Essay Number Two- Impacts on My Life

Rebecca Martinez
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
16 August 2007
Impacts On My Life
The way people live, their surroundings, their family history, and their memories all have an affect on people and the way they turn out later in life. When people live in bad neighborhoods and have had unpleasant past experiences and memories from when they were younger, they generally turn out meaner and tougher, partially because they have to or they might get hurt or killed. They may see things that a person living in a good neighborhood with a past full of happiness and not much pain, might not see. Family history has impacts on the way people live too. Just look at Ben and Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet. Their families were enemies and so they were enemies and constantly fighting. Peoples’ surroundings, history, and memories all help to mold the person they will become. This includes everyone and excludes none. My geography, family history, and memories have shaped me and will continue to shape my character throughout my life.
My geography, which is to say, my surroundings, have had an impact on my life greatly. Due to my Dad being in farming, I have lived in the country all my life surrounded by fields; able to see the stars always and away from the city noises. When I lived in Sanger my house was surrounded by orange trees and grape vineyards which I used to go running through. I lived there until I was four, and then moved to Gustine where I was surrounded by a tomato field which I secretly picked a few tomatoes from, and then there was a cotton field across the street where I tried to pick a piece of cotton and got my fingers scratched. Then I moved to Crowslanding where I am surrounded by alfalfa fields and sometimes corn fields. We have a “junk yard” which isn’t a real junk yard but it is filled with broken tractors and other tractor parts that my cousins and I used to play in and on. Living in the country you are rather isolated and because of that isolation and not being able to hang out with friends all the time, you gain a stronger bond with your family. Also, particularly in my family, shopping wasn’t something you did everyday. Shopping for me and my family was some what a luxury. When we did go shopping we went to thrift stores. (That happened more so when I was younger and my family wasn’t doing so well financially.) We never got name brand clothes or shoes not unless they were given to us by a wealthier friend. All these things have shaped me into a person who doesn’t care so much about the best name brand clothes or hanging out with friends every single day and if I don’t I’ll get depressed, which I find rather pathetic, and I have learned from my experiences. I don’t need my friends with me all the time; I’m independent mostly but the company of friends is nice once and a while. Being “isolated” from other people has taught me a ton like finding my talents and I have learned to appreciate the beauty of the country too. Right now I live with in about two hours of Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Fresno. So it’s pretty cool when we get to go to the beach, or go to old town Sac, or to the Exploratorium, or down to see my cousins who mostly all live in Fresno. Because of my geography, near and far, and the places where I have and do live, and the conditions I’ve lived in, it has been an impact on my life and allowed me to do things I wouldn’t have been able to do if I had lived anywhere else. For a kid, living in the country is great. It gives you many great benefits and great opportunities to do stuff that you really can’t do in the city like running around, yelling and screaming at the top of your lungs, and having the music turned up on full blast. I would be a lot different if I had lived in a big city and I would probably have a negative attitude about living in the country. Also living in the country seems to humble people and give them simpler values. People are able to lead a calmer life than if they were constantly surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city. I think that it is partially where some gain a calmer side to them but it could also be a contributing factor to why some who live in the country can get a little crazy too, being out here away from friends and stores. But living in the beautiful country and living about two hours away from a lot of things has definitely had an impact on my life and shaped my character.
My family history is very important to me and has impacted me. I have ancestors who were persecuted because of their religious beliefs, my ancestor Thomas Tidwell, on my mom’s side, is one who I am especially proud of. He was in the Mormon Battalion and did drills with the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. He also helped many cross the Mississippi river with his brothers when the saints were being driven out of their homes and starting on their long trek west. Thomas Tidwell is one of my heroes. To be that close to the Prophet, to do drills with him, to be led by him by the hand of the Lord, that just amazes me. It gives me a sense of pride but I can not really and fully explain why. But it has impacted me greatly. My granny, when she was a young girl she didn’t go to church much but then she went to live with my great, great grandma and she became more active and the rest of her sisters fell away from the church. So I am really thankful for my great, great grandma Jensen or else I wouldn’t be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My Mexican heritage is also very important to me too. My grandparents always worked hard in the fields and took pride in the little they had. With out my grandpa’s desire to come to the United States, I wouldn’t be here today and wouldn’t have met any of my friends and wouldn’t have any of the wonderful things in my life that affect me, inspire me, or give me courage. Nothing would be the same. My parents would have never met. There would be no Rebecca Martinez or any of my other sisters. For my grandpa, I am truly thankful. My family history is very important to me and has impacted me in many different ways and given me a sense of gratitude.
My memories will always have an impact on me. I can remember my dad separating harmful snakes from the helpful ones while I was living in Sanger. I remember having my cousins come over almost everyday and the fun that we had growing up together until we moved. I remember wandering to far from my mom in the grocery store and getting lost. I remember my dad taking me by the hand, leading me to a great big tree, and telling me that that was going to be my tree and I had to water it everyday or else it would die. I remember when my sister taught me how to tie my shoes and how proud I was even though it was the simplest way of tying shoes. I remember stepping in an ant hill of red ants with flip flops on and being bitten all up and down my legs and on my feet. I remember when my sister Rachel got the chicken pox, then I got them, and then my younger sister Alisia got them and I wished that they wouldn’t itch so much and just hurry up and go away. I remember when my dog had puppies and we couldn’t touch them for a while or else they might get sick. I remember having fun with my cousins making mud pies, club houses, and climbing haystacks. I remember having to help my handicapped aunt with lots of things, like using the restroom, helping her get into her wheel chair, reminding her of things she’d forgotten within the last fifteen to thirty minutes, sometimes less, and many other things too. I remember being punched in the stomach for dragging my little sister closer to a spider that never existed. I remember almost drowning in the deep end of a pool because I took my sister’s ball and she got mad and wanted it back. Everything I remember has a lesson to it. They all taught me something and I gained knowledge from them. And because those memories taught me knowledge they had different impacts on me like learning never to do certain things again or else something bad would happen or just to have fun and make more memories with those you care about. My memories have definitely helped to shape my character.
Because of my past experiences, the places I’ve lived, and my family history, I have grown to love the country, my surroundings, and the location where I am. I have grown to love my religion even more because of my ancestors and appreciate the sacrifices they had to make, both a couple hundred years ago and maybe just seventy years ago. I love that we can remember and learn from our mistakes and the impact it can have on us can be gigantic or very small. I hope I will always be able to remember the lessons that I was taught when I was younger, always appreciate the things that people have done for me and things that benefit me, and love the land that I was born into. Through all these things I have learned simple values like gratitude, how to get along with my sisters most of the time, patience, learning to place myself in other people’s position and become a more understanding person, and not to care too much about nice clothes or what others may think. I have learned so much throughout my short fifteen years of life and the values I have learned I will carry with me throughout my life and implement them daily. I wonder, though, when I grow up, get married, and have kids will they get any of the same values out of where we will be living and the life style we will live in, like I did when I was young, or will they be really picky and care what the world thinks and forget about the good valued lessons they could be learning?