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'A few weeks ago now, my birthday happened. Over two days I got to hang out with the people in my life and enjoy my days.'
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"My birthday was about three weeks ago and I had a great couple of days that week. On my birthday itself it was a pretty quite day, but I got to do stuff I wanted to do. I don't make a big deal out of my birthday, but I try to at least do what I want to, even if it's small. So that day I went live on my stream and hung out with friends and played video games all day. I started off playing a single player game. After that, me and my friends played multiplayer games for hours and I ended by playing another game. It was just a chill day where I got to hang out with friends and have a good time. The next day my mom came over and brought me a cake and some ice cream for a late little birthday party! We had a red velvet cake and peanut butter cup ice cream. We also watched a movie and I had a great meal I prepared for myself. All in all, those two days were very memorable for me. Not because it was my birthday, but because of what happened on those days that were awesome. I encourage people to do what they want to do whenever, it's your life. don't make huge a huge deal about your number going up once a year. But if you absolutely must, keep it simple and you'll enjoy it more."
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'My aunt is suffering from breast cancer and currently in treatment. Her ex was just released from a long jail sentence. He beat her up to the point of breaking ribs.'
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"I feel so sorry for my aunt. She suffers from breast cancer. She doesn't have the best life. Her ex husband harasses her from jail. He writes her letters in order to gain her back. About a week ago her ex was released from jail. Right away her ex starts calling her. He also comes to her house to harass her. She asked him nicely to please leave her alone. He gained his way into her home. He tricked her and said he just wants to talk. He punched her right in the face. She fought back as best as she could. Through this altercation though she broke some ribs. She reported her ex to the police and he went right back to jail."
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'The story is about me learning how to surf a few months ago. It explains how my friends took me to the beach, and taught me how to surf. It also depicts how much I liked it, and how I fell in love with surfing.'
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'About three months ago, my friends decided to take me to the beach to teach me surfing. I have been telling them for years that I wanted to learn how to surf, but I never got around to it. I am an older person, and I was afraid that I would not be able to get up on the surfing board. I told them that I was going to train a little first by swimming in a pool every day for a few months before I attempt surfing. So, I did. Most of my friends surf, and some are excellent at it. This particular weekend they all got together, found a board for me, and took me to the beach since the waves were not too rough on that day, and perfect for a beginner. They were all trying to explain to me what I needed to do, and then they finally made me go out into the waves and try it. The experience was amazing. I was shocked that I got up onto the board on my first attempt. I certainly did not expect that. The feeling of gliding on the wave is difficult to describe. I surfed with my friends for the better part of the morning, until I was exhausted. This was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I will never forget the wonder I felt on the first surfing day of my life. I am hoping that surfing will now become a regular part of my life. I already love water, and now I can incorporate into my love of water. Surfing immediately became one of my favorite sports. Instant love affair. The feeling of gliding on the water just can not be repeated.'
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'My family and I went to India for what might be the last time. We greatly enjoyed spending time with our family over there.'
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"I recently went to India with my mom and sister. We have a lot of family that still lives in India so it is always great to see them. Everyone was shocked by how different we all looked. I hadn't seen some of my younger cousins since they were very young and now they are in high school and college. I was so happy to see that a lot of my cousins over there were either in good colleges or have well-paying jobs. It made me think about whether it was even worth it to move to the states. We spent a lot of time with my grandma on my mom's side. I have one grandparent left so we wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. She is getting very old obviously, and that might've been the last time we ever see her. What made this trip extra memorable was that we were all getting older so we knew that we wouldn't be able to fly to India together too much in the future. When we were leaving, everyone was very emotional. I could not help tearing up as well. It was so peaceful and stress-free over there, and I love my family, but the United States is such a better country to live in. India does not have the best healthcare system so our family members don't get the best help when they're sick. Despite that, I can't help thinking about whether my parents should've just stayed in India."
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'Last month, my brother came to visit me for his birthday. We went and did a lot of fun things and had some good food to celebrate.'
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"Last month, my brother came to visit me for his birthday. I live in a large city, so I invited him because I thought there would be a lot of fun things to do. The day that he arrived, I went to pick him up from the train station around 9 am. His train was a little late, but luckily it wasn't too long of a delay. After he dropped his stuff off at my apartment, we went to get lunch and went to the ferris wheel that overlooks part of the city. Later that day, we went to China town where we ate dinner. The next day was my brother's actual birthday. We left my apartment around noon and got a quick lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. After that, we got on the bus to go to the planetarium. We had a lot of fun looking around the planetarium and watching the show they had about a possible ninth planet. After we left, we got back on the bus to go back to my apartment. We changed clothes and got ready to go to the restaurant where we made reservations for his birthday dinner. We were going to take the train, but when we got to the station we saw the line we needed wasn't running, so we had to walk. We were almost late, but we power walked so we could make it on time. We had a nice dinner, but when we left it was pouring rain. When we got back to my apartment, we had birthday dessert and went to bed because we were both tired. Overall, it was a really fun weekend and I was glad I could spend it with my brother."
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'My ex broke up with me in a very rude way. I accepted it and simply moved on. She is trying to reconnect but I am not interested anymore.'
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"My ex and I still have no gotten back together. She still emails me telling me how poorly life is going for her and how her life is a mess without me. I feel bad for her but there isn't really a way back into my heart for her. Things that happen in our lives come with consequences. If you screw up in a relationship there can be forgiveness for certain things- but no forgiveness is promised for everything, and sometimes you can screw something up to the point where it is no longer fixable. She has been devoting herself to the protests in Hong Kong. She said she needs something in her life to focus on so that she isn't focusing on what she lost. That makes sense to me but she should focus on herself in my opinion. She has a lot of problems and those problems are holding her back from self actualization and self realization. I know she could be a special person but until she takes care of herself she will remain rough around the edges. I hope she finds someone nice in the future. I am scared that she will hurt herself because the reality of how she fucked up is hitting her. Sometimes I miss her, but I never miss the mental abuse. The language barrier was rough. I should probably date a native English speaker next."
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'I made an innocent stop at a local gas station before running some errands. At the gas station a situation outside my control, a man escalated an argument and maced several people.'
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"Aug 8, 20199 p.m.Dear Diary,My day started with a fine morning. I had my shower. Today the breakfast was very delicious. It was my favorite sandwich. After getting ready I took my bike and went outside. I had to go for some errands. On the way, I heard a strange sound. I was shocked when I saw some people standing near by the local gas station. I innocently went there to see the actual situation. I got surprised when I saw a person standing there and making arguments with the people around him and suddenly he maced several people. The situation got me out of my control and I called the police. The cops came and took the situation under their control and went with the person. The man's behavior surprised me a lot. This was a shocking and also surprising event that happened today. With Love,XXXX"
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'A frazzled young mother was dealing with a crying baby in the store. I stepped in and held her baby while she shopped in peace.'
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"Last month, I was at the grocery store. It was a rare time that I actually got out by myself. As a mother to a toddler, he's nearly always at my side. A little solitude was nice. I was walking through the aisles when I heard a baby crying. I thought, well that sounds familiar. The cries continued as a kept shopping. I finally came down the aisle where the cries originated from and saw a frazzled mother with a newborn baby, holding back tears while dodging dirty looks from passing customers. I've been there plenty of times before, and no matter how many times it happens, it's always nerve wracking. I approached the woman and told her sympathetically that I'm a mom too, and I get it. And if she needs some help, I would be happy to assist. I could tell she was unsure but also desperate for some assistance. I asked what I could help with. She said if I could hold her baby while she finished looking for all the ingredients she needed, it would be a big help. So that's what I did. I followed behind her, holding and rocking her baby to sleep while she was able to concentrate on her shopping. When she was done, she hugged me and thanked me. Even though it was a rare child-free outing for me, I still felt good about having one in my arms."
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'I was promoted to a position at my job very early into my career. I have done very well at the company so far and I see nothing but greatness in my future.'
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"I have been at my company for almost a year at this point. I was promoted about 3-4 months ago and have steadily taken on additional roles and responsibilities in my new position. Recently we lost a couple low performers on my team. I have volunteered to take on additional job duties to help spread the added work load around the team. I have continued to have nothing but success at this job and I continue to get great feedback from other workers. I have recently gotten a couple monetary bonus' for my work and have even gotten a 10% raise. I am very excited about where I am this early in my work career. I will be having my first annual review shortly and I am confident this will get me another decent raise. I can very easily see myself staying at this company for numerous years and rising even further in the ranks. I would really enjoy leading a team of analysts and having that level of power. I think I could be a very good manager, because I have had both really good and really bad managers to learn from. I am hoping for another promotion in the next review cycle and so far I have no reason to believe it won't happen. I recently joined a new team and I've been very open with my new manager that I am very interested in taking on even more tasks. I am very lucky to be where I am and I am loving my job, it is exactly what I was wanting to do after college. I am certainly open to leaving to another organization in the future, but I don't have any reason to currently."
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'My wife and I took our young son with developmental delays to an amusement park, where he had the time of his life. He demonstrated emotional maturity, pushed him and tried new things - filling his parents hearts.'
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'In the last three to six months, an event that was striking for me was taking my son to an amusement park for the first time. We went to King\'s Island. My son is five, but large for his age (big enough to go on every ride in the "Kiddie" part of the park), but he has a developmental disorder, with issues predominantly centered around attention and language. This has given him some social delays as well - and so often in exciting places (like an amusement park) it can be tough to maintain his attention on something that I want him focused on. Also, there are times when he doesn\'t have the language to communicate his needs or express what he\'s thinking about. Despite this, he\'s adventurous and likes to try new things, so going to an amusement park is sort of "up his alley" but also a type of situation that can give me anxiety due to the language and attention challenges. This trip was amazing. My son was completely excited and had the time of his life. We had worked on the word "brave" and he continued to use this term to describe himself at the park. He\'d go up to one of the kiddie rides and express that he was going to be brave and then I\'d watch him just rise to the moment. I\'ll be honest, I\'m getting emotional just remembering the look on his face when he was utterly terrified of a ride, wanted to be on it, and didn\'t want me to ride it with him. He told me he was going to be "Brave" and the determination and maturity as he faced his fear, and handled it was amazing. And beyond that, the pride he had when he got off that little ride fills my heart. There were some language difficulties, when I was asking him about some of the adult rides, "What do you think of that one? That looks big! That looks scary." He clearly misunderstood my intentions and got into a panic, becoming really scared and shouting "I don\'t want to ride it!" He calmed down when my wife explained that she wasn\'t going to make him get on the big rides. Although, honestly, he gave me a skeptical look as if to say, "You won\'t Mom, but I dunno about Dad..." He was amazing, and it was a fantastic experience this summer. It helped us see how far he had come in his development and with his language use.'
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"My cousins are from England and it was two week visit. We took them out of town to Indianapolis to see the children's museum and zoo. It was a nice time, the weather was beautiful."
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"Back in July my two cousins came from England over to Indiana to visit us. They came to visit for two weeks and stayed at my Dad's old house, he passed away in January. While they were here my mom and I wanted to do something nice with them. We decided it would be nice to take them to Indianapolis, Indiana where they have a nice children's museum and the zoo. My mom, me, my two boys, my nephew and two cousins went. We rented a hotel for the night. We got up early to get on the road and once we got there we checked into the hotel. From there we went to the museum for the day. We then went back to the hotel to swim for a bit followed by dinner. The next day we got up early and after breakfast went to the zoo. We spent the day at the zoo and then headed home. we had such a nice time. It was a fun adventure from all from age of 3 to 60 years of ago. I think it is a memory we will all have for quite some time. The weather was nice. On the way home we even stopped of a place that is an old english style pub."
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'This story is about me going back to college. Through hard work and determination I learned a lot along the way and became a better person because of it.'
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"Within this year I have gone back to college to get my degree in science. For years I have not gone to college because of my physical and mental health but decided to try because I have always wanted to complete college. It was hard. My skin conditioned made it painful to sleep let alone study and attend class. I sprained my ankle, gotten the flu and almost quit but I kept going despite having every excuse not to. Then by the end of the semester I was given a ''fun'' assignment by our Psychology professor to do something that would make us feel uncomfortable and write how we overcame that. At the same time I had to give a Ted Talk style speech in my Writing and Research class so this was a great opportunity to do both. I felt uncomfortable and I even regretted it at first but I was able to complete both of my assignments and ended up getting a B+ for each of those classes while getting As for my Math and History class. This was a roller coaster of emotions but I'm glad I did it. Now I'm stronger to continue on to my next semester which is just one week away. I was surprised at myself. I quit college 3 times the first semester before this so I was afraid I would have to pay for it all again. But it was worth it. Now I'm a step closer to my goal and I feel that I'm not just learning the subject of each class. I'm learning how to take notes better and how to approach real life problems with the tools I've learned in Psychology."
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'ONE DAY I WALKED THROUGH THE ROADSIDE. I SAW THAT SOME PEOPLE BEGGING FOR FOOD. I BROUGHT SOME FOOD FOR THEM THEY ARE VERY HAPPY'
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"This year I decided that I wanted to start more to help those less fortunate than me. Around Christmas time I started to really notice how many people were struggling around me. I knew it happened, but somehow I never really thought too much about it. About 2 weeks ago now, I was walking down the road on my way to get a cup of coffee before doing some Christmas shopping and I saw a bunch of businesses with people curled up outside them. Trying to keep themselves warm with blankets, sleeping bags and hats. Those were the lucky ones. I saw ones that were just huddled up inside doorways doing their best to stay warm and alive with empty cups in front of them, or signs. Just begging people to help them out with the basic needs that every human being needs and deserves. I don't know what it was that made me notice today of all days. Maybe because I was out spending too much money on Christmas presents that really weren't that needed when there are people who can't even afford a hot meal. I spotted one guy sitting there with just a small blanket, though he wasn't using the blanket, the blanket was curled around a small dog, who looked as though he had seen better days. I dug into my pockets and checked what I had for cash, and it wasn't much. I stopped to talk to him, and learned he had been laid off 2 years ago and lost his home and has no family near by. I talked to him for a bit learning that he found the dog abandoned one day and decided to keep him. His money that he gets from panhandling goes to feeding his dog, who is his best friend. I asked him if he was hungry and he looked at me quite surprised and said he was starving, he was lucky to eat at all each day. He asked a friend of his a few feet away to watch his dog, and off we went to get some lunch. I picked up some sandwiches for the others that I spotted and some hot cups of coffee, and of course a bag of dog food for his buddy. We delivered the food, and I've never seen such joy before. It was a good moment, I made a lot of people happy, but most of all, I made myself happy."
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'A lady was at a grocery store with her children. She went to pay and all her cards were declined. The cashier shows a decent act of kindness and pays for the groceries for her.'
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'One day I was out at Whole Foods shopping for the week. It was a cold day and it seemed like the weather was effecting the moods of the other shoppers. People were rude, they were bumping into me at the store and not even taking the time to say excuse me. As I collected my necessities for the week and I went to the check out line I noticed a young women and her two children. She was about 25 or so and her children could not have been more than a few years old each. She was young but had the weathered look of someone who was struggling a bit. Her kids were driving her crazy and I could tell she just wanted to get home. Anyways as she is going to pay she sticks her credit card into the machine and it\'s declined. She tries another card and it\'s the same result. Again and again for what seemed like an eternity. This lady with her two kids and a cart full of groceries was holding up the line and I could tell things were going to come to a head. She finally breaks down and starts weeping. I felt so terrible but as I\'m on a budget I was not in the position to help. Finally after about a minute the cashier swipes his card and says "don\'t worry mam, I know how it feels like to struggle." There had to be at least a hundred or so dollars worth of groceries and I\'m sure this cashier wasn\'t getting paid much more than $10 an hour. To take your days pay and to help out a stranger was one of the most touching things I\'ve seen. She gave this cashier a big hug and she went about her day. I felt good about the human race for the entire day after that.'
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'My partner and I decided to split up. It was a mutual breakup, but it was still difficult. My decision was made because of communication problems, so I still think that it was for the best.'
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"About four months ago, I asked my husband if we could talk. It was probably the most difficult question for me to ask him in the 18 years we have been married. After much soul searching, I just couldn't be in this relationship anymore. So we asked his mom to take our children for the evening and sat down. I explained my side to him, about how we just didn't seem in sync anymore. You see, we had tried therapy in the past, and we both attempted to compromise in the beginning, but would go back to our old habits after just a week or two. My husband's interests have deviated from mine. We didn't seem to have anything in common anymore. I would try to talk to him about my day, what I wanted to do in the future, and I grew to realize he just wasn't listening. That's when I had to dig deep and admit that I wasn't listening to him either. I spent many nights awake, sad about my relationship and he just didn't seem to notice. So when we talked that night, he agreed with me. We worked out a plan on how to separate, how to tell the kids, and go about our lives. We've been doing this for four months now and I think things are finally starting to settle. I miss him, the familiarness of our routine, but my unknown possibilities of the future excite me."
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'The over view is what has been going on in my life. Both personal and professionally. I feel as a team we are achieving a lot at a young age and we are headed in a successful positive direction and we will have a nice life together.'
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"Something that's very meaningful that happened in the past 6 to 9 months was getting married. 6 months ago I got to walk down the isle after what seemed to be the longest 7 year engagement. I was very excited to finally take a step to the future. I have been with my husband for almost 10 years so getting married was a full circle of our relationship. Even though we haven't been married long I feel like we will have a long and successful life. We are currently trying to have a baby and expand our family. We have 2 dogs but we also would like to have 2 kids. We have also since remodeled our house I kinda feel that has put some stress on our relationship due to us both working full time and going to school and redoing a house all on our own. Its very hard and challenging but we step up together and keep pushing forward to complete each project and in the end we will be better off knowing we can be put through trying times and achieve our goals. We are looking forward to continuing building our life. We are very happy together. We are very patient with each other and we know how to interact with each other always. Our relationship isn't perfect. We do fight sometimes but we always move past it fast and continue back to happy times. I'm excited to see where life takes us."
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"My story of the adoption of a rescue dog and his impact on my life so far. My initial thoughts on why I wanted to adopt as well our first day together. Also a bit of my dog's previous life experience before I got him."
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"I had been wanting to adopt a dog from my local shelter for years,but the apartment I lived in only allowed cats. I finally found the perfect house to rent with a fenced in back yard included so I was finally able to make my dream of adopting a dog my reality! I went down to the shelter and was greeted by a friendly adoption specialist named Sandy. I told Sandy I was looking for a dog that had been at the shelter awhile and had still not been adopted, because I truly wanted to give a dog like that a chance at a great life with me. Sandy immediately told me she had the perfect dog in mind. His name was Chance and he had been at the shelter for almost nine months,. He was a large pit bull mix who had been rescued from a fighting ring during a police raid. After months of one on one therapy with a dog trainer who specialized in working with dogs who had been mistreated he was finally seen as adoptable. Unfortunately because of his past, people looked him right over because he looked so intimidating and barked aggressively upon first meeting. I was taken back to see Chance in this cage and he barked at me but stopped as I bent down to his level and held out my hand. To Sandy's shock as well as my own, he actually licked my hand! After that moment I knew he was meant for me and I took him home. I already had my home ready for a dog and he had a blast sniffing all over everything in sight. I prepared a bowl of dogfood topped with wet dog food. Chance gobbled the food down and fell asleep on the rug. I tried to get him to sleep in the bed with me but he didn't want to leave his special spot on the rug. Chance will never be the type of dog who can run around the dog park or have another dog or cat in our home, but I believe with all my heart that Chance was meant to be my dog."
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'I had given up to have a pet but I won a bunny rabbit in a magic show. It has been great and my family love her now.'
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"I had never had a pet but I always wanted to, However my mom would always say no because there was nobody home to take care of a pet. I had hamsters, fish and other small pets, but I wanted a real pet that I could pet and feed. I think it had to be a dog because I don't like cats. Well, I had never thought about a rabbit. It was in a magic show that we had where this cutie pie was. I loved her when I first saw it. I think rabbits are so cute but I had never be close to one. Well, I participated to be able to get her as mine. I didn't think of what my parents could say. but soon she was given to me and I could take her home. It was funny that my mom didn't like her at first, but a few days later she was just in love with this fluffy thing. I have read a lot about rabbits to be able to take care of her. I love her. She is growing fast and likes to be pet, which I love because I thought rabbits always wanted to be alone. No, she loves to be whenever there are people and likes to lick and be pet, and gets exited when we come home just like a dog."
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'I met my current romantic partner for the first time. I picked him up at an airport and we spent a lot of time together and I loved him like I had never loved any other partner I had had. It was a time of discovery and adoration.'
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"My life has changed completely. I will never forget when I first met him at the airport 3 motnhs ago. I feel complete and adored. My romatic partner has sparked new feelings in me that no other partner has. I am in love with him, my life and everything around us. I can never take this moment for granted, I am forever grateful I met him. I need to study myself while I'm wrapped up in such feelings. I am aware that it has been much too soon for me to feel this way. Any mistake can happen and things could turn out to disappoint me. I need to be careful not for me but for others around me to.. Why do i always second guess myself like this? Why can't I just enjoy the feelings as I go? I am getting older and need to make rational decitions based on my goals and mental health not feelings. Or am I just being selfish? I've had good relationships but none that made me feel this way before. should I trust the feeling?"
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'My spouse and I went on a nature walk, where we saw a deer, ravens, and dragonflies. We ate service berries and enjoyed the fresh air and blooming trees.'
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'My husband and I went on a nature walk three weeks ago. It was a lovely Saturday. It was raining the day before so all of the trees and plants were covered in a nice covering of dew. The leaves were glistening with water and the air was fresh. My husband talked about how much he was looking forward to the day. He had a difficult week but this was curing him. We walked to the main gazebo where we were going to have some berries. Along the way there we saw a few animals. The part was known to have a lot of various animas living there. The biggest animal we saw was a deer. It was with her little doe. The two were munching on some foliage in the distance. We then saw dragonflies near the gazebo. I remember catching them during the summer with my siblings when I was growing up. They bring back fond memories.'
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'when I settled in the company I felt fortunate to be that person, It is jumping from bliss. He received the ascent he expected so much. Or on the contrary, he took it by surprise. He is too young and has advanced by leaps and bounds in that ladder of his company.'
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'I started my new job and I was optimistic. I was fortunate to be given the opportunity that I was. I was so appreciative that they were going to give me a chance. I really was under-qualified for the position. Even I can admit that I was probably going to be in over my head. I went to the job interview with the best attitude I could. I tried to be positive and talk about what I knew I was capable of. It worked! They gave me the position. I got a huge office and a big salary. I was so happy I could have exploded. It has been tough. I am trying to learn a business I know nothing about while managing a department. Some of the senior executives have said they are surprised by how I am performing. I guess they expected me to fail. I am proud of myself for taking this opportunity and climbing the ladder at the new company.'
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"My boyfriend and I decided to take a last minute beach getaway. At sunset as we were walking, he bent down on one knee and proposed. I've never been more caught off guard and ecstatic in my life."
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"Dear Diary, I am still so excited over what happened. It was really surprising. I had no idea he was going to do it. A few weeks ago, Tim and I decided that we were sick of winter already and wanted to go somewhere warm. We decided to book a trip to Florida to go spend some time at the beach. We got a pretty good deal on tickets and a resort. So the second night, we were walking on the beach around sunset. It was perfect. The weather was awesome, there was hardly anyone on the beach. Just as the sun was hitting the horizon, Tim got down on one knee and proposed! I couldnt believe it. I was so happy. I started crying and obviously said yes! Oh my god, I just can't believe it. I called Mom the next day and told her. I texted all my friends. I wish we had a picture but I'll never forget that moment. We will probably get married on the beach."
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'I was included in helping with the preparations and was able to suggest ideas to make the event even more special. We worked on this for several days and finally decided on a romantic dinner on the beach with musicians being done at sunset.'
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"While recently on vacation with friends, I was fortunate to be a part of a surprise engagement. We were out of the country and he proposer had purchased the ring prior to our trip. This was totally unexpected. I was fortunate to be able to hear the proposer ask the father for his permission. I felt a part of the event because I was asked to help the proposer with ideas and suggestions on how to make this special for everyone. He wanted us to be there to see it. Even though not exactly AT the dinner. It was exciting to help with this. It was totally unexpected to be asked to help him. His parents weren't there so I felt special. I enjoyed being able to input my ideas and thoughts into making this special and having his father there to witness it. I have only been dating her father for a few months and was very excited for the couple. Her father and I planned what food to have. We tried to get a band as well. We purchased an engagement gift."
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"After a long time apart, my daughters and my boyfriend's daughters spent a week together. They had a great time. The best part for me as a mom was watching them catch fireflies together."
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"In July, I took my two daughters, aged 7 and 9, to Ohio to see my boyfriend and his 6-year-old daughter. This was the first time our girls had been together in almost a year. We'd lived all together for a year prior. My girls and I moved back to Indiana where their dad lives. They are adorable together. You'd think they'd grown up together, so it was especially lovely reuniting them. We spent long day of swimming at the pool, teaching them pinball, and playing outside. Then we set camp chairs up out back at dusk to relax. The sun began to set. The youngest noticed the first fireflies. Within 15 minutes we'd punched holes in 3 mason jar lids for them to catch fireflies. Watching our little girls run around barefoot in the dark catching fireflies was a truly lovely moment. The simplicity of screen-free old-fashioned entertainment was heartwarming, especially when the littlest caught her first firefly. By the time they grew tired, they each had a jar full of flashing little bugs. While my boyfriend and I have struggled to maintain our relationship, I am so proud and grateful of how we've nurtured our girls' relationships with each other and can continue to give them lovely life experiences together."
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"I arrived in a foreign country and met with my sister whom I hadn't seen in nearly four years. On the way to her in-laws' house, I felt she was distant. She remained distant throughout the trip, which was heartbreaking."
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"Two weeks ago I went to visit my sister. I hadn't seen her in almost four years. She moved away with her husband to another country. It has been hard to find enough time to get away from work to go see her. She lives in Europe now and I need a lot of vacation time to be able to get over there and see her. Anyway, when I finally arrived there she seemed not that that excited to see me. When we were kids we were very close we did things together all of the time and I was so excited to catch up with her. When I got there she seemed like she was afraid of her husband or something. She didn't talk much as he was a big talker. I think he may have her brainwashed or something. I have never seen her act like this. It breaks my heart to see her as a shell of her former self. I hope she does something to fix this as I don't want to completely lose my sister. I will make it my goal to keep her connected to the family. I especially don't want my parents to be without her forever."
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'In time of tragedy and sadness, I was able to find comfort by helping others deal with their pain. I made an effort to go out of my way to be there with others and share their burden.'
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"My best friend has brain cancer and his parents asked me to drive his car and his belongings 2700 miles across the country so that they could prepare for his final days. Without any hesitation, I said yes and started to plan my trip. I drove from California to Pennsylvania and visited lots of beautiful sites that my friend would have also enjoyed. I finally made it to Pittsburgh after four days of driving and returned the car back to his family. I spent a week in the hospital visiting my friend, because on my road trip he ended up having a seizure and had to be admitted. My friend had looked a lot different from the last time I saw him. It broke my heart but I knew it would make me stronger. Every single day I spent at the hospital to be there with his family. In this time, I really grew with his parents who I never really knew before. I was able to get in contact with lots of friends who had no idea he was in the hospital and they were able to pay him a visit. I felt like I was able to send an army to help his family deal with all of this. While in Pittsburgh, I was staying with my parents, and I do not get along with my dad well. But going to the hospital brought me comfort and joy even though it was such a sad time. When it was finally time to leave to fly back to California, my friend's dad dropped me off at the hospital. We had a deep conversation and when it was time to step out of the car, I gave him the biggest hug I ever gave someone in my life. I will always remember that hug."
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'My extended family from Hawaii came over to celebrate some birthdays. We decided to go to an amusement park and we had a lot of fun together.'
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"This happened in the beginning of June. My extended family came over from Hawaii to celebrate my younger sister and my cousin's birthdays. They were born on the same day but different years. My family and I haven't seen my aunt and two cousins since we went to visit them in Hawaii back in 2015. It was really great that we were able to spend time together. During one of the days they were here, we decided to go to Knott's Berry Farm. The last time I went to Knott's Berry Farm was 10 years ago. I was very excited. There were a total of 7 of us that went. We had a lot of fun. A lot of things have changed at the amusement park. We rode a lot of rides and enjoyed good food. I was very excited that I got to eat funnel cake. It tasted so good! The most memorable thing that happened that day was when we went on a river rafting ride. I underestimated how wet the ride would be. The whole backside of my pants ended up getting wet. It was very fun. Before closing, we all decided to get matching shirts to commemorate out time there. We rarely have the chance to see each other in person so I'm glad that we were able to make a lot of memories that day."
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'I went and visited my parents a few weeks ago for the weekend. They had decided it was time to get a new cat after our old ones had passed away. We went to a shelter nearby and picked out a cute little kitten.'
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"Awhile back I went and visited my parents, due to work I had not seem them in a few months. They were all excited to see me and they also told me they wanted to get a new cat. The two cats we had while I was growing up had both passed away recently and I know my mom especially since she works from home 4 days a week had been missing their presence. She was against getting another Cat because it was really painful for her when we put them to sleep to the point where she had almost collapsed in the Vet's office. But I think enough time had passed that she wanted another Cat. So that Sunday morning we ate breakfast and then went to a local Cat shelter to look at some kittens. They had a special room where they kept all the kittens. We saw a whole bunch of kittens in the cages we had but there was one that was especially cute. The people at the shelter took him and his sister out of the cage and put us in a room with the two so we can interact with them. The female kitten was partially rambunctious, while the male one was more meek. My parents then stated they wanted the male one but were not going to take the female Kitten for she was too energetic. They were worried about her climbing everywhere and destroying things around the house. You see our old cats were very calm and docile as well as sweet so they were a but put off by the energy level of the female kitten. We then filled out the paperwork, I tried my best to talk my folks into taking both of them since I felt it was cruel to separate kittens but ultimately they had decided against it. It was really great to see my mom that happy again, as her days are now much more full with a little kitten running around the house."
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'This is a story about me and how I decided to stop loving on auto pilot. I chose to change everything.'
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"I always feel like I am not in the moment. I feel like I'm living my days like a robot and not connecting with anyone. It's like a lightbulb went off and I realized what all I'm missing out on. I've been going through the motions of the day and going about my life like a schedule. Now, that I finally see what I've been doing I know what I have to change. It means no more living on auto pilot and loving the same way. I realize how I need to take the extra time to show my kids how much I love them and not just expect them to just know. I realize I need to change up the monotonous everyday and show them by actually saying it more out loud and not expecting them to know because I do the standard things everyday that they've come to expect of me. Everyone needs to truly feel and understand that they're loved which I've realized can't be done on the same monotonous auto pilot mode. It's time to go outside of the norm and truly show it. I have literally changed my everyday life from a simple realization. By actually showing my love and speaking my truth it has made not only my children much happier and more willing to talk openly to me about what's going on in their lives, but it's also made me so much happier. Living on auto pilot happens way to often and I feel like I can't be the only one in the same boat. I feel like my advice when talking with friends and family has really had a positive impact on them as well. It's sad that we forget, so often, that our loved ones should just see our love just because we do the things we are required to do to care for one another. It is not only myself living on auto pilot but me putting my kids on auto pilot and I had to make a change. I'm so thankful I did because it's made my relationship with my children a much more positive one."
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'I was told by my doctor to have an abortion because my baby might have down syndrome. I did not get the test to determine if he did have down syndrome. I also did not get the abortion. The baby eventually was born premature by 3 months but overall is a healthy baby at this point.'
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"About four months ago I gave birth to my baby, prematurely, weighing only 2lbs. 15oz. The baby was so tiny I was so scared to hold the baby once I was allowed because I was afraid I might break something on him. While pregnant my doctor told me I should get an abortion because my baby more than likely had down syndrome. She told me they could administer a test that would let me know for sure if he in fact had down syndrome. The test involved sticking a needle into my stomach and retrieving fluid from the wound to diagnose the baby. The problem was that if I agreed to the test it would increase the chances of the baby actually having down syndrome. It didn't make any sense to me because I figured I didn't need to know if the baby had it or not because I would love him no matter the circumstances. Fast forward to 4 months ago and I feel a sharp pain while on the toilet at home, I immediately call 911 and get into ambulance. By time i made it to a room and they went and got the doctor the baby was already out. he was 3 months earlier than his due date. I could tell right away that the baby did not have down syndrome but I wasn't particularly worried about that I was more concerned about if he was breathing and yes, indeed he was. he fought his way through the NICU and came after only two months. He will have some developmental delays besides the ones that are obvious from being premature but overall I am just happy that I have my baby and love him to death. he is a joy."
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'Me and my cousin had a birthday party together. We both had a switch and played the game together for hours. We had the best time and had lots of fun.'
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'I remember my 28th birthday was probably the best in my life. My cousin is 3 days younger than me and we celebrated our birthdays together. I remember that we went to our favorite park and invited lots of friends and lots of family. We had two grills cooking lots of burgers, hot dogs, different meats like steak, sausage and ribs. We all ate and laughed and played water guns, and water balloons. I got a new nintendo switch that day and so did my cousin, with the same game. The new pokemon game that came out that year. It was trully special because I have been wanting it for years and I finally gotten it. We played for hours and even had to take a break. I will never forget those moments as me and my cousin played side by side for hours on a day between our birthdays. We trully felt like we shared those moments. We caught pokemon that was different then eachothers and we battled them as we caught new ones. We just simply linked our gameboys and played agianst eachother. People at the party were watching us and even rooting for me and my cousin as we had intense matches that day. All lower level pokemons. Me and my cousins are some big time fans of pokemon. The people at the party thought we were ridiculous for playing games like this but this makes us happy!'
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"My sister's wedding at a small farm. The reception was quite memorable. I was able to catch up with people and this reception was quite fun, and therefore, enjoyable."
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'Four months ago this past weekend, I went to my sister Jane\'s wedding. She and her fiancee (now husband) were married on a small hobby farm about 45 minutes away. They wanted to get married in a field, which is what they got: a small meadow in a grove of old-growth oaks. The weather was unseasonably cool, and basically perfect: blue sky with fluffy white clouds, only about 80 degrees, and not a drop of rain. I finally know what they mean when they say a bride looks radiant: I\'ve never seen Jane looking so happy! The ceremony was conducted by Uncle Tad. He made some moving remarks. Afterwards, we took tractors and trams across the highway to a little "lodge" and retreat center. I saw so many of our friends and family and it was great to reminisce and play "catch up" with them. I gave a toast that I worked on for weeks, and Jane cried a little. Dinner was excellent and we danced the night away! I also made a lot of new friends, including a college friend of my sister\'s. She and I really hit it off! I got her phone number and we have been texting almost every day! All in all the day was beautiful and wonderful--just like Jane. It was a perfect day, just like she deserved.'
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'I went deep sea fishing with my family. We caught a lot of fish and cooked them when we got back home.'
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'Dear Diary...Today was a good day. Me, mom, dad, pat and jimmy went to the docks and we rented this boat from some guy. He was really nice, he seemed interested in what we were gonna do. We all decided to go on a deep sea fishing trip for the day. We all made turkey and ham sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and of course had plenty of water. We made our way out to the docks which is about a 2 hour drive from the house. We leave really really early in the morning. Its still dark out when we leave. me pay and jimmy sleep in the back of the car on th eway there. I think mom falls asleep too im sure, because my dad drove. We dont get alot of time to go out as a family anymore because we are all so busy with work, school and everything else going on in our lives right now. This will probably be the last time for me as well. The baby is coming in a few months. I still have so much shopping to do!!! Well anyways, when we got home we put all of our fish together. We had so much fish. We cooked them and we all had our own spices that we wanted to use so we ended up cooking the fish in our own spices and shared with eceryone else so we got to taste everyones favorite spices. it was such a great day, i hope we could do thi severy day! but life gets in the way too much.'
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"I was dying on a cold and wet cement parking lot in my house slipper while one was missing. My best shirt was torn open by metallic cold scissors that had just missed my chest by inches. I laid on a medic bed, & died for the second time with IV's attached to my arms."
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"In late May of 2019 I had a overdose at a unexpected time in my life. I was going through many things such as my mother being in a comatose state, me losing my job, and falling in love with someone who didn't deserve me. During this time I fell back deeply in love with something other than myself or another person. I felt back on something that was dependable and reliant. I fell back on drugs. I knew that it would happen to someone, but never that it would happen to me. I couldn't bring my self to believe that I would someday need Naloxone to be revived from the point of death twice. The effects of the drugs started to happen around 7:00 pm est when I started to go into a heavy sleep. My friend pulled the car over to assist me in waking up and start CPR on myself until the ambulance arrived. I took the ambulance about 15 minutes to get there, and to administer the Naloxone. At this point I was unconscious with no pulse until the Naloxone was administered. Once inside of the ambulance I died once more with no pulse until the EMT attendants started CPR and resuscitated me. I ended up going to the nearest hospital which was about 25 minutes away. I was kept in isolation for about six hours while the nurses and doctors ran test on me. I ended up having side effects from the situation. I was diagnosed with pneumonia, collapsed lungs, and bruised lungs. I was released from the hospital that night, but had to return for a two day stay at the commonwealth hospital. I had never felt so drained in my life before until this moment were i felt like i could just rest, and finally be safe."
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'My car was towed to an impound yard. It was a nasty move on the part of my landlady. I had to sue to recover my expenses.'
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"I was so upset by my landlady! Six weeks ago I went to go to my job. I have a job that requires me to be there 5 days a week. I headed out to my car as always in the early morning. Much to my surprise my car was not there! Can you imagine how my heart sank? I had no idea what happened to my car. Worse of all I had no way to get to my job on time. I came to find out that my landlady did not approve of the way I parked in the lot. Since this upset her she decided to have my car towed! Instead of calling me first she just made a knee jerk decision and called to have my car towed. I had to incur the expenses of the impound yard. To recover these costs I have decided to sue my landlady. There was no reason for her to go to that extreme and I am certain I will recover the costs. I am not someone who is sue happy but since she won't reimburse me I have no other choice. This could have all been avoided had she just kindly called me. We all have our assigned parking spaces and she knew the car was mine."
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"It was my wife's birthday at an all inclusive resort. We had a blast there. We danced alot, we ate alot, and we drank alot. We also did alot of activities."
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"Me and my wife went to an all inclusive resort in Mexico. It was a Sandals resort and everything was included such as drinks, food, and sleeping arrangements. We went for her birthday because she had never been out of the country and always wanted to. On the first day, we decided to just relax a bit and drink on the beach. It was a lot of fun because we could just talk together. I have never been able to spend that much alone time with my wife because we are constantly hanging out with our children. It was very nice to be able to get away. As the vacation went on we decided we wanted to do some sort of physical activity. We did a high ropes course right off the beach that made me a bit nervous, but that my wife loved it. I don't like heights that much and many objects were swinging at a high height. I was able to jump from space to space, but often would fall and dangle from the top. We also decided to go on a quick cruise that took us out at sunset to watch some dolphins swimming in the ocean. The sunset was absolutely beautiful and we didn't see many dolphins, but the company from being next to my wife was the best. Almost every night we would go dancing too. There was a bar that had a huge dance floor and lots of people would come out and we would all just dance together and chill. It was great to be with my wife, but also be surrounded by other people. We didn't want this vacation to end, but eventually we had to leave and return to our kids so we had to. I wouldn't trade this trip for the world."
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"We went to attend my friend's first anniversary party. I met my brother there unexpectedly who came from foreign country surprisingly."
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"This incident happened two months back. Myself and my spouse planned to attend my friend's first anniversary party in evening. Due to that I came soon from office. My spouse was ready to attend the party. Soon after reaching home I got freshen myself and got ready. We booked a cab to reach the party place. After reaching the place I met with my childhood friends which I didn't expect. We enjoyed the party very well. But I missed my brother because he was close to my friend. As he is in a foreign country for a personal work, two days before he said that he will come next month as his work not yet over. While thinking that a person patted me at my back. I got shocked and turned to see who was that. To my surprise it was my brother. He already made a plan to visit me surprisingly in out friend's anniversary party. After suddenly meeting him I fell in tears and hugged him. That was my most memorable moment in recent times."
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'I got a promotion and it changed my life. I was struggling with depression and anxiety and change of work time is helping me a big deal.'
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"I got a promotion about two years ago. It changed my life because I was struggling with debt and now I suddenly didn't have to worry about it anymore. I was able to pay off bills and live comfortably. It surprised me because I wasn't expecting it when it happened. Also, it was much needed. I've only received a promotion twice before in my life, so it was a happy surprise. My family sudden was able to get by and live comfortably. I got more respect at work. I was proud of the recognition. I felt like a new man walking into work. I was more confident in my abilities. I felt like I had more of say. When I had something to say, I felt like it had more weight. I was even able to get a new car. Overall, it was a very good feeling. I can't wait for my next promotion. I don't even know what I'll do with that extra money. Maybe I'll save it. Maybe I'll retire earlier. Who knows?"
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'I went hiking on a beautiful day. Saw some gorgeous waterfalls. Slipped on a wet tree root and broke my leg/ankle/foot. It was a life changing, very memorable day for me'
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"Journal, I am writing today about a very memorable event. The day was February 2nd. J and I went for a hike. I decided to check out the back side of the rapids near a waterfall. Unfortunately, I slipped on a wet tree root and broke my leg/ankle/foot. I had to be brought out of the woods by the park rangers, rescue squad and fire department. Later that night, we made it to the ER. I had my leg set and 2 days later an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. We had to wait 3 days to have surgery. Now 5 months later, here I am. Still gimping. Someday I hope to get back to my normal life. I miss walking like a normal person. It can't come soon enough. One of these days I will be able to do all the fun stuff again."
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'I had the most memorable birth experience on valentines day. Nothing tops a Valentines day like the one we had, along with a little rule breaking, and affirming the love we have for each other.'
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'Dear Diary, I had my baby boy! i was so excited when the clock struck right past midnight. I knew then i was going to have a Valentines baby! when i first found out the estimated delivery date, i really didn\'t mind being a couple days past my due date. I wouldn\'t imagine anyone would want to be in the hospital giving birth on that holiday, however.. my boyfriend and i had the best Valentines Day we could have imagined. He helped me walk up and down the halls to quicken the process, which i loved because it reminded me of his support, as we were walking the halls, the nurses at the nurses station were listening to the radio, it was almost serendipitous that our favorite song came on, and how fitting it was for the situation. (stand by me, by: Ben E. King). Then, after we finished walking up and down the halls, we got an all inclusive hospital meal! ha ha! dinner for two! i believe it was a pot roast with mashed potatoes, carrots, apple sauce and some sparkling juice, with our plastic champagne glasses. :) Finally, the whirlpool tub is "technically" only meant for the mother to help soothe her while her body contracts. once the nurses left the room we both got in the whirlpool! ha ha! it was a nice, relaxing, and intimate time. My boyfriend was such an awesome support, and it really made me realize the abundance of love we have for each other, we made and anxious time so memorable and stress free. Of course the best time was welcoming our brand new baby boy into the world. I\'ve never seen my boyfriend so vulnerable, i could tell in that instant he fell in love like never before.'
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'Approximately, 3 weeks ago I had an abortion. I felt sad, confused, upset and hurt by this experience. I am confident that I have made the right decision for myself and my family.'
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'Approximately, 3 weeks ago I had an abortion. I was approximately 10 weeks pregnant at the time of the abortion. I had to wake up early on a Saturday morning, miss work and sit alone in an abortion clinic for hours. I felt sad, confused, upset and hurt by this experience. The father of the child was not there for support, making the situation that much harder. I was given a pill in office and a set of 4 pills to take home with me and take the next day. I left the office that day and went home to the 6 beautiful children that I already have. While upsetting, I was content and confident in my decision. The next day around 3 PM, I took the second set of pills. At this point the physical pain began and lasted several hours. Luckily, I had my amazing best friends there to comfort me. Now, 3 weeks later I am trying to move past this situation. I am also trying to be more careful in making sure I am not put in this situation again. Most importantly, I am focusing on my children. I am confident that I have made the right decision for myself and my family.'
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'In my cousin wedding, we just celebrate that function with our family We have have a lots of fun in that time and play some games in that night.'
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'Two weeks ago, my my family and me planned to join in the wedding ceremony of my cousin brother. He lives in Los Angeles. he is a software developer in a private concern. his future wife also working with him. We just went to the Los Angeles before a day of wedding. My friends are also joined in that ceremony. we planned to give surprise to my brother.On the wedding day, we decorated the groom and take it him in the wedding hall. after wedding, we started to execute our plan. In evening we arranged party for our relatives, friends and neighbors. In this party we just arranged various events Such as singing, dancing etc. During that fun moment, my cousin was watching those events happily. Suddenly A big hand touch his shoulder. he felt that touch. So he turned. Gigantic Thanos standing in back of him. he slightly shocked. Thanos is a full of our work. After few seconds, Marvel theme music started to play.All of the guests were stunned. After few seconds Spider man jumped down among people . ,Thor ran towards guests. And also Iron man appeared among the people. They started to cheer. all of those marvel characters were engaged the guests. Guests were enjoyed in the moment. I always know that my cousin is the big fan of Marvel comics. So I decided to surprise him by his favorite characters.'
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'I was attacked while walking home from work. I was beaten by a mob of black males. They robbed me, stripped me naked, and put me in the hospital.'
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'Around three months ago was the absolute worst day of my life. I was walking home from my job as a bank teller at the local bank when the most horrible thing happened that I am still afraid to talk about, let alone write about. I was about 3 blocks from my house when I was accosted by a group of very angry and aggressive black youths. This is a rough part of my neighborhood so I was used to some aggressive behavior being a white male in a majority minority area but this day was different. They were obviously inebriated and out for blood this evening. The leader of the group approached me and called me all sorts of vile, racist names and asked me what the hell I was doing in their neighborhood. I tried to reason with them but I could tell their as no appeasing them. I still held onto hope I could get out of this situation unscathed until I was broadsided upside my head with a bottle. This was only the beginning of my nightmare. I was than kicked and punched until blood was pouring down my face. All I could do was curl in a ball and pray that it would end quickly. I had little hope as they were too many and everyone wanted a turn on me. Before I lost consciousnesses, one of the little bastards ripped my wallet out of my pants ripping the pocket and than spat upon me. I wish this was the end but unfortunately no, they than proceeded to strip me naked. After this I was hit with a heavy object and everything went completely dark. I awoke in the hospital with my fiance and mother crying. I learned that my face was permanently disfigured and that I would need years of plastic surgery. I now have and suffer daily from PTSD. I am an agoraphobic and do not want to leave the house. Because of this and my horrible disfigurement I believe my fiance wants to leave me. Now, my only thoughts are concerned with revenge!!!'
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'I read a book about a woman who had cervical cancer and died as a result. Her cells were taken for research and decades later, it was found that her cells had strains of the HPV virus. As a result, an HPV vaccine was developed which taught me the importance of continuing my HPV immunization.'
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'Ive had a few family members that had HPV before the vaccine was invented. My uncle Tommy, and my great grandfather abraham. This is what sparked my interest in studying the virus and eventually reading a book about it. I wanted to know the details of the disease. How it affected the immune system and cells of the body. I wanted to know how they thought about about and how they created the vaccine. After reading the book it made me realize how important hpv vaccine really is. My mother was extremely upset when my uncle passed away when she was just a child and when she found out there was a vaccine for it recently it motivated her to get vaccinated as well. I dont know much information about my great grandfather but knew how he died. I told my mom to read the book and my brother. My brother didnt listen and didnt seem to care when I brought it up. My mom skimmed through the book. I didnt have to convince her to get the vaccine because she already knew how important it was. I will continue to get vaccinated hwenever I am due. I will also get other important vaccines because there is some deadly diseases flying around and it is good to be safe than sorry.'
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'Encountering three aggressive dogs while walking. The animals did not back off as most dogs would, and did not seem to be tied to any particular house.'
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'I was walking around my neighborhood. In the last month, I had been trying to exercise more. Originally I had to go really early, but as the heat of the summer died down, I was going out later in the day. I had worked out several different walking paths that would give me different distances. I was trying to walk at least two miles a day, but wanted it to be closer to three. I made myself get up, despite being tired. I walked out from my house and started the initial circuit. I was tempted to cut it short and walk a shorter path. But I decided to make at least the middle distance. I played music with an energetic beat on my phone and put on headphones. The music helped me pick up the pace. I was thinking about things I had to do during the day, and trying to psych myself up to do them. Then while I was approaching the corner furthest from my home three dogs ran up to me. They were barking wildly and jumping at me. It was clearly pack attack behavior. They were small to mid-sized, but my heart was racing and I was really getting scared. I kept trying to back up and they kept following. I was wearing shorts and was afraid they would bite me. I did not have anything to defend myself with. I took a swing at them and kept yelling. Eventually, they took off. I walked back and one of the neighbors was watching. She said the dogs had been causing problem the last few days. I decided to give up on the walk and went home. I was really stressed and t took a while to calm down.'
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"I was finally able to save up enough money to buy myself a car without anyone else's help. I have not had my own car in about 6 years so it was definitely a nice feeling."
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"Here I am at the 6 year mark of my divorce. It has been a struggle to provide for the kids, also being a woman, fair pay is so out the window, but I am proud to say that 4 months ago I managed to buy a new car. Since this is a diary I can vent without bothering the friends who have put up with me over these years. After the divorce I found myself juggling , well, everything. I managed to find a part time job and vowed to use that money for a car. Yes it took 6 years, but everything is a learning experience in life; don't you think? I would like to pat myself on the back and say I did it all by myself. That would be a lie. Although I have done the work , the planning, the negotiating (mostly with the kids), the financing and all that goes with it by myself, I have friends and family. These people have been there for me to babysit, to drag me out for a drink or just sit with me and provide a shoulder to cry on, or even better a great big much needed , laugh! I do have to say I am proud of myself. I also might mention it was no easy feat. The bottom line is that women will always work harder for less, until we (women) stop bringing up our boys with the idea that they are kings (I know it is hard but these boys grow to men and control us; oops off script;). I will say that I feel so very happy to have accomplished this. Pride is not a terrible thing if it is a motivator for triumph!"
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"My partner and I, despite being lazy, planned a trip with a friend we'd only met online. I had some anxiety about the trip, but it ended up being great."
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"Recently I took a trip with my partner, Karl, to an amusement park about an hour east called Kentucky Kingdom. We don't have a ton of money to spend on vacation, so any little trip is a big deal for us. Also we totally suck at planning things, and hadn't done anything all summer, until we really buckled down and started making a cohesive plan. We splurged and got a hotel near the park for two nights, and invited a friend of ours from Tennessee to come stay with us too. His name was Nick, and we'd never met him.\tThat is to say, we met him on Twitch. Karl and I started streaming a little over a year ago, and while I got bored of it fairly quickly, he kept at it and ended up starting a small group of streamers. Nick was one of the first members added to the group, all of us fans of the game Dropmix (a strange music/card game hybrid). In the months that followed we would all become closer watching each others stream at different times of the day, keeping each other company at work and so on. So when we invited him to stay with us, we felt like we knew him.\tI would describe myself as having a high degree of social anxiety. I had some hesitation about meeting someone in real life who only knew me from my online persona.\tBut it ended up being awesome! Karl, Nick, and myself all share a love of roller coasters in addition to weird card games, and surprisingly none of us had ever been to Kentucky Kingdom before. The lines were short and they offered free soda to visitors from out of town (I won't say no!), the rides were awesome, and the people-watching was on point. The only drawback to the whole thing was that Nick and Karl both snore. But I'd had enough to drink each night that it wasn't much of an issue. I ended up feeling glad that we rallied and planned a trip, however quaint. It's something more people should try. Even just a few days away with friends made the stressful reality of day to day life a little more tolerable."
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'One day I was shopping & I let a woman go ahead of me in the checkout line. She then handed me money for helping her out.'
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"A few months ago, I was at a store shopping and I didn't get a cart. I had several items as I finished my quick trip. When I got to the checkout, there were a few people ahead of me. I waited patiently to get to the register. As I was waiting I noticed a woman behind me with e few items. I offered to let her go ahead of me. She gratefully accepted and thanked me. After a couple of minutes, she was next at the checkout. The cashier completed her order and gave the woman her change. The woman then turned around to me and handed me a hundred dollar bill. I was so shocked, I couldn't believe it! I tried telling her no but she wouldn't let me give it back to her. She said I had done her a great favor. I kept thanking her over and over. I never would have expected anything so generous. I ended up with such a huge smile on my face that lasted forever, it seemed. Now every time I go to that store I get a smile on my face as I remember what that wonderful stranger did that day. I think she was an Angel or something."
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"When I was in my first marriage and facing the Why isn't this marriage enough? question myself, I had some soul-searching to do. I began where it felt easy: by blaming my husband."
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"I created a story in my mind that he couldn't love me the way I needed to be loved. I told myself that I wanted something he couldn't give. There is some truth to that, but that's not the full story. To find some healing, I had to own my part in the creation of my experience. I knew who he was when I met him. He was the one who was safe and secure. He was also reserved and structured. He was the guy every parent would want their daughter to marry. I ignored the fact that there was very little spontaneity or passion in his life and in our relationship. I didn't question the absence of those ingredients. I did what I was supposed to do, hid my heart, kept myself busy and distracted, kept myself from getting hurt. I made that trade-off and, to a certain degree, it served me. Let me say that again…It. Served. Me. I could stay hidden – making my life look picture-perfect – and in doing so, possibly avoid the judgment of others and being hurt by someone I might have really allowed into my heart. But every bit of that was my fears, my mask, and my choices. For me, in the end, it was still the right decision to release that marriage, but I wish I would have known everything I know today before I made that decision, because I would have handled things differently and certainly, more gently. Not as many people would have been hurt or impacted in the process."
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'I admitted myself into a crisis stabilization unit because I was suicidal, drunk and sick of being addicted to alcohol. I was there for seven hours with my personal property removed and monitored by staff. I was allowed to leave after seven hours.'
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"I haven't been able to write in this journal for a little while, life has been pretty crazy lately but I feel like I am taking the steps to improve my life. About two months ago, I had a hard day at work, my boss gave me a second warning about being late and warned me that next time I would be fired. On my way home from work that day, I stopped off at the liquor store and bought a jug of vodka. When I got to my car, I immediately started drinking, I felt so hopeless and like I had nothing to live for. I felt like my boss hated me and it seems like she lets other coworkers get away with a lot more stuff than me. All of my bills are late, my pay check barely covers my bills. I started the car and started driving, I was going to go drive my car off the make out hill. I got to the top of the hill and my phone rang. My moms picture was staring at me. I knew I couldn't leave her, she would be devastated if I took my own life. I knew where I could get help, a friend of mine had went to a crisis stabilization unit a few weeks ago because she had started cutting her self again. I googled the address and followed the directions. When I arrived to the parking lot of the init it was a small white building with red and yellow tulips in front. I was ashamed and didn't want to go in. There was a knock on my car window. I looked up to see a guy in a blue polo shirt looking at me very concerned. I opened the door and he asked if I was alright. I told him I wasn't and I needed help. He said he would walk me in and help me check in. I was taken into a room and a lady checked that I didn't have any drugs or weapons. I was given hospital pajamas and told to put them on. All of my personal belongings were taken into the units custody. Soon a psychologist came into give me an evaluation. After I was at this place for seven hours with staff members monitoring me, I was told I could leave if there was someone who would come and get me. I called my mom and she came and picked me up, was so scared she was going to be mad at me, but when she arrived she gave me a huge hug as tears were streaming down her cheeks, she told me she was going to help me with my drinking problem and she loved me."
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'Public art is fun and makes the neighborhood proud. Many neighbors came together to paint a fun mural in the middle of the intersection. It was my first time to paint on a street and the first time to paint a ten foot manatee.'
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'It was a hot day in July that our community decided to paint a mural on an intersection for public art. I had decided to volunteer to help paint. I signed up for the morning shift and arrived a bit early. They had started to paint the street with primer for where the design would be painted. While I waited for that to be finished, I signed in so that the city could keep track of the amount of volunteer hours that everyone preformed. I then was instructed to have some of the donuts and water that had been brought. As I ate my donut, I noticed a couple chickens crossing the road. I was told that they lived on the block. I went back to get my camera and take a few pictures of the chickens and the beginning of the artwork. I finished taking the pictures and they were ready for me to start helping. I found a paint roller and chose to start with painting the yellow rays of sunlight. It took a couple hours but it looked great. I had wanted to paint a part of the mural that I could come back and say, I did that. I decided to paint the manatee. It had already been drawn so I got the grey paint mixed and started to paint it. A young girl, who was visiting the neighborhood, asked to help paint. I directed her to where there were more paint brushes and she soon came back. It was a fun time painting the manatee. The outline of the manatee looked really bad at this point, so I got some black paint and went over the entire outline having to change some of what we had previously painted. When I was finished with the outline, it looked great and everyone was really happy with it. I then took a picture of it and went home happily knowing that there was a manatee painted on that street by me.'
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'The worst day of my life when I lost my best friend my grandfather. I was away from him when he was fighting with his life. I could not even meet him at his last time which I still regret about.'
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'Today I am going to share something that I never wanted to think again in my life. However, after reading the requirement that was the first thing came in my mind. This happened almost three months ago while I was away from home. I loved my grandfather so much. I was so close to him. He used to tell me a lot of old stories about him and I used to enjoy them a lot. We always had so much fun together. So I had to go out of state for some work related issues for about two weeks or so. In that time my grandfather was really fit and had no health issues whatsoever. However, after few days I got a call from my mom that the grandfather just had a heart attack and he is in ICU now. I had no words to say. I got so panic and did not know what to do. I went straight to the airport and found out the flight just left and the next flight was in about 3-4 hours. I had no choice but to wait for the flight. Those three to four hours for me were like three to four years that day. I just wanted to go to the hospital and see him. Anyway finally, after waiting for couple hours I took the flight and went straight to the hospital. When I reached there I saw that everyone crying and hugging each other. I asked my mom what happened, where is grandpa? Is he okay? She said "he is no more, he left us". When I heard this I felt like I lost my best friend. A friend that I used to share everything of my life. That was a big loss of my life. I still miss him a lot in so many cases and still cry remembering his stories.'
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'My family and i went to six flags this weekend as a last minute thing. It was short, but fun! Something i definitely want to do again, except more planned out next time!'
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"I decided to have a fun day with my kids one day. I had a bit of money saved up. So, i woke everyone up early, and i got them all dressed, and into the car. We drove out about 3 hours, and when the kids saw where we were going, they were exstatic! We went in and we stayed there about half of the day because we didn't have any swim clothes so the clothes we had got soaked pretty early. Next time i want to plan it out ahead of time so we have everything we need. I will write it down in the calender at least a month in advance. We will look up the weather, and we will pack clothes accordingly. I didn't remember to take diapers the last time either. So, diapers are definitely a must, along with wipes for the kids. Other than diapers and clothes, i would probably take toys for the baby as well. A stroller would be great, too. Basically i would need to have all the essentials for my kids in order to stay and have fun all day long. If we have everything we need, it will be much more enjoyable since we won't need to be worrying about anythnig but enjoying ourselves. If we thought we had alot of fun this first time, we will definitley have a load of more fun when we're actually prepared."
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"My cat got sick. I took him to the vet. He passed away a few weeks later. It was a fairly crappy event, but I don't know how it could have been avoided."
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"Well, my cat passed away a few months back. He'd been acting somewhat strangely, loss of appetite and moping around. So one night he seems even more off than usual and is somewhat short of breath. I put him in the truck and off we go to the all-night vet. After a couple hours hanging around in the waiting room the vet summons me into the back to tell me that he had lung cancer. Christ knows how he got that. Anyhow, she was of the opinion that maybe we ought to just put him down right then and there, but instead of that she gave me some pain medication for him and home we went. He lasted a few more weeks, and some of the time he seemed to be doing pretty well. One morning though it was just time, and we both knew it, so I carried him down to the normal vet and that was that. His ashes are in a little box now. On the kitchen table actually. I suppose I should find somewhere more official for them to go, but he always did like hanging out in the kitchen. There are worse places to be I guess. It was a rough few months after that. There's not much to be done about it though. It's a shame cats don't last longer than that, but such is life."
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'During the summer semester, I decided to run commute to school. My goal was to travel to two campuses twice a week until the semester had ended. During the commute, I have met new people that was able to offer me a ride once in a while.'
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"About four months ago I decided to take a few classes during the summer semester at my school. It was going to be a bit difficult because some of the classes were on another campus in a neighboring city. It kind of worried me because my car is older and has had some trouble and I didn't want it to break down during any of the trips. Also I wasn't sure I would be able to afford the gas cost. I am a full-time student, so I don't have a full-time job. It was only twice a week, so I figured it wouldn't be too bad. I ended up meeting some folks that were taking the same classes as me that also went to the other campus. We got to talking and figured out a ride-sharing schedule that allowed us to rotate who drove each other to and from the campuses. Like one person would drive this week and then another would drive next week and the next week I would drive, etc. That way no one person had to put the mileage on their car and we all chipped in for gas. I was so thankful that I met that group, because I was really having trouble making ends meet with how much gas I was using making those trips. It doesn't seem like much, but even a few bucks can make the difference for a college student. I like carpooling because we get to talk about a lot of things on the ride. I found out that Bob and I like the same hockey team and we are going to go to a game next week. I also learned that Jan is from my same hometown, we went to different highschools but we used to hang out at some of the same places. I'm really lucky that I found these folks and that I get along so well with them. It would be hard to be stuck in a car with people you didn't get along with for a couple hours just to save some gas money!"
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'My son followed his dream and opened up his own Texas BBQ restaurant. My wife and I had given him a couple of months to get things like he wanted before we came to eat for the first time. We finally made the drive over there to check it out.'
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"Mona and I went to Brett's Backyard BBQ in Rockdale today. It was the first time we'd been able to go to our own son's restaurant since he opened it in October. The drive to Rockdale was a little shorter than I imagined. Fifty miles from driveway to parking lot. A short hour depending on traffic. I'm glad we went on a Thursday. There's usually a long line to get to the window just to order but today we only had to wait about eight minutes. I got the combination plate of brisket and ribs. Mona got turkey breast as usual. They brought it out to us in less than ten minutes and we sat at a picnic table under the large pecan trees that surrounded the lot. I have to admit it was among the best Texas style brisket that I've ever had. I couldn't believe that my own son had turned his hobby of competing in BBQ competitions all over Texas into an actual restaurant. And this place was fast becoming a recognized BBQ joint on the famed Texas BBQ trail. Texas Monthly had singled Brett's place out in the top 50 in the state and among the top 25 new places in the state. It was that good! I'm proud that Brett followed his passion and opened up his own place. He's getting a lot of recognition for his BBQ in terms of taste, quality, and innovation in the dishes he comes up with. It is definitely not the typical old style Texas BBQ. This is true craft BBQ on par with Aaron Franklin's place in Austin. He's competing on that level now. I would never have believed that when he first started talking about doing this some years ago. I really thought it would never happen but here I was sitting down at my son's dream BBQ joint and it was really good stuff. I couldn't be happier for him or prouder of him right now. I hope it all works out for him long term. He works long hours and I worry about him burning out but he is a people person and he loves to create new dishes and serve them to his friends."
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'The car accident cause in the street but not that much of injury or hurts to the people in the road as well as in the car.'
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"It was a nice Sunday, and i was driving home from the grocery shop. Traffic was heavy as usual downtown, yet fluid in movement. Students from the local university were outside drinking , partying, and taking in the sun. Then it happened ,I absently took my eyes off the road and car in the front of me for a second to look, to take in the scenery and when i looked back, the car in front of me had come to a quick stop. I slammed on the brakes, but it was not enough to prevent a car accident. Thankfully no one was hurt , numbers and dollars signs started running through the my heed, as typical for anyone who has been in an accident, but specially so for a wife of a personal finance blogger. So i like to share this information in this time because its the most valuable and memorable event of my life, as well its also an beautiful event for my life. On that time i felt very bad about that suddenly looked car and shocked a second for avoiding that incident. But god's grace i won't make any damages to that car as well as a people who are all in that road. So that this incident made me to feel proud and teach me a lots of lessons through that single minute, the very worst drawback was i won't wear my seat belts too at that incident happenings, but if the accident happens and I definitely met with the greater injuries because of that worst event. The opposite driver was also a very good driver who has a lots and lots of experience in driving because he easily control the vehicle in preventing the accident,the major accident was reduced because of that driver's anxiety and smartness. But now a days people won't have that much amount of smartness on the hardest situations, like this driving incident we should have a clear cut of ideas about what we are going to do, because we need a very much of talent in this controlling feelings. so I advice every one to follow the rules and regulations to find the happiness in their life, i recommend everyone to follow the rules after this incident because i experience the clear cut of accident. After that i advice everyone to stay constant and be brave on taking decisions as well as people was also started to believe in my words because of this incident. sometimes i admired those believe which gave to me by the people around me . As well I advice them to teach the traffic rules and create some awareness to the irrespective people like me to avoid the accidents. They also respect my words and started to create awareness among the irrespective and rural people to follow the rules and regulations, it will help their life to be strong and live the stress free life too."
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'My husband took me to the new Star Wars land, which really excited me. While we were there, he surprised me with a necklace that is a replica from Episode 8.'
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"I recently went on vacation with my husband to Walt Disney World in Florida. One of the most memorable things that happened on that trip was when my husband took me to the new Star Wars land in Hollywood Studios. I have been a huge Star Wars fan for over 20 years, so going to this land was really exciting for me. When we were in the land, my husband and I were going around the land and I was completely entranced with all of the details of the land. Now my husband is not that huge of a Star Wars fan. He hasn't even seen all of the movies, but he went through the whole thing with me and supported me as I nerd-ed out. As we walked through, he started asking me more and more about what he was seeing. I was able to explain a lot of inside things that a normal fan may not have known about. He really took an interest. Eventually we made our way to the made gift shop, the Den of Antiquities. This is hands own one of the coolest gift shops I have ever seen. The gift shop is divided into two main areas: one for the Light Side and one of the Dark. In the middle of the shop are the legacy lightsabers and a bunch of artifacts from other characters that did not fall into either side. We went back to that gift shop quite a few times in our time there, trying to decide what souvenirs to bring home. On one of our last trips into the shop, my husband asked me to step outside. Knowing he was up to something, I did as he asked with no argument. When he came outside to join me he had a small black, velvet bag with him. When I opened it I found a necklace. But not just any necklace, the exact replica from the one Rose wore in Episode 8. It was so amazing! Not only did my husband think enough to buy me a necklace, but he made sure to get one that he knew would mean the world to me. It was so surprising and really made me feel like I had someone that was always going to be there for me."
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'my daughter had a really hard time learning to crawl. she started crawling when i least expected it and just showed up next to me while helping my other child.'
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"my daughter was a late bloomer when it came to crawling she would just drag herself on the ground instead of getting up on her knees. i had been working with her a lot but it didn't help. we had tried everything. i even looked up youtube videos trying to figure out ways to help her learn to crawl. at one point we were concerned because the doctor was telling us that she should be crawling at this stage. i had done my best to work with her daily but still nothing. one day i was helping my son with something and was not looking at her. i looked down at my feet there she was! she was on her knees and crawling! i was so excited that she had basically done it all on her own. i guess i just needed to give her a little more time to get confident enough to try it. my daughter impressed me so much by doing this. i could not have been prouder to watch her crawl around on her own after this. my daughter now crawls around everywhere and rarely takes a break to just be still. i still think about this event a lot especially now that we are trying to teach her to walk."
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'My sister-in-law passed away in late May. She was scheduled to attend a concert with myself and my siblings in early July. It was a tragic time but my family pulled through and bonded the best we could.'
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"My sister-in-law was a very special person to me and an important part of our lives. She had some health issues in her adult life. She was diagnosed with diabetes when she was in her 40's. She had surgery on her neck a few months before she passed away. She was scheduled to have knee replacement surgery before she passed away. She was having a normal day on the day she passed away. She had a meeting with someone from her church that morning. She went outside to show her friend her garden and then her friend left. She was in her garden when she suddenly had a massive aneurysm. We had video footage from security cameras to show us exactly what happened. She put her hands to her head and then she dropped to 1 knee. She braced herself temporarily before falling to the ground completely. My brother found her a few minutes later and called an ambulance. She was basically on life support from that time until she passed away about 8 hours later. It has been 5 months since it happened and it still seems so surreal. I miss her smile and I miss her laugh. She had the best laugh! It will be difficult when our family gets together for the holidays this year but we will pull together and honor her in the best way possible."
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'It was my cousins wedding. She got married like a week ago. It was an amazing wedding and very memorable.'
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"my cousin's wedding went amazingly well. She had friends over from all parts of the country. It almost felt like a reunion for her because most of these friends were from her college days. There was this friend in particular named Susan, who had been dating a guy she met online. Luckily for her, the guy was living in the same location where the wedding took place. So she decided to kill two birds with one stone and invite the guy over for the wedding for them to have their first meeting. After the wedding, my cousin had an after party at a pool of which few friends were in attendance including Susan and her new date. Susan could not swim, however, her new date convinced her to swim with him, and he'd keep her safe from deep waters. In a bid to teach her how to swim, he dumped her in deep waters. She struggled to no avail and the new date did not come her to rescue. Luckily for her, a life guard came around and saved her. She nearly lost her life all because she placed her trust in a not so known person. After this incident. I swore to learn how to swim of which I can now. I also figured that no one was to be trusted fully."
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'I had to stop playing bass guitar for a while even though it was my hobby. Now that I am playing again, I feel happier and it feels more fulfilling.'
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'Not too long after college, I took a new hobby by playing bass guitar. It was one of my favorite hobbies. It allowed me to express creativity. But when I got a job it gave me less time to work on my bass guitar. So I was unable to practice it and participate in music activities for a long time. It took several years, but eventually I was able to make time for it. I had to make compromises with my work and the church I play with. I also gave up some of my other free time in order to play bass to stay consistent. It also allowed me to become more skilled at it. It made me appreciate my bass guitar and appreciate my own free time. This is a sad memory for me. Im glad I was able to think about this memory again. A hobby is something you should not take for granted. Life is meant to enjoy the little things. Happiness and fufilling your life.'
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'My mother had a heart attack before surgery. I had an anxiety attack but everything turned out to be okay. My life had suddenly stopped and nothing else mattered more than where I was at that moment and how I would react to that single moment.'
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"My mother had a heart attack before her surgery for removal of her ovary and fallopian tube. She had cancerous cells found in her ovary and it was a relatively simple and minor surgery. They had taken her back for her pre-op checks and everything seemed to be fine. They started her on anesthesia and that's when her heart stopped. They got her heart started again and the doctor came out to speak with me. He said it happens sometimes with patients and that they were going to postpone the surgery to do more tests and see how she does. They ran tests and it seemed to be a fluke that it happened since everything came back normal and healthy. A week later she had the surgery without any complications. When the doctor told me what happened, the world just stopped and I felt like everything was in slow motion. Until he said that she was alive and fine, I ran through all of the things that I would have to do as well as try to comprehend the loss of my best friend and mother. I had a panic attack set in and started crying and shaking. It took me about 30 minutes to be able to get my body under control and to get my emotions under control to go and see my mother. I didn't want her to see me upset because that would upset her more than she already was. I love my mother more than anything in the world and she's my best friend. It was one of the scariest moments of my life and I hope that I don't have to go through that for a very long time."
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'Today I bought a horse who is the most perfect horse ever. I have looked long and hard for one just like him and he has made my dreams come true.'
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"I had been searching for several months for a horse that would make a great next horse for me and my daughter. I had in mind exactly what I wanted and I knew it would be very challenging to find one that met those expectations. I saw an add for this one and immediately contacted the owner about him. However, he did not fit perfectly what I had in mind. I decided to sit on it a week and think about it. I could not get him out of my mind and kept looking at his pictures over and over. I decided to make the 3 hour drive to check him out and as soon as I saw him I knew he was the one. I rode him and he was ok, but once again didn't fit exactly what I wanted. I knew in my heart though that he was perfect so I decided to give him a try and purchase him on the agreement that if he didn't work out right he could go back to the original owner. He worked out perfect and there was no looking back. He is my dream and we work wonderful together. My daughter changed his name to Butter from Tucker and it fits him perfectly. He gets along with my other horses wonderfully, in fact one of them escaped to get in the pasture with him when I first brought him home. They are all best friends now and share their food wonderfully. He is very sweet and loving. He always wants to give hugs and nuzzles. He will talk to you anytime he sees you."
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'When going to get a new puppy our car breaks down. This has ruined our trip and we dont get a new puppy.'
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'About three or four months ago my son and I were going to buy a new miniature dachshund. The last time I had a miniature dachshund was 5 years ago. My last puppy was 17 when she passed on. My son found the new puppy and paid 100 dollar deposit to hold her. We were so excited to welcome this new puppy. The day finally came that we were going to drive down to get her. It was over 400 miles away that we were going to drive to get her. We got about 200 miles into our trip when the car broke down. We had to be towed back home. The car ended up being in the shop for over a week. We missed out on getting the puppy. My son had to forfeit his 100. dollar deposit. It was a very disappointing time. Happy news though we have found a new puppy only six miles away that we are getting in October.'
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"We went to the apple orchard and the pumpkin patch. It's not something that happens often. We had a lot of fun and got a picture on one of the ladders."
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"We went to the apple orchard and the pumpkin patch the other day. We had a lot of fun. One of our kids brought a friend with him, and she was very respectful and engaging with the younger kids. It's pretty late in the season. Not many apples were left on the trees. Most of the Honeycrisps were gone. We ended up getting mostly Macs and some Cortlands and Empires. A lot of the apples were high up on the trees. I lifted up our youngest a couple of times to reach them. I had to lift up our oldest, too for some of the apples. We eventually found a ladder. The kids all climbed up on the ladder and we got a picture of them. There was also a playground at the apple orchard. It was a playground made mostly with farm equipment. There was a fort built around an old tractor. There were also a bunch of big tractor tires in a sand pit. The kids really enjoyed that. The store had apple cider donuts. Those were delicious. The boys had a lot of fun at both the apple orchard and the pumpkin patch. We don't get to go out all together very often, so it was very touching."
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"While on a trip to Walter Reed for my husband's back surgery, we got to spend a day exploring downtown Washington D.C. We saw several national monuments, and genuinely appreciated it more than I expected to."
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"A little over a month ago my husband and I traveled to the Washington D.C. area so that my husband could have surgery on his back at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. It was my first time ever being to the nation's capital, and with one day before my husband's surgery, we attempted to walk all over downtown DC and see as many monuments as possible before we had to be back at Walter Reed and ready for surgery the next morning. We traveled downtown on the Metro, and ended up getting off a short distance from the Capital, where we started. We then saw the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial (my main reason for wanting to go downtown!), the World War 2 Memorial, the Korean Memorial, and Vietnam Memorial. We then took the metro back to Walter Reed, where we were staying on base for the next couple of weeks. Side note, I was really impressed by the strategic placing of water vendors throughout the different monuments, with water, Gatorade, popsicles, etc. I don't know if it's a good use of their life, but we really appreciated them being there! The thing that stood out to me about the monuments was the realization that the Lincoln Memorial literally just had Lincoln's statue in it. I seriously thought that there might be more, maybe a museum commemorating his achievements or something, but it really had just his statue. I might have been a little disappointed, but still impressed at the imposing presence Lincoln was, even if just carved in stone. What also stuck out to me while we were downtown was the World War 2 Memorial. I honestly didn't expect to be impressed by that memorial. But the different quotes placed around the structure really helped the memorial pop in my mind. I enjoy reading, and reading wisdom from those gone before us, who went through such a horrific time. So, I appreciated that monument more than I expected to. I'm really glad I was able to get the chance to see a small part of our Capital even though our reason for being there wasn't necessarily ideal."
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'My family and I had gone to my grandfathers funeral. He was buried with military honors. My uncles all gave stories on my grandfather.'
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"When we had gone to the funeral, every member of my family was there to see my grandfather. My family all took turns telling stories of what he had done in his life, and all his accomplishments. After the burial, we all got together for lunch and started to catch up with each other. There's no real way to start this story about my grandpa and his bravery. But, here's how it goes. In 2016, when I was 19, my grandfather was diagnosed with lymphoma. He felt strong for this first fight. He gave his body up to tests and any medicines that would allow him to live longer. He won that fight. He finished it strong supported by my aunts, my uncles, and my grandma. About a year or 2 later, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He, again, gave himself up to treatments and medication. He wanted to be with his family longer and no one believed that God was ready for him. He, like his strong self, won that battle. Of course, God wasn't done with this tough and brave soldier yet."
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"I went to my baby nephew's first birthday party. I had a fun time with family and friends. We ate plenty of delicious food and had birthday cake. We sat around the fire and enjoyed the evening."
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"A recent event that meant a lot to me was my nephew's first birthday party. It was memorable because I was able to spend quality time with my family, which is rare these days. I also saw many friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in years. The party was loud and hectic, but it was a lot of fun. It took place in the back yard of my brother's house. There were children running around everywhere, laughing and playing. The adults were talking and laughing. My brother was manning the grill. I made it a point to spend some time talking and catching up with everyone there. The food was great. We had burgers, hot dogs, chicken, potato salad, garden salad, stuffed mushrooms (one of my favorite foods) and ears of corn. Eventually, they brought out the birthday cakes. There was a big cake for everyone to share and a small cake just for my nephew. He promptly smashed his face right into that little cake, which had everybody laughing. After all of the eating was done, we watched the birthday boy tear into his presents. As the sun started to set, we lit a fire in the outdoor fireplace and sat around it talking while the kids toasted marshmallows and made s'mores. All in all, it was a great day, and I will always remember it."
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"This past Mother's Day, my seven year-old son made me a card and wrote me a poem. It completely changed how I view myself as a mother."
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'This past Mother\'s Day, my seven year old son presented me with a card. Inside he wrote a poem that said " I love you evree second, I love you evree minute, I love you evree hour, I love you evree day, I love you evree year." It was written on a piece of notebook paper with torn edges. It was decorated with hearts and stick figures of him and I. When he gave me the card he was a little embarrassed and told me to read it while he was in the other room. I looked at my husband and asked if he put him up to it and he said "No, I had no idea!" I read the little card and tears began to stream down my cheeks. I saw him peep around the doorway of the kitchen and then he ran and gave me a giant hug. I\'m writing about this because it profoundly impacted me as a mother and a human. To create a tiny creature that has the wherewithal to write poetry was astounding. The fact that he loves me so much he sat down and thought of those words was beyond amazing. That evening once the kids went to bed, I sat on the porch in quiet contemplation. I have been a mother for seven years and a step-mother for nine years. To be honest, sometimes I feel that I\'m failing. I\'m not a perfect mom. My hair never looks good, I forget about PTO meetings. I listen to Punk and Metal. None of those things matter to my children. In the eyes of my children I am worthy of poetry and that\'s all that matters.'
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'I was really happy that i could express this day with my wife, and for the first time i expressed child birth. Women deserve to be respect'
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"The day i lost my mum was really an unforgettable day. Its happened eight months but its still feels like yesterday. I could remember every thing as a clear as though it was yesterday. My mum literally means everything to my siblings and I. My dad had drinking problems he always beat my mum so my mum left with us. That every day was a special day for i and my siblings am the first of three. Dealing with her death wasn't an easy job for me especially cause i had to take full responsibility of my siblings. Mum had been really sick for quite some time she had cancer. she was always sick every now and then. At a point I sincerely thought she wont go through with it cause the sickness really did got to her really. I was scared at that some point . but on the day of her death was the worst of all I could literally see the light leaving her body that was how bad it was. I had doubt she was even actually gonna survive it. My siblings and i were with here i can remember her telling us how much she loved us. she told me specifically to take good care of my siblings if anything had happened to her. at this point in became really scared on how we were gonna survive. a little while she started struggling to breathe my sibling called the nurses to come help us. I literally saw here took her last breathe. The picture is still really clear in my head it is a day i will literally never forget"
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'My story of recommitting my life to Christ, how that has changed me and how I believe I am finally at peace.'
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"In February this year, I recommitted my life to Jesus. It has been an astronomical change. I have never experienced such joy, peace, patience, and clarity. There was a time when I would use alcohol to fill this void in my soul. Or I always thought I needed to move, or find new friends, or perhaps a new marriage. There are even times I thought maybe if I had more kids I'd be happy. There was just something missing in my life. We found a church home years ago, but I would go on Sundays and be quite aloof to the teachings. But one day in February, I hit a emotional wall with my self satisfaction, judgment on myself, my parenting, my friendships, my health. That was when I prayed to the Lord to open my heart and my mind, and he did. I even could hear from the Holy Spirit occasionally. I no longer spend my days and nights with alcohol, I have been sober now for six months. When you explain this to someone who's not a Believer they probably think I'm crazy. But I do feel like every person in this world has a sense that there is something missing. They fill it with relationships, they fill it with alcohol, drugs,sex,clothes, cars,jobs, money. Whatever you're filling that void with it is meant to be filled with Christ. I truly believe that we are all made in Christ Image. And I will get debated sometimes of the big bang and evolution and all of that. However I always like to think, something can't come from nothing. So if there was a big bang, then God allowed that to happen. He created the first things to collide. There weren't just nothing that just blasted into nothing. plus, You can't tell me that every single thing on this planet just so happened to fall into a genetic DNA code. All I can say is my life changed and it is changed for the better in my marriage, my parenting, my health. And I give all of the credit to Christ."
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'Ending up having my life turned upside after my partner admitted to an affair, which let to a custody battle, and losing almost all of my saving (and my sanity) in the process.'
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'About six months ago I entered a custody battle after my partner admitted to cheating, then subsequently ran off with our child. I had just started a new job, so I had to sell a majority of my belongings and dip into my saving to pay for representation. In the process, given I had to take time off from my new job, I wound up being let go even though I was told by my supervisor that it was okay for me to take time off from work so soon given the importance of the situation. I knew I wouldn\'t be able to keep up with my overly expensive rent, so I wound up breaking my lease early and living in an Airbnb for a month thanks to my savings. This gave me time to look for a new job and actually apartment to start over in. I wound up losing the custody battle in the process because I could not longer afford to pay my attorney. If it wasn\'t for the vast majority of online jobs available today and the fact that I didn\'t sell one of my laptop computers, I probably would\'ve been out on the street considering everyone in my family has passed, and a majority of my close friends now live on the other side of or outside the country. Needless to say this has been an eye opening experiencing, and it just goes to show you that life is so unpredictable. Here I was comfortable in my careen path only to have an unforeseeable event turn entire life upside down. I\'ve always been a humble person, but when you go from eating at five-star restaurants daily, to eating free Dunkin\' Donuts for a month straight it really makes you realize what\'s really important in life. All and all this experience has taught me a lot. Not to be jaded, but to really cherish and be thankful for the little things that you do have (like your health) instead of taking things like a hot shower or clean water for granted. I honestly don\'t know where this journey will take me next, but I\'m honestly thankful that I at least have a roof over my head while I fight to get my life back to what it was. "Just because you\'ve found yourself in the gutter, that doesn\'t mean you have to stay there." I once remember my grandfather saying those words to me when I was a child... And they\'ve been my motivation throughout this entire experience. Both the good and the bad.'
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"Took a vacation to Colorado. Sampled some legal flower, then headed out to find a fun activity. Landed on horseback riding, but had to wait, so we hit up a casino. Casino ended up hitting me back in the wallet. Rode a horse, and halfway in I was told that I hadn't been holding the reins."
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"My vacation to Colorado Marijuana is legal there, so early in the morning we started to smoke. Then we decided to do a fun activity that none of us has ever done before. We landed on horseback riding. Found a place in the mountains just above central city, and bought an hour long ride. We had about an hour to kill before the ride, so we stopped at a casino just below the mountains. I played slots for an hour. The drinks were complementary, but they really aren't. You end up paying for them when you dump your money in the machines lol. 3 beers cost me $100+. We then made our way to the place somewhat high up in the mountains. Our instructor was very young...maybe 18, but the way she rode her horse was simply remarkable. The experience is vividly memorable in my mind. There's nothing like hearing the wind blowing in the mountains...sounds like a train or a really fast car going by you at a high rate of speed. I was really enjoying myself until a younger trainer started to yell at me. I didnt know what was wrong until she told me that I hadn't been holding the reins the whole time. The horse was just following the others and I had no control over it. Even though the ride didn't go perfectly, it was easily the most enjoyable time of my life."
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'My mother had a stroke and was taken to the hospital. She woke one morning with a headache and lost consciousness. My father took her to the hospital. He called the family and we all gathered at the hospital. A brain scan showed she had significant brain damage.'
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"The passing of my mother was the most significant event that happened to me over the last six months. She died of a stroke and it was traumatic for my whole family. I connected with so many emotions at that time and felt a deep love for my mother. At the funeral shortly after, I read my eulogy and got a great deal of comfort in providing a tribute to this amazing woman. I saw all the people from her life gathered in one place to pay tribute. I saw people I had not seen years who loved her very much. I helped my father through his own grief. I helped him pack up my mother's things and sell the house. I found all my mother's old diaries which was deeply moving. My wife and I took in her dog which I knew she would want. The event also brought my family much closer together - not an easy thing as we are all so different and often do not get along. Experiencing my mother's death, I feel, changed my profoundly and helped me connect with other people and taught me to love more emotionally. Feelings long cut off by me were restored. In the weeks that followed I felt and feel a greater connection to her. I will love her always."
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'An old woman deals with the grief of the loss - death - of her granddaughter by visiting a museum where the granddaughters photographs hang in a art show. The old woman does this to feel close to her and also her daughter who had died.'
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"The event was a woman who has recently lost her grandaughter in a car accident. I noticed the woman alone standing in the museum and approached her. I started a conversation mentioning what a nice museum it was. She noded, said yes and smiled. I moved away to look at a nearby painting. I could not help but see her continue to stare at the one painting. She looked sad. I went back over to her and said, this painting is very lovely. It was then I got the surprise of the day when she told me the painter was her granddaughter and that she had died two months ago in a car accident. I was shocked and moved as I did not have a relative but a friend and co-worker who had died and it was after his death that I started going back to read his articles. He was a newspaper sports reporter. I could feel the women's agony and pride as I stood there next to her. It was as if the person was there again, just like for me. The time spent standing quietly next to this woman, gave me closure and a bond. I left happy to know she and I shared the chance to relieve the life of someone special to us, not just in memories, but in something tangible they had created."
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'I sold parking in my front yard for a Garth Brooks concert that was happening across the street. I adjusted prices and made deals that ended up with me making twice as much money as I was hoping to at the beginning of the day.'
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'As part of doing parking for that Garth Brooks event, I ended up talking with some of my neighbors who had open lots on other parts of the block I live on. I talked with them about the possibility of doing parking on their lots as well, with the option of splitting the proceeds 50/50 between them and me. It was surprising how beneficial the Garth Brooks concert ended up being because I made more money than I planned on making, and then that also gave me confidence to sell parking for a graduation ceremony a few weeks after the concert. After that, I sold parking for football games in the months that followed, and I coordinated with the neighbors I had talked to on Garth Brooks concert day, so that we were able to offer parking for the whole block on football games. Having the whole block available meant having approximately 30 parking spots to sell. The football games attract large crowds and the ticket prices range from $50 to $100 depending on the game, so I was able to charge a relatively large amount for the parking spots for the football games. I was able to earn a nice amount of money that I then put into my savings. Being able to "live off the land" by selling parking has helped me feel entrepreneurial while also helping to reduce stress by giving me a safety cushion of savings. I also found myself being responsible and helpful to the customers that were parking. I learned that customers might have many questions about the event that they were attending. I tried to prepare beforehand by reading details about gate opening times and other event-related details, so that I could answer questions questions might have when they were parking for the event. I have been pleasantly surprised because I made far more money than I anticipated making, no one had any problems with their cars, and my neighbors were able to make a good amount of money by entering into the 50/50 agreement with me, so the whole block of residents has enjoyed added happiness in recent months as a result of me first doing parking fo the Garth Brooks concert 8-and-a-half months ago. I also got to enjoy the good feeling of being able to offer tailgate chances for the football fans who wanted to park at the game very early before game time. The tailgate parties that developed on my parking lots remained safe and I made sure to patrol the areas regularly. I wanted to make sure the vehicles were not threatened, the people were not misbehaving, and the area was maintained in a clean manner during the event. Overall this economic experiment of doing parking for the Garth Brooks concert ended up being a great idea, and I look forward to more parking chances in the months ahead.'
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'One day, I saw a man sitting alone crying on the side of the street. He was homeless and I had found out that he was deathly ill. I sat beside him and talk to him and tried to make him feel better.'
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'About a week ago I was heading home after I went to starbucks for my daily coffee, it was a rainy afternoon and the street was quite busy. Lots of cars drove by, kicking up water and dirt as they sped through. I was in a rather bad mood as I dont very much care for the rain in Seattle. As I was walking home, I noticed an old man sitting on a bench, he had dirty unkempt gray hair hidden by a rather old beanie. A dark tan coat dirtied by years of reliance, his face was pale with grime throughout. He had been on the bench for quite a while, I\'d seen him around town before. As I walked closer, I could see tears rolling down his cheeks. He was crying, silently, of course. The look of utter misery in his face prompted me to inquire into why exactly he was crying. I had never asked someone why they were crying like this before, I didnt exactly know how to approach the man so I awkwardly shambled close to him and sat down."What\'s wrong sir? I noticed you were crying." I asked softly."I\'m extremely sick, I went to the free clinic and I\'ve found that I have no chance of life more than a few months. That\'s whats wrong, now if you\'d leave me be, I\'d appreciate it."He looked quite defeated in that moment, like nothing mattered in that moment. I decided the only real thing I could do was hand him my cup of coffee, as a small reminder of some good in the world."I can\'t offer much to your situation, but here you go, a fresh cup. Enjoy what little time you have left, man." These words probably sounded more offensive than anything, he silently took the cup and muttered a thanks. I felt slightly better, the mans plea had dug into my heart and left me quite pained. I wasn\'t quite sure what to do with myself as I headed home. I felt as if I\'d made a difference but I couldn\'t be sure/'
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'My husband proposed to be on our getaway vacation after everything we had been going through. I was overwhelmed with excitement. Still gives me butterflies to this day.'
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"About 6 months ago the most important day of my life took place. The man I love proposed to me. We were on a vacation to the Bahamas, we were relaxing under the summer heat, me getting my tanning hours in. The months before had been marked with the stress of family and work, and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I needed a break, and he knew it. But he decided to spice it up a little. As we were sitting in our families' small beachhouse, he got on one knee and proposed to me with the biggest diamond I had ever seen in my life. I almost cried, I couldn't believe this was real. Our wedding is set for September, and I can't wait. When I think about that day, I still get butterflies in my stomach. He had topped a miserable year and redeemed it all in once sentence. I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together. I'm lucky to have him. I have work to do in terms of wedding planning, though, now. That's very stressful! So It's not all great, but it is worth it."
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"My wife reacted to chemotherapy treatment in a very negative way. While they were getting her into the ambulance our neighbor, who I hadn't met yet, offered to help by watching our pet. She said she would watch her for however long it takes."
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'Last February my wife found out she had cancer. The cancer was in an area that could not be operated on so her only options were chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Since she already suffers from Fibromyalgia we knew it was going to be very hard on her. On the first day of radiation the doctor decided to wait a few days to start the chemo treatment as both in one day would be too much for her. When the day came we went to the infusion center and she was hooked up for about 4 hours but had to take a chemo bag with her that pumped the chemicals into her body 24 hours per day. She started on a Monday and by Wednesday she was so sick she couldn\'t get out of bed. As the day progressed she started getting confused and couldn\'t even finish a sentence. I decided she had to go to the hospital and I thought I could help her out of bed and downstairs and into the car but I found that she was in so much pain I couldn\'t touch her anywhere without her screaming. I called 911 for an ambulance and while waiting for them her condition worsened. They arrived in about 10 minutes and I tried to move as many things out of the way as I could so they could get the gurney down our two half flights of stairs. There were 4 of them and it took all of us to get her on the gurney, because she was screaming in pain and delirious. I was trying to stay calm but this all happened so suddenly I completely forgot about our little girl. I had block her off in the den while the paramedics were there as that was the first thing they requested so no animals would be in the way or get hurt. Once they had her in the ambulance they asked where I wanted her to be taken and if I needed to ride in the front of the ambulance. There said insurance restrictions prevented me from riding in the back with her. I said I would follow them in my car, not knowing how long I would be there. As they drove away I thought of all the things I had to do while at the same time thinking and worrying about my wife. A neighbor who I did not know and who lives 2 doors away was standing outside watching. For a brief second I was a bit annoyed at them watching a "show" and I was becoming a bir frantic trying to figure out everything I had to do even before getting in my car and driving to the hospital so I could be with my sweetheart. I heard this soft voice saying "sir", "sir" and I turned around to see this neighbor trying to get my attention. I thought she might want to know what was going on but she softly said "if there\'s anything I can do for you let me know". I asked her if there was any way she could watch our 4 month old puppy and she said she would be glad to. I quickly brought her kennel and food over, locked the house and drove to the hospital, calling everyone that needed to be told , on the way. It was a day I\'ll never forget but we got through it and my wife is on her way to being cancer free, for the second time.'
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'I was able to take part in a Haiti charity event to raise funds for children and families. We all formed dance groups and performed in a showcase to raise as much money as possible for a successful event.'
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'During the Haiti charity event, instructors from all around the area came together to showcase their talents in the form of dance. There were all types of genres from Zumba, Hip-hop, mixed fit, etc. The event altogether lasted around 3 hours. Each group was allowed to perform twice for rounds of 10 minutes each. There had never been an event like this before, so it was intense, fun, and only at the price of $15 for admission. Each group that went on showed power, intensity, and all around had a great time. All of the groups on the sidelines cheered on for each other and took pictures and videos of the event and the groups performing. We all had a love for each other that could not be explained. I truly felt part of a community bigger than myself and was proud of each and every group that performed. My greatest surprise were the students attending the event. They danced NON STOP for three hours straight. The physical capability and determination was beyond overwhelming. In the end everyone was exhausted, but so happy at the event turnout. The event was a huge success because we were able to raise a lot of funds and get a lot of donations for the children in Haiti for their upcoming school year. After this event was over, we were already planning to do another event just like this one, and many of the groups were already planning for the future.'
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'My girlfriend got very sick which lead to tension in our relationship. We started being very hateful with each other. Finally, i told her enough was enough and we ended the relationship.'
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"Roughly 3 weeks ago me and my girlfriend of a year broke up. It had been coming for a while, but i do not think it was something i was ready to fully accept. About 4 months ago, she got very sick. During this period where she was sick, she was completely bed ridden and i did not get to see her often. There was a lot of tension between us because of this. It started with us starting to say hateful stuff towards each other. I would tell her that i hated i never got too see her, and that I it felt like i was not even in a relationship. She told me that she's sorry i felt that way, but I needed to get over myself. This of course, hurt me very much. We had been friends for years before we even considered dating, and the relationship was starting to fade. I could not bring myself to end it at the time, so we continued. The situation worsened as time went on. We went from remarks, to full on hating each other. She would come over and i would tell her that i did not want to see her. I started having anxiety attacks thinking about what the relationship was coming too. When my birthday came around, I sat her down and told her that I was seriously not happy with the relationship, and it needed to end. She agreed and i have not talked to her since. This event has been very hard on me as, because this was someone i wanted to build a life with and within one night, it was all gone."
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'I purchased a home in a mobile home community. It is my first home ever. It is a double wide, and brand new.'
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'You never forget that feeling of someone handing you your keys and saying here are the keys to your new home. It is a feeling like no other that something so big finally belongs to you. Excitement, and comfort of being able to say this is my home. It was a long process, buying a home. The first thought was to buy a house, but due to my husbands bankruptcy everything had to be put into my name. We found the home in Charlevoix Estates which is a Mobile home community. It is a double wide with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It has an Island in the kitchen, and a huge closet off the master bedroom. This is the first home that we have purchased for our family. We are over the moon excited about finally getting to have a place of our own. It feels like a dream come true. I am really excited about having Air conditioning throughout the whole house. That is great for us. Moving was challenging, getting everything out of our old house and moved into the new one. We have so much stuff, so it took a little bit of effort to get in and get settled. But like I said, when they handed me the keys and said this is yours now, I felt elated. Excited, and as though finally dreams of mine were coming true.'
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"I had to move suddenly, and tried to sell my house at a loss to avoid foreclosure. It sat for almost a year. I could no longer afford to sell, because lawyer's fees made the payoff amount to steep."
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"I tried to sell a house before it went into foreclosure, but it sat so long that the lawyer's fees became too steep, and I was no longer able to afford the payoff. Someone put it an offer, but it was too late. I had no choice but to let it turn into a Sheriff's sale. It was frustrating, because I put a ton of time, money and energy into making it appealing for sale. Despite it being looked at many times, no one put in a serious offer. For month, I paid two households, but couldn't keep affording it. It was only after not paying for over half a year, foreclosure starting, and lawyers fees getting stacked on the mortgage, that someone finally put in an offer. By then, it was too late. There was an annoying moment a few months before that were someone put in a good offer. There were no lawyer fees at the time, and it would have been affordable. The bank didn't do its job correctly. They approved the buyer for a loan, and only after going through a month of negotiations did they look into their employment. It turned out they didn't have a job, and couldn't get the loan. I'd already spent a bunch of money getting utilities turned back on for inspection, so that was even more money down the drain. Just one more annoying footnote in a long streak of bad luck."
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'I was finally promoted after four years of neglect and disrespect from other places of employment. Today was my inaugural day of being a manager in charge.'
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"Today's the big day. I worked my butt off for 8 months to get promoted in this job. I trained for 6 weeks in all sorts of shifts to get the job down. I opened, closed, and did mid-shifts. I learned how to receive merchandise, do the deposit, prepare products for the next day, and pretty much every thing possible that would come up on a shift. Today they let me do my first close without supervision. I was crazy nervous to get the deposit right. What if it's off? What if I don't arm the store right and the alarm goes off? What if we get robbed? But I'm glad to know I'm trusted with the day-to-day operations of a retail store and am considered a manager-in-charge. The $3.75/hr pay raise certainly helps. It means a lot because I was lied to when let go of my teaching job, and blacklisted in the university. I couldn't sue because they could retaliate against my wife. I then spent two years at the home improvement store, but they only promote people with criminal records and look down on education. I'm finally able to have a job that could at least set me up for future success."
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'I met my girlfriend talked to her about my mother wanting me to go home. My girlfriend said that I have my own life and to choose what I believe is right.'
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"I met my girlfriend recently and I believe she has changed my life. I never thought that I'd be able to meet someone and I was never thinking about it. But it has changed a lot of my views and thoughts about people. She is kind and considerate and brings out the best in me. Her viewpoints were different than mine and it helped me with a lot of the issues I was having with family. I believe I wouldn't strive for a better job if it weren't for her. I wouldn't be wanting a family. Recently my mother for wanted me to come home and take care of my cousins children. I was conflicted and didn't know what to do. My gf told me that it is my choice and that just because my mother is family doesn't mean i am forced to do something for her. That she herself wasn't even their for me and didn't even care about me even when I was young. It wasn't her who took care of me, so why should I return the favor to someone who was so unwanting of me? So she said that I have my own life and to pave my own path -- so I did and I want it to be with her. I want to bare children with her and I want to start a family. I want a life that I was never given and I just want to spend as much time with her as I can."
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'About a month ago, I tested for my Red Belt in Tae Kwon Do. To achieve this rank, I had to demonstrate every kick, block, and punch that I have been taught, and demonstrate every form that I have learned. All of this required a vast amount of physical demand, which took a toll on my body.'
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"In May, I tested for my red belt in Tae Kwon Do. This was a significant point, as it's my last belt to test for prior to testing for my Black Belt. This test is traditionally known to be very difficult, as they want to ensure you understand the amount of effort you will need to put forth in order to obtain the level of Black Belt. I arrived at the studio an hour prior to the beginning of the test. I was somewhat anxious, but I knew I had to go through this in order to accomplish my overall goal. I began stretching different parts of my body, to ensure that my body was prepared for the physical demand that is required to obtain this belt. After stretching, I practiced a few of the kicks, blocks, and punches I would be required to demonstrate on my test. I also went through some of my forms that I would have to demonstrate knowledge of on the test. At 6:00p. m., they lined us up. This signals the beginning of the test, as instructors come to the front of the studio and choose who they will be testing. Once the black belt instructors went to the front, the lead instructor brought us to attention. He went through briefly what we would be doing. Following this, an instructor stepped forward and called my name. I now knew who would be testing me for the evening. As the other instructors called on their students, I went and retrieved a chair for my instructor. For the next hour and a half, I went through everything I had been taught since first beginning Tae Kwon Do, demonstrating each kick, punch, block, multiple times. The jump kicks were very demanding. I needed a fair amount of rest in between these kicks, as my age and physical shape played into this. After this, I demonstrated each of the forms. It was a grueling test, to say the least. At the end of the test, I was very sweaty and well exhausted. I received my new belt that night and went home happy. At home, I felt very sore, which reminded me of how much physical demand is required to obtain the level which I'm currently at in Tae Kwon Do. I know that the Black Belt test will be much harder, and that I need to use my training period to help me prepare for that evening."
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'Constant deaths on the family have ruined my psychical and mental well being. At the same time forcing me to leave my home. When people say a lot can change in a short amount of time they are not lying.'
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"In 4 months ago, I was not in the good mental condition because there was a constant death in my the family. So it affected my physical and mental well being. I mental ability is strucked in that situation only, so i can not able to concentrate on any other things and situations. So this situation affected my physical and mental well being very much. I am not able to do the regular things that was i do earlier. This incident gave more impact in my life. At the same time my relations were forcing me to leave my home , because they thought that the constant deaths in my family was all about my bad luck. So they forcing me to leave my home. I am very affected by this attitude and I am not aware of what to I do. This situation sucks me very much and I feel very bad and unlucky about my situation happened to me. At that time I thought that anything can change in a short amount of time. I realized this situation and then I thought that the people who reveals that sentence are not lying. At the time I understand that anything in this world is not permanent for anyone. Anything can be change and anything can be easily done in a short time period. The life of the people can change time to time. So life's lesson is anything can change our life within the short time."
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"My brother got engaged and it was really fun! It was hosted in his fiance's backyard. We all had lots of drinks in the backyard."
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'My brother go engaged a last month. So exciting attending my brothers engagement party. His beautiful fiance hosted the event in her backyard. It was decorated so lovely. It had white and pink flowers on the back yard fence. The tables were decorated with a soft white lace and covered in rose petals. There was an open bar and the food were all of these little appetizers. I think this was meant to help everyone get to know each other and mingle instead of just sitting at your table with people you already know. There were tons of people there and I even met my now boyfriend at the party. He was eating one of those tiny hot dogs rolled in bread, I forget what they are called. He was choking on it and I performed the heimlich maneuver on him and saved his life. It is kind of funny when you think about it. After that we just kind of hit off. We had a couple shots of tequila and a few glasses of wine. Minus the horrible hangover the next morning I had a great time. All in all I would say it was a really great engagement party!'
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'Took my dogs for a walk in the woods and got lost. Running out of hope and filled with fear, a sign from the heavens came near. The sign lead us home safe and sound, thank God!'
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"I always take my dogs for a walk ever morning. We live out in the country so there are always interesting places to go. This one morning I decided to go in to a part of the woods that I never go in to. It was a dense area and I started to get scared. I tried to find my way back but the more I tried the worse it got. I was starting to get nervous. This caused my dogs to feed off my reactions and they started getting nervous too. I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to find my way back. I kept on moving through the forest. Finally I stopped and I could hear cars. I traveled in the direction of the cars. It was a road that I knew. It was about 5 miles from my house. I followed the road back. I was so thankful to find it."
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"I was driving to a friends house and got into a bad car accident. The other person was responsible for the crash, buy since they had no insurance and no money to go after, and I didn't have much recourse against them and I ended up taking a financial hit."
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"A while ago, I was going to my friend's house. He had just gotten a new couch and tv and I wanted to see it. You know I love couches and the tv was the biggest one he had ever had. I got into my car and started going to his home. About 20 minutes into the ride, a car swerved into my lane and hit my car. Luckily, none of us were hurt! I got out and checked on them and made sure they were okay. I then called the cops and me and the other driver started talking. She was young, had a kid in her car and told me that she didn't have insurance and was really sorry. We talked some more and I started to feel bad about her situation. She was crying and didn't know what to do. She had just gotten laid off from work, couldn't get a babysitter because she had no money. It was really said. When the cops finally arrived, we filled out paper work and she told them she didn't have insurance. She got a ticket for that and broke down. I had so little damage on my car that I told her that I wasn't going to file anything. I'll just repair this and she didn't have to worry about anything. She was so relieved about that! I felt better about the situation as well."
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'I went to a local meetup from the radio station. Ended up at a casino and won a jackpot. Then I went out with my mom for lunch.'
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'About 2 months ago a local radio station was doing what they call the trust bus. Basically you meet up for drinks and then get on a bus and go somewhere with this group of people. It was a warm evening and I decided to give it a go, and if I didnt feel like the bus I would stay behind on the bar patio. I got to the bar and ordered a pint of guiness and made some idle chit chat with people. I met up with an old friend and we decided to try this bus. We ended up at a local casino for an outdoor concert. The night was amazing, the food was great, and the booze was free. All in all I think I would do something like this again. As I said, it was at a casino so after the concert we got some vouchers for free play. I was a little tipsy so was looking for the perfect slot. I love the frog emoji on iphone so I wanted to find a frog slot. I found one called money frog and sat down. I downloaded my free play and started spinning. It was pretty uneventful until all of a sudden the screen flashed after a losing spin. It said Random jackpot awarded! I ended up winning $292 on a 40 cent bet. The next day I took the money over to my moms house to give it to her as a thank you for everything she has done for me. It was a great moment. We went out to lunch afterwards and had a really nice afternoon.'
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"I saw a cat being a little energetic while his cage was being cleaned at the pet store. I agreed to hold him while the volunteer cleaned up after him and, one thing to another, he's now my lifelong companion."
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'I was shopping at PetCo and saw a woman cleaning the adoption cages. One of the cats was being very squirmy and energetic while his cage was being cleaned, so I walked over and offered to hold it while she straightened everything out. He almost immediately settled down and started purring in my arms, rubbing his head against my chin, and closing his eyes. I struck up a conversation with the woman about the cat because he had a very distinct personality. We talked a bit about his adoption history and how he\'d been returned several times by past adopters. But after hearing and reading about his "behavioral issues," I couldn\'t gel them with the experience I was having with the cat I was holding. I spent almost an hour asking questions about the cat, working up to the idea that I\'d be taking him home with me. The whole time he was just purring in my arms and didn\'t want to go back in his cat condo or even get back down. We made some calls to the rescue head and I arranged to borrow a carrier for him and pay his adoption fee by check later. I took him home that night. It was touch and go for awhile, because he\'d moved around so much and it took a few weeks to get him fully integrated with my other cats, but he eventually bonded with a younger female I took in last year. She spent a few weeks under the couch when he first came home, so it\'s amazing that they\'re such good friends now. They spend their days cuddling on the couch and have taken to taking care of a younger kitten I adopted since. He\'s a very affectionate cat that is very emotionally perceptive, and he\'ll always jump in your lap if he senses you\'ve been having a bad day. He\'s a member of this family now and he\'s been renamed Kismet because everything around the situation just seemed like it was fated.'
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'Over the past four months, I took part in a series of Candidate Physical Ability Tests (CPATs) for a firefighter position. I felt overwhelmed and lacking confidence that I could pass, but succeeded on the final attempt just a two weeks ago. It was one of the most exciting moments in my life.'
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'In May 2018, I took a hard look at my career path following the birth of my son. I\'ve always had a desire to help others and after discussion with my wife, I decided to pursue a career as a firefighter. In our city, the process to become a firefighter is lengthy and demanding; it can take up up to three years and begins with the basics: an application process which began in June 2018 and ended in August 2018, and a test taking procedure which took place in December 2018. As summer of this year drew closer, I was doubting that I would be accepted further along, but finally, in early May 2019, I was invited to take part in the next step: the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT). Over the period of May 2019 to August 2019 I would be given the opportunity to take the CPAT and if failed, I could take a practice test, then repeat the test. In total, there would be three attempts at the test and two practices, as needed. I thought I would pass on the first try given my physical capabilities, but I was sorely mistaken. I could not proceed past the first event on the initial test. I went to the first practice in June which was more of a walk through, but at least got to see and feel out the other seven events. Three weeks later, towards the end of June, I had my second attempt at the test. I made it further, getting through seven of the eight events, but failed to finish in time. I would have to wait six weeks to take my final attempt. Halfway through we were given our second and final practice. This practice, they let us do a full run-through. I made it to the final event, but could not complete it; only needing about 10 seconds of work to finish. Over the next three weeks leading to my final true test, I felt deflated. I told myself maybe I just wasn\'t prepared. "There was always two years from now", I would think. I went into the final test still feeling a lot of uncertainty, but I prepared myself by thinking of my future and my families future. This was it; it was now or never (or at least now or two years from now). I buckled down and pushed through; finishing the course with 38 seconds to spare. It was a small window, but a pass was a pass. I was extremely emotional after passing; screaming with joy and calling my wife right away. The rest of my afternoon and evening was filled with unimaginable emotions that will stick with me beyond the entirety of this process. I cannot express enough how excited I am to move forward with this stringent hiring process.'
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'My weekend was super stressful. Everyone was panicked about the hurricane. We got lucky that it did not end up coming this way.'
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"Saturday 8 am: Super stressed out, the weather channel says there is a hurricane coming so mom is not letting me hang with my friends this weekend. It looks as though I will be hiding out in my room unless they warn us to get to the storm shelter. 12 pm: It looks a bit cloudy outside and I have heard thunder a few times but nothing serious. The storm is now projected to be here between by late tonight or tomorrow morning so we will shall see. I think I am going to curl up and try to read a book this whole situation has me on edge. 8 pm: Woke up in recliner to little brother snoring on the couch but still no storm so far. I am going to go try to go back to sleep in my own room. 12 am: Woke up to a text from Jen tried to sneak out but got caught by mom, but its not even storming! Sunday 10 am: Woke up, no storm still. Looks partly cloudy, weather channel still predicts 50 percent chance of hurricane until 1 pm and everyone is freaked out. But it really don't seem to be happening. I still cant leave the house. 2 pm: Nothing happened, the whole thing got called off. To top this whole thing off I am grounded for trying to sneak out. 6 pm: Helped mom serve dinner and cleared the table, I even washed dishes. 8 pm: Not much to report, hopefully I will be off punishment by next weekend so long as I behave myself and keep sucking up."
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'After dating my girlfriend in a long distance relationship for 6 months, we finally met in real life. I spent two weeks with her, the best two weeks of my life.'
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"Before I write about what happened to me I must first go back to just before the end of last year, to when I met someone very special. I'll keep it brief. See, I was playing World of Warcraft, something I had been trying to stop doing by that time but still felt drawn to. I felt a strong urge to play that day, specifically at that moment. Turns out, that urge was justified, as that was the day I met the person who would eventually become my girlfriend. We've been together ever since. Now, on to the important event. Back in June, I finally had the opportunity to go meet her in real life. Both of us had been waiting for this moment, and it was finally here, and we were very excited. I left on a Saturday evening, the day just before Father's Day, by train. I brought an old laptop with me so we could keep in touch on the way there, since our preferred form of communication is through an online messaging platform called Discord. We talked all night, getting more and more excited the closer I got, even though we were also both growing more and more tired. I didn't get a single ounce of sleep that night, half due to my excitement and half due to the fact that I have a hard time sleeping on trains. Finally, after some delays, I arrived near her home town at roughly 10 AM on Sunday, and started walking down to the local train station to take a connecting train to her home town. After a few more hours, we finally met. Let me tell you... meeting her was far better than I had imagined it would be. Up to that point our relationship had been very intense, and we had become very close, despite our great distance physically. So believe me when I say it was magical when we finally met. I spent the next two weeks with her before I had to come back, and they were the best two weeks of my entire life. We're still together today, and I'm planning on moving to be with her for the rest of my life."
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'I got a call that my mom was in the hospital. When I arrived I found out that she had a heart attack. They found a 99% blockage during her heart cath.'
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'i was in my work. when i am working in my office i got a call from my partner, that my mother was admitted to hospital. he said that she have some ill. i felt very bad. i immediately got permission from my office. so i went to the hospital very fast. my partner said that my mother was in serious condition. i felt very bad. i became very sad. doctor said my mother heart attack. there is 99% blockage in the tube which carry blood to the heart. i felt very bad. i was completely blank. i was crying at that day. i said to doctor that please save my mother. i will spend money. they give more treatment to mother. my mother was saved and she is fine now.'
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'In just a matter of two days time I had three chickens go missing. I found out that we have foxes in the cornfield behind our house and I believe foxes took them.'
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"At least, I assumed it had to be the foxes. What else could it be? I walked around the barn to find if there was any other sign of tampering from those kids that lived at the farm a couple miles down. Every once in a while they'd tamper with something or other playing late at night. It was entirely possible they let some chickens loose or was playing with them. However, when I asked my wife about it, she mentioned the whole family was away on vacation. Her second point, a bit more troubling. That there had been a hunter out here working on the county's fox problem. That no one had reported a fox sighting in at least a few months. The following night, I set up a chair, my father's gun, and a water bowl for Joey to sit outside with me and watch the area where the chickens were kept. If there was anything that could slip by me, guaranteed they wouldn't slip by my pal Joe, the hound. I sat quietly with a glass of bourbon for roughly an hour when the chickens started making a ruckus. Low at first, just sort of pacing around the pen. Shortly after they were flapping, cawing, making all sorts of strange movements. Joe perked up but seemed just as confused as I was. He looked from the pen, to me, back to the pen again, then began barking in the direction of the cornfield. I squinted. There was something in that cornfield. If it wasn't the neighbors kids, and it wasn't the foxes... what was it?"
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'My supervisor told me of my promotion and pay increase. The promotion was happy news but the pay increase was a bit disappointing.'
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"It started off like a regular day at work when I walked in that morning. My boss walked into my office like he typically does and it's usually to chat about work related stuff as well as to chat in general about how things are going. This time, he started off chatting about normal, routine work stuff and then casually threw in that my promotion was finally approved and about to go into effect. He's been pushing for my promotion for over a year and a half at that point and I had almost given up all hope of this happening any time soon. Evidently, the higher up managers approved the promotion as well as Human Resources. A salary was also approved and my manager informed me of what that new, higher salary would be. I felt relieved that this finally happened and I could stop wondering about my upcoming promotion. At the same time, once my supervisor told me the percentage raise I would receive, I was slightly disappointed. The percentage of my increase equaled the usual annual salary increase I received the past couple of years, even without a promotion. I was unsure if this signified that my past annual increases were abnormally high or if my promotion salary increase was abnormally low. I was hoping for a much bigger raise. Ultimately, my supervisor informed me that there is a cap on how high of an increase an employee can receive in any given year and hopefully there will be more of a raise coming up after my annual review in a couple of months. Given that we had just had my annual review, performance reviews, and all that, I was hopeful that perhaps, even with my recent promotion, I would still qualify for a significant raise when the fiscal year was over. I didn't tell my supervisor about my disappointment with the percentage increase because he was so happy that he was able to get my promotion pushed through after all this time. I didn't want to deflate him or make him feel that his efforts were unappreciated."
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'Me and my son went on a trip to see my sister in law and his cousin for four nights. We had a lot of fun and participated in a lot of fun activities.'
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"I am writing about the time I went to Colorado to visit my sister in law. Me and my son went on a trip about two or three weeks ago and we went to Colorado for 4 nights. I was super excited to see my sister and my son was super excited to see his cousin. It was a whole lot of fun and we did a lot of activities while we were there. We went hiking with and without the kids. We went and drank and danced when we were by ourselves, but we went on a trail walk when we took the kids. Me and my sister participated in adult activities such as going to the bar and going to the arcade, which also had a bar. We went to eat a numerous amount of times and just enjoyed each other's company. On our vacation we did a lot of dancing and just lounging around. The most surprising thing that happened to me is that i developed a stye on my eye the day before our last day on our trip. My son did not pay me any attention the whole trip because he was so excited to see his cousin. They played all day and night and hardly went to sleep in fear of missing out on the fun times. We went to the mall and did a little bit of shopping and window shopping just to pass the time. Me and my sister rode to Denver with some friends one of the nights I was there and got a big gigantic airbnb. We cooked, listened to music and just vibed with each other that whole night. On the last day of our trip we took the entire group including the kids to lunch. Afterwards we went back to my sister's house and played board games and watched movies until we fell asleep. When it was time to go back home we were sad yet happy to be going home. The flight back seemed very short, probably because me and my son slept almost the whole way there."
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