A couple of times that I've been to New Jersey: A couple of times that I've been to New Jersey

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The couple of times that I've been to Virginia: The couple of times that I've been to Virginia

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The importance of diversity: The importance of diversity

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Oasis Christian Church Coffee Hour

1.) Did you attend an event at Oasis Christian Church on Sunday? Yes. I attended Coffee Hour after Communion.

2.) What was the experience like at that particular event? Awesome!

3.) Did you know anyone from any other church events that you attended at? Yes. My mom & I knew Barbara from International Gospel Fellowship (IGF) on Park Avenue in Windsor.

4.) What was the fellowship like at Oasis Christian Church at Coffee Hour? It was wonderful. We were all sharing things & everyone was keeping each other in their prayer for needs in their lives' and for others who had needs too.

5.) Does an event like Coffee Hour bring about wonderful friendships as well as the wonderful fellow-shipping? Absolutely!

6.) Are you glad that you attended this particular church event? Yes!

7.) Do they have Coffee Hour at Oasis Christian Church (OCC) every week? Yes.

8.) Was this your first time going to Coffee Hour at OCC? Yes.

9.) Would you invite at a friend at OCC? Definitely!

10.) Do you plan on going to another Coffee Hour event at OCC? Yes.

11.) Please describe the atmosphere at OCC. Warm-hearted people, every one is all looking out for one another (What I remember about church family), every one is encouraging and helping each other. The church is very diverse (What I'm used to), and people have an attitude of "Blessed to be a blessing."

12.) Would you say that OCC fellowship is what you were used to growing up? Definitely!

13.) Do anyone else attend OCC that went to a church or churches that you and your mom attended? Yes. We knew Connie who also went to International Gospel Fellowship (IGF).

14.) Do you feel that the Lord is raising up churches in New England? Yes! Philippians 2:12-16 King James Version (KJV) https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2%3A12-16&version=KJV

Diversity Festival & Potluck Dinner

It was approximately 15 years ago to be exact. I went to a diversity festival at Manchester Community College (MCC) and saw a lot of souvenirs of the different countries. I saw Jamaican food and listened to some Reggae music. I remember listening to a lady play some songs on her guitar. I was mainly browsing inside the old Lowe Building at MCC. I happened to visit a table where the Puerto Ricans were at and noticed some of the food that the Puerto Ricans made. However, I didn't feel led to try any of the Puerto Rican food, instead I went to the Jamaican food table and noticed that they had beef patties and cocoa breads. Whether you are experimenting and browsing you want to make sure that you want to write about the most interesting things whether it's a potluck dinner or a diversity festival.

Speaking of potluck dinner, I enjoyed it very much eating all the free food that was at the potluck dinner! The potluck dinner was held at the Rotunda in the MCC new building. I remember before everyone ate, there were a couple of introductory. The music came from the bagpipes from the people who were from Scotland. The Scottish people did their famous Scottish dance and we all applauded. At this potluck dinner were the following food: Collard greens, macaroni and cheese, baked chicken, beef patties, etc. I think what made this such a great experience was the desserts that they had that were really good. I tried a piece of Oreo cake, chocolate chip cookies (my favorite cookies), brownies, chocolate cake, chocolate chip & peanut butter brownies, and I will never forget eating granola topped with blueberries and strawberries. My only regret that I had was that I didn't try the chip platter which I heard was very delicious! I really enjoyed the potluck dinner because when I heard that this was the first time that there was going to be food at this potluck, I just knew I had to try out the food!

Top 5 Memorable Events that I've been to

#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!

White Plains, NY 1996

White Plains, NY

It was my senior year of high school back in 1996. I remember some of us students who were in Career Explorations class all went on a class field trip (it was a part of our grade) to White Plains, NY on either the Grey Hound or Peter Pan Bus (I’m not quite sure which one it was). It's approximately 2 hours from CT to NY (it all depends on where you are at in CT and where you are traveling to in NY). We went to the Annual Minority Business Youth Educational Services Embarkment at White Plains High School that they had every year. I remember we had the following to eat: Subs sandwiches, chips, cookies, juice, Gatorade, etc. I remember we all helped our self to the food because we were there all day. I made sure I stocked up on Subs sandwiches, chips, cookies, juice, and Gatorade. All and all it was a great experience!