Personal Experiences

One major experience that I have had that has changed my life was when I found out that my best friend (at the time) was lying to about pretty much everything that I had known about her. I was a horrible experience because I thought we were so close and I shared EVERYTHING with her. It was awful I had known her for most of my life but had I really. If I had never found out about the things she lied to me about I would have bigger trust issues than I already do. I hope that know one ever has to go through the pain of finding out secret that a "best" friend has kept from you.

Another major life changing experience I have has was the amazing summer where I really grew into the person I believe I was destined to become. I went on a missions trip and met people who came from a similar background as me and also helped me out with things that I was going through at the time. My missions trip experience then led me to my experience at chrysalis. That summer left a lasting snowball effect, in a good way.

These experiences go hand in hand and have really shaped me into the person I am to day picking the one I am going to write about is going to be a lot of work. I do know however that the one I pick to write about will be great because both experiences are close to my heart.

My Summer Experience.

 This summer was hectic. My cousin Lany got married this summer. She is a pinterest-aholic. She decided that she wanted 30 cakes (one for each table at the reception as the center piece). She asked me to help make them. In my family that translates to someone will bake them and I will decorate them. (I have gotten pretty good at it!) In order to understand why everyone in my family asks me to decorate and make them cakes, you need to know it’s because when my mom was younger she used to do it for everyone and I inherited the know-how, so now everyone in my extended family asks me. However, having to make 30 cakes in a week is no small task so my family helped me. My grandma, my mom, and two of my aunts baked the cakes the day before I decorated them. So the Thursday before Lany’s wedding we all got together at my house and filled and decorated 32 cakes (my grandma made extra just in case). At this point in the wedding chaos my grandma was driving my Aunt Tracy (mother of the bride) crazy, because she just showed up at her house everyday to “help.” No one asked her, she just showed up. So, it was Thursday about 24 hours before the wedding and my entire family shows up at my house. It was 3 of my aunts, my sister (from out of town), my mom, my grandma, my great aunt, my second cousin, my twin cousins, Lany, Lany’s maid of honor and me. Needless to say, my house was packed! After about an hour we got a system going, my great aunt and second cousin mixed up the frosting, my Aunts leveled the cake layers, my grandma and mom stacked and filled, I decorated, and my other aunt put the cakes in the boxes. This system worked really well, we had all of the cakes done in about 4 hours.

 

The next morning we reconvened and delivered the cakes to the reception hall. Have you ever driven a car with 30 cakes in the back that had to be perfect when you got to where you were going? Let me tell you, it is difficult and nerve racking. After a slow and steady drive to the reception hall we all met up again and carried in the cakes. Now my grandma announced that she was going to hold the door open for everyone as they carried in the cakes. I thought this part was going to be boring and tedious but it was actually entertaining. It was entertaining because it was suggested that we take one at a time to keep the cakes from sliding in their boxes; however, my youngest aunt felt that doing it that way would take too long, so she took two at a time. Needless to say when she carried them she leaned the boxes together and they made a v-shape. Grandma was not happy with her. Then when she was taking in the last two cakes she lost her grip on them and they fell to the ground. The box exploded and there was frosting everywhere,  and grandma lost it. It was a good thing she made to extra cakes because my Aunt had just ruined 2 whole cakes! It was a mess to clean up and my grandma started yelling. This was the only time in my entire life I have heard my grandma yell, she was angry. Her face turned such a deep red it was almost purple she yelled, “Brook, I told you to take one at a time! Why are you being so stubborn today did you leave your brain at home?”

 

 Then the hardest part… was taking the cakes out of the boxes placing them perfectly in the center of the round tables and not denting the frosting with your fingers or the side of the box. Finally, after all of the hectic was done the reception area was set up beautifully. Most importantly Lany and Mason got married and got their happily ever after. In conclusion, the whole stressful situation was worth it and an experience I will never forget.

Writing takes time, I like my writing to be simple but full of impact on the reader. Writing became important to me this summer, because I had to write one essay that would impact the rest of my life. That essay was my college application essay. I was so scared when I started it just knowing that this essay could help or hurt my college chances. This paper wasn't long but it was important.I feel like I handled it pretty well for being so freaked out about it. when I have important writing assignments like that I always proof read at least three times and then I have someone else proof read it after that. I learned this summer that essays and papers are never really as bad a they seem. I feel that my writing ability have vastly improved since my first day of freshman year, and only improving. I am still not a perfect writer I have a lot to work on still such as different formats and styles of writing. However, I feel that I am a strong writer emotionally and mechanically. I am far from perfect in all of these areas and I have high hopes that this class will help me and prepare me for when I go away to college. The entire process of writing takes time, not only to write it but to proof and perfect the writing piece.

I hope to learn as much as I can this year because I view this year as the make or break year. Having two college level classes this year means that I get a small dose of what college will be like. I am hoping to learn this year how to handle multiple assignments and essays all at the same time. I want to learn how to effectively manage my time, for not only college prep but the future. In this class I look forward to practicing writing in different formats (such as MLA and APA). I look forward to the challenges this class holds for me.