life is beautiful: HARACTER A STORY TO TELL

life is beautiful: HARACTER A STORY TO TELL:                                   A STORY TO TELL So recently I got goosebumps. It was Friday, November 17. I was so pumped sin...

HARACTER A STORY TO TELL

                                A STORY TO TELL

So recently I got goosebumps. It was Friday, November 17. I was so pumped since it was the end of the week and we had planned to go out and eat for dinner. I went school like it was a normal day, but little did I know there was a shock waiting for me at school.

There’s this boy in my band, Spanish and math class. His name was Nathan. I never really liked him since he was a slowpoke. He didn’t have any friends at all. He always sat alone at the lunch table with his phone listening to music. People just walked past him without caring. And in class whenever he was asked a question, he would take a long time to answer it. The whole class would get annoyed and whenever he got an answer wrong, the whole class would laugh. I didn’t know why but I didn’t care enough to know.

On Nov. 17, I walked into band class and was ready to play my flute. Mr. Kohler began the class. We played music for a little while then he asked us to tune our instruments. I saw Nathan, he was just walking around like usual looking for something. There is nothing surprising about that, he does that in every class. He doesn’t just sit the whole class period, he walks around looking for Kleenex or a new reed for his instrument. He plays clarinet by the way.

So then Mr. Kohler asked a question to the class: “who in here can tell what note it is just by hearing the pitch? 
Nobody raised their hand except for Nathan. The moment I saw him, I laughed but not out loud. I thought he couldn’t do anything properly. How could he possibly guess the note when the pitch is played?

Mr. Kohler even laughed a little and then told Nathan, “come here buddy.” Nathan came and stood in front of the class. Mr. Kohler had a tuner and he played a pitch and asked Nathan to guess the pitch. 
Nathan said, “ E flat.” 
Mr. Kohler said, “ok good.” And played another pitch. “F sharp.” Nathan said. The whole class went pin drop silence.

Mr. Kohler challenged Nathan by playing 2 pitches at the same time. 
“C and B flat” Nathan said. 
Mr. Kohler played 3 pitches. “G, A flat, E sharp.” Nathan said. 
“Good job, go back to your seat.” Mr. Kohler said.

At that moment I got goosebumps. How did he do that? I said to myself. He guessed all the pitches correctly. That day I realized that I shouldn’t judge people based on little things I see. I need to see the great things people can do. 
From that day on I had a different opinion on Nathan. I forgot about all the things he was bad at and focused on the things he was good at. Whenever I saw him, I just said to myself, “that’s the guy that impressed me. That’s the guy who is musically talented.

 A STORY TO TELL.

life is beautiful: OPPORTUNITY NOT ONLY ME.

life is beautiful: OPPORTUNITY NOT ONLY ME.: OPPORTUNITY                                     NOT ONLY ME. There was a time where I completely gave up. A time where I th...

OPPORTUNITY NOT ONLY ME.

OPPORTUNITY

                                    NOT ONLY ME.

There was a time where I completely gave up. A time where I thought I wasn’t worthy

 to live up to my dreams. I was wrong. I joined a school that helped me find myself.

 Helped me understand who I truly was, what I really wanted to be. They believed in 

me so much that I was completely connected with one particular teacher. Years apart,

 yet a day difference in our birthday. We shared lots of things in common such as ,

 wanting to help others. She taught me so much. Not only was she my favorite 

teacher but she was my mentor. She provided me with so many opportunities, like 

traveling to the White House to talked about civic engagement. She included me in 

clubs where I could help out my community and know what it means to make a 

difference. I am grateful, and pleased to have met someone like her, to have made a 

difference in my life. When others from my family didn’t support me, she was always 

there to guide me and lead me to the path I was meant to be in. Because of her, I will

 continue my education, and help others who don’t have a voice by representing 

them as an their immigration attorney.

OPPORTUNITY

                                    NOT ONLY ME.

life is beautiful: THIRSTY FOR ART

life is beautiful: THIRSTY FOR ART:                        THIRSTY FOR ART I am a free lance artist. I paint murals in schools, most elementary schools. I design educ...

THIRSTY FOR ART

                       THIRSTY FOR ART

I am a free lance artist. I paint murals in schools, most elementary schools. I design educational 

murals as well as decorative murals. But the important part is, the students paint with me. Nearly 

20 years ago I was inspired by a local muralist to paint a mural at my kids' school. Once I got 

started, I decided to enlist the help of the 6th graders. I wanted them to know what it felt like to 

contribute something to their community. I thought that if that feeling was good, they would want 

to repeat the action as adults. I wanted the kids to grow up and be contributors to our community.

 19 years later, parents purchase the paint to get their children into my program. All the student 

painters sign the finished art. That way, when they return as adults (and we all go see the 

elementary schools we attended) they will see the work of art with their name on it. It gives them

 ownership. It beautifies their school and makes the neighborhood more desirable. The art makes

 the school aesthetics nicer and more welcoming. I usually paint with children in grades 1-6. But I 

have also painted with kindergartners, middle school & high school students, as well as college 

students. To date I have painted 96 public murals. 76 of them are in schools. And I have been 

assisted by thousands of children. Next school year I'm hoping to paint my 100th mural.

life is beautiful: BELIEVING IN YOUR SELF CANCER AT 22?

life is beautiful: BELIEVING IN YOUR SELF CANCER AT 22?:                                BELIEVING IN YOUR SELF                                         CANCER AT 22? My name is SARA* an...