Autobiographical Essay

Me, Myself, and I

Anytime someone starts a story with, “Hello my name is….” I get bored and immediately lose interest. So, I’ll do my best to find a more interesting way to say my name is Fehbe, I’m 17, I live in Inglewood, and my goal in life is to become a journalist. There, how’s that?

            I want to start off and say that I love talking about myself and I can go on and on and on. So, I’ll try to make things as short and as simple as I can. I was born on June 10, 1993 to my parents Olga Acosta Ruben Meza. I couldn’t be happier with the parents I was blessed with. They’ve always been there for me and have always supported me in my every endeavor. People often remark that I’m spoiled just because I get everything I want but I am in an only child so, aren’t I entitled to some things? However, I sincerely believe I deserve everything I get because I hardly cause trouble for my parents and my academic record is spotless. My parents don’t like the fact that I’m a vegetarian, though. I don’t like red meat and I can barely stand white meat. I just can’t see why people would want to eat cute little chickens or piglets that have emotions and probably never thought they’d end up on someone’s plate. I have also recently acquired an addiction to almond milk. Although I am an only child, I maintain a close relationship with my cousins and they fill the roles of my brother and sister. Sometimes, though, I do want some privacy so it’s common for me to lock myself in my room the whole day. A girl needs her space, right?

My personality can receive mixed reviews from people. I’m not denying the fact that I’m conceited but I prefer the word, confident. I have no problems with how I look or dress. Admittedly, there are certain aspects of me that I would like to change, but I’ve learned to live with the characteristics that differentiate me from other people. My style varies from day to day but I’m generally into preppy, classic styles. Nevertheless, all my outfits take meticulous planning beforehand and this shows the perfectionist and controlling aspect of my personality. I’m generally a happy person and I’m almost never sad or mad. I laugh a lot and I get numerous laugh attacks every day. I’m very forgetful and (though it embarrasses me to admit) I sometimes forget my own name. If someone doesn’t like my personality, I don’t mind. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.

When people ask what I like to do, I’m often at a loss for words because there is an abundance of activities that I enjoy. I absolutely adore going shopping! I spend so much money at the mall that I should legally own a share of each store I go to. I get a thrill every time I spend money and buy something and most of things I buy end up only decorating my closet. Dresses are my biggest weakness. I must have about 30 different dresses, and 10 probably still have the tags on. Besides shopping, I spend my time talking on the phone, reading, and writing. Music also has a big influence on my life. There is a song for every one of my moods and lyrics that describe me in a musical fashion. At this stage of my life, Miley Cyrus pretty much sums me up in her song, “Can’t be Tamed”. I don’t watch television that much and I can count on my fingers the number of shows I am actually interested in. Two of my absolute favorites are Glee and Jersey Shore. They’re two complete opposites, yet they show how well-rounded my interests are. I’m always looking for new hobbies. I want to learn how to play the piano and take ballroom dancing lessons. Who knows, I might be on “Dancing with the Stars”.

I do have two hobbies that I plan to keep up after high school and as long as I can; tennis and pageantry. I started playing tennis two ago but I quickly fell in love with it. It’s a great stress reliever because all the anger you’re feeling goes straight into the ball. Tennis is a mix of teamwork and independence, which suits me perfectly because sometimes I want to do things by myself and other times I crave companionship. If possible, I plan to go to a college that offers tennis as an athletic program because I do not want to give that up. I also don’t want to give up pageantry. I’ve been competing in pageants since I was 5, so it’s a big part of my life. I can’t imagine letting that go. I love the spotlight, so pageantry is just another sport; sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Regardless of the outcome, I have an amazing time competing in them and I’ve met people from across America who’ve become close friends of mine. It’s not something that you just stop doing and I plan to keep going as long as possible. When it stops being enjoyable and I’m doing it for the wrong reasons, then I will move on and close that chapter of my life.

            School is my number one priority right now, but it’s not my only priority. Yes, I do receive excellent grades and what not, but I also do my homework every night. I’m a big procrastinator, yet I’ve learned through unfortunate experiences to do the work the day it’s given because the next day I’m just going to get more of  it and I’ll be bombarded with assignments that I probably won’t be able to adequately handle. Perhaps what also contributes to my high grades is the fact that I’m a competitive person. I always want to be the one with the highest score; in fact, it almost seems like I have to. I try and do more than my best on everything so I can get the As I need to graduate with honors and further my education at a prestigious university.

            That being said, I could never settle on one career goal or university choice. To this day, I am still undecided because there are so many amazing and interesting careers and opportunities in this world, but I only have one life. I’ve settled on two possible careers though; journalist or member of Congress. I realized in my junior year of high school that writing was an activity I immensely enjoyed. It was a way of release for me but also a less raucous way than talking to express my often outspoken opinions. Journalism combines my love of talking and writing into a career that can branch out in so many ways. As of now, I’m unsure of whether to be a magazine journalist or a broadcast news journalist. Both equally interest me, but neither stands out the most right now. Becoming a Congresswoman has also been a dream of mine. As a little girl I said I wanted to become President of the United States. That dream hasn’t left me, however I’ve decided to start small and break down that large goal into smaller ones. My first step would be to get elected as a Senator. My ultimate goal is to help better our country and prevent it from becoming a nation that persecutes its hardworking lower class while rewarding the rich upper class. Luckily, my two career paths can intertwine and I have the opportunity to become a White house Correspondent for CNN or political news analyst before stepping into politics. To reach my goals, my dream is to attend either New York University or Columbia University because they are both located in the capital of the world, New York City, and have access to the best internships in journalism and politics. As any successful individual will tell you, it is always important to put your foot in the door early.

            When it comes to talking about myself, I can go on forever. I did not even try to summarize everything to fit into a four page paper so this is only a part of me. The best of advice I’ve ever received is trying equals failing. Never “try” to do anything; just do it. I admit that I’ve grown up, made mistakes, lost a few friends, made new ones, and learned from mistakes. I never regret anything. I’m going to fall (probably many times) but I just have to pick myself up and keep going. Nothing is going to stop me from getting to where I want to go. Why? Because I’m Fehbe.

           

How the Porcupines got their quills Short Story

A long time ago, when the world was young, there lived a young rodent. He was a pudgy thing, with small feet and coarse brown hair. He was bigger than his parents, Ratatouille and Rina, and was named Porky because he ate like a pig. Porky lived a pleasant life in a large forest. The lush green vegetation provided plenty of food and the gigantic trees were fun to climb and made excellent hiding places. From the top, Porky once saw a rabbit dive into a bunch of bramble below to escape from the jaws of a hungry wolf. The wolf tried to grab it and gnashed its fangs into the bramble but the thorns kept pricking into it and eventually, it gave up and dashed away. Porky was amazed by this and it was just one of the many exciting sights he witnesses on his daily adventures.

            Like any young animal, Porky was naturally adventurous, which made his parents very wary of letting him out of their sight.

            “Son, you must be careful. We are not the strongest animals in this forest, nor are we the fastest. For that reason, you must be careful that no predator ever catches you because you’ll become his prey,” Ratatouille told his son.

            “You must also never show your belly. It’s so soft, one small swipe of a claw could mean your life,” his mother, Rina, warned.

            Yet, like any child, Porky never took his parents’ concerns seriously. He continued to play and live a carefree life in the forest and was hardly ever on the lookout for danger. One day, Porky woke up from a long slumber with an enormous appetite. He wanted berries but he knew that the best berries were on the other side of the creek, an area he was never permitted to go to. He remembered an ominous warning his father once gave him about the dangers that were present on the other side of the creek when Porky asked what was there.

            “Dad, why won’t you let me play on that side?” Porky had asked. “It’s very pretty over there and I bet I could have just as much fun over there as I do over here.”

            “No Porky! You can never cross the creek to that side,” Ratatouille said. “It’s very dangerous over there and there are animals that can cause a lot of harm to you and can possible eat you. I don’t think you want to be eaten, right Porky?”

            “No dad. I guess not,” Porky reluctantly admitted.

            At the time when the conversation took place, Porky was much younger than what he was now. An eight month old rodent was much stronger than a 3 year old rodent, right? He contemplated whether or not to cross the creek but his ravenous and growling stomach soon convinced him.

            “If anything should try to eat me, I’ll just climb a tree. No big deal,” Porky reasoned to himself as he waded across the creek, the water splashing and drenching his fur up to his nostrils. He quickly spotted a thick brush heavy with the juicy crimson berries he longed for. He started eating them straight from the branches when he suddenly heard soft footsteps. He slowly turned around and saw a wolf stalking him, its long white fangs bared in a snarl dripping with saliva. Its fur bristled with every step and Porky could hear the faintest savage snarl emitting from it. Porky was terrified; he knew that the wolf would soon be close enough to pounce upon him and he’d be nothing but its next meal. Then he felt something prickly above his head: the bush’s needles. Porky remembered the incident with the rabbit and bramble and quickly started grabbing the needles and sticking them into his fur. In a few seconds, his whole body was covered with sharp, pointy needles.

            Confident but still nervous of his plan, Porky eyed the wolf warily but stood his ground. The wolf lunged at him but Porky instantly curled into a ball, protecting his belly and exposing his quills. The wolf yelped as it got a mouthful of needles and ran away coughing and crying in shame and anger. Porky was so astonished that he was safe that he darted back home to his parents.

            “Mom! Dad! Look I have thorns!” Porky proudly announced.

            “Thorns? Quick come here and let me take them out. Oh, Porky, what did you get yourself into this time?” growled Rina.

            “No, go get some too. They saved me from being eaten by a wolf. I stuck some pine needles into my fur and when that dumb canine came at me, all it got was a mouthful of needles!” Porky boated. From then on, all the rodents in Porky’s family used pine needles to protect them from predators. Over time they were called porcupines, after Porky, and they began to be born with the quills. So if you ever see a porcupine, try not to touch its quills.