms.
Bloom's 2nd grade class at the age of 8. I was the type of person who channeled
a lot of negative things that people said to me. I didn't always get the best
of grades in school but with that being said, I could always get the score or
grade I needed to when I was in danger of failing a class (do my best under
pressure when I'm at my worst do my absolute best). Anyway, my family being at
my high school graduation was priceless because it showed that hard work really
does pay off. I even had my fellow classmates & their family and friends
rooting for me when I was graduating with my classmates from Bloomfield High
School in Bloomfield (Graduated and proved the naysayers wrong). Yes I did it!
#1 Marissa's College
Graduation Miss. Mercedes daughter (1997)
One
of the things that inspire you when you graduate high school is going to college
and graduating from there too. Marissa (who has been in California ever since) & her older brother by about 10-11 months
Chris (who graduated college in 1998 in Philly now married for the past 7 years and resides in Middletown, CT with his wife) were like family to me. Marissa 21 going on 22 graduated from UCONN up in
Storrs. What made going to Marissa's college graduation priceless was that it
was the same year I graduated from high school (double fun). I remember Miss Mercedes had a cookout for her daughter Marissa at Ms. Mercedes house in
Windsor. There were all kinds of food that was there especially Spanish food
too. I grew up eating some of Miss Mercedes Spanish food that she used to always
cook (no matter how much Miss Mercedes son Chris used to try to tease his mom
about her cooking). Marissa graduating from college inspired me to go to
college because I would eventually walk across that stage and get my college
degree like Marissa walked across that stage and got her Bachelor's Degree at
UCONN. Guess what, after 15 years of not quitting despite the routes I took, I
graduated from Capital Community College (CCC) and received my Associate's
Degree in General Studies. Till this day I use any negative talk that people
say about me to motivate me!
