Describe someone close to you & what do you admire most about that person.

Who I admire most of all is my mother. She is a very smart women and loves life. She's been through a lot. My father died when I was 2 years old, so she had to raise my two brothers and I by herself. She struggled with trying to keep food on the table and keeping all the bills paid, and then later she came down with some health problems that made it more difficult for her to do things. She supported my brothers playing football and baseball and me with volleyball and cheer leading. She never tried to pry into my life too much, and I really appreciate that about her. She was always there to help us with homework, and she always let us have time with our friends and go on family outings. She pushed us to finish high school and college. Although I am the only one that went to college, she has supported me a great deal. She framed my first certificate that I received in one of my BCIS classes. We all live in separate places, but my mom always manages to get everyone together for family dinners and outings.

My favorite childhood memory.

When I was 7 years old, my mom and dad took my brother and I to Disneyland in December. My parents did not tell us where we were going untell we got there. It was so much fun. We stayed 3 days there in a hotel across the street. We got to ride on almost everything there. A couple of my favorites were the Star Wars ride and the Undersea ride. I also enjoyed seeing all the cartoon charactors and getting pictures taken with them. We also went to Knotts Berry Farm, which was just as fun. Our hotel had a swimming pool and hot tub where we got to go have breakfast and lunch. It was pretty cool. That was my first time staying in a hotel. My parents didn't let my brother and I eat sweets and drink sodas very much, exept for this time. I ate carmel apples, cotton candy, orange soda, and ice cream. I had so much fun that I did not want to leave. After we all got back home, I talked about my vacation with my family for weeks. I never got a chance to go back untill I got married in 1987. My husbond and I went on our honeymoon, but I don't think that I had as much fun. I'm hoping to take my 12 year old daughter this summer. I hope she will have as much fun as I did.

Reading Reaction #2 "The Baby Myna"

When I was 12 years old, I found this small, white feathered bird at the bottom of a telephone pole. I did not see any other birds or nest around, and I did not want this bird to lay here and die. So I picked him up and carried him home. I put him in a shoe box with leaves and grass at the bottom of it. I wasn't sure what to feed him, so I took him to a pet shop here in town and asked them what I could feed this bird so he wouldn't die? The pet shop told me that it looked like it was a red tail hawk. They said that I couldn't buy some baby food that is veal and other kinds of meat to feed him. It was going on 2 months and he seem to be doing good, but It seemed that he was wanting out of the shoe box that he had been in. My brother made me a perch for him, so I took him out side to sit on it, but he seemed to keep wanting to fly. I just knew then that when he does figured out to fly that I would lose him. Although he didn't know how to fly, he would walk on the floor all over. After a few months he started flapping his wings all the time. One day when I got home he wasn't anywhere to be found, then I spotted him up on the top of the window shade. He did not want to get back into his box. I did not want to let him go because I was worried that he would not survive out there now and also that I would miss him, but I knew that he belonged in the wild. I decided to give him a chance out there, so I let him go. He flew so high and far that I couldn't even see him anymore. He never came back. I would go out looking for him everyday, but never did see him, and for a long time I wondered if he made it out there.