y mother is my hero because she has been through a lot of rough times. When I was ten years old she was in a

bad marriage. She gave me to my grandparents because my stepfather didn't like me because I wasn't his biological

daughter. When I was 11 years old he shot my mother in her back. She was in the hospital for over six months trying

to recover.

Years later she got her GED and became a counselor at a group home. The reason she's my hero is because she

taught me that things may go bad, but you can overcome bad things and make your dreams come true. That's the

reason I am in a GED class today.

My mother's dream was to own her own car and home and she succeeded! She did this while raising four children.

My hero means the world to me because I know that life can deal you a bad hand but you should never give up. Now I

have 3 children and I am determined to get my GED and provide a good life for them.

I would like to thank my mother, my hero, for all the wonderful things she has helped me to accomplish in my life.

irst ones to be there when needed

Always dedicated to one another

Many moments shared together

In their eyes you're perfect

Love that can't be replaced

Years of love to give to one another

emembering back to the summer of 2003, when my children were much younger, my husband and I decided to go on vacation, camping. One day in particular stayed with me. It was the day we arrived at our campsite and what happened shortly after that.

Ryan, my youngest child, and his sister Kayla had found what looked like a man-made sand-box surrounded by sand dunes directly behind where our tents sat.

The children hadn't been back there very long when I heard Ryan scream. I ran as fast as I could only to find my daughter and four little girls playing some sort of game. When Ryan screamed again, I turned and looked in the direction I heard him. He had climbed up a sand dune and was screaming and crying as loud as he could. I climbed the dune as fast as I could, to find Ryan lying face down on top of a dead fish. The fish looked to have been dead about a week, and had now gotten all over Ryan's shirt and hands. It made me sick to my stomach when the odor went up my nose. I grabbed Ryan as fast as I could and kept him away from me so I wouldn't get the fish smell all over me.

I slid down the steep sand dune and ran back with him to the camp site where I wiped off his hands with some spare wipes I had on hand. I then took all his clothes off except his diaper, and ran over to the shower with everything I needed to clean him off.

Mama was unique! She drove a huge '46 Chevrolet that matched her cat eyeglasses perfectly, both were blue and sported tail fins. Mama loved the Lawrence Welk Show with its bubble machine and country singer Buck Owens whose pictures hung all over our house.

She loved nature, all of it. In fall, she found large cocoons made of leaves and moth cement blown out of huge oaks around the house. When spring came she checked them closely for the new life in them, anxiously awaiting their star appearance. As they slowly chewed their way to freedom, a magnificent lime green lunar moth emerged, soon ready for flight. Occasionally, they hatched unobserved -- how surprised Mama was! She found them atop the lacy curtains, perfect in every detail. We bid them good-bye at dusk; gracefully they flew away. In the dead of winter, Mama created a small eco-system with crickets in a pickle jar. She placed bits of apples, bananas, some water and grass, and a rock for the crickets into the jar. They serenaded us when the winter was dark and lonely. Then she set them free to do cricket things.

Mama loved watching "her" birds. She taught me to identify all the local birds, from the great blue heron wading in the pond's shallows to the mother wren raising her babies high on the porch pillar. Bird feeders at every window made for colorful clouds of "live" entertainment. Occasionally, a curious gray squirrel tried to join the fun. Fat, sassy blue jays and crimson cardinals with their dull green wives worked together to make it rethink its motives. Mama raised a pet squirrel in her kitchen. She found the orphan baby under a sun flower. She loved the furry creature and it adored her. It would leap on her panty hose, then run up her leg under her flower skirt. She'd just laugh and drag it out.

Mama enjoyed her flower gardens the best. Tiny seeds became lemon or orange trees in her hands. A toothpick and a hollyhock became a little girl's delight, lovely "southern belles" with ruffled hoop skirts for dancing. Lavender, pale pink and white old-fashioned petunias decorated the yard. Drawn by their sweet aroma, butterflies would hang glide in to taste the nectar with their drinking straws.

She delved into mysteries of the unknown. She believed avidly in reincarnation. She dreamed vivid motion picture dreams and couldn't wait to find them in her dream/horoscope book of over 50 years. She loved to talk about how horoscopes matched personalities. Mama saw several UFO's in her lifetime. One was cigar-shaped and silver in color. She looked away for a moment and it was gone. She also believed in ghosts. She said they came at night and rearranged the dining room chairs and walked the floor upstairs.

We were very poor, living in rural Virginia. We had one stove for heat, no indoor plumbing, and never anything new for our house. We ate lots of beans, potatoes and tomatoes out of Mama's garden and she made it all taste like the best filet mignon. The smell of succulent blackberries from prickly vines cooking in her famous "blackberry roll" was the best air freshener of its time.

I always thought we were so rich, because of Mama's hands. Mama passed away at the age of eighty-two. She is missed every day, but the angels were simply waiting for their sister to return home. Every day is a struggle without Mama, but I make it through, thinking about what Mama's magic hands would do.

n February 14, 2005, I gave my children to my sister to take care of them because I need to come to the United States to work. Why? Because my two little boys aren't grown and need many things. I want my kids to grow safely and when they get to be big boys, I will be happy when they graduate and have one skill.

Marvin Ariel and Michael Steven Bush are the reason why I want to learn English.

I would like to give a better future to my children.

Everything I do, I do it for my two little boys.

y father is my favorite family member. My father is very old-fashioned. He doesn't believe in doctors too much. He belives in his own way of medicine. He also has a good heart. He will do anything for you if you ask him. His hobbies are watching TV and being outside.

My favorite family gathering is at Christmas time. There is so much food we have lots of left-overs for two or three days. For Christmas my sister does most of the cooking. She fixes the food and brings it down to my parents' house. There are so many of us we can not eat at the family table. Some of us fix our plates and eat in the living room. We enjoy each other by laughing and talking.

I'm the oldest of seven children, six girls and one boy. I was born in North Carolina, but grew up in downtown Newport News, which some of us consider "the hood." I grew up in the projects, "hot as hell." As I got older, my family moved into a six bedroom house. Growing up was hard for me, "good but hard." I've always had to wait to get what I wanted. I was told that the other children were younger, that I was the oldest and I could wait to get something later. Christmas, birthdays, or whatever, it didn't matter. That day I made a promise to myself that when I had kids I didn't want them to grow up the way I did. I have always felt as though I grew up too fast. At the age of eleven years old I was cooking, doing laundry and cleaning the house. Sometimes I wonder did I even have a childhood. My Mom worked her fingers to the bone to make ends meet. I hated my stepfather -- I hated him for the way he treated my Mom.

So years passed by and I met myself a winner. We dated for nine years and then he asked me to marry him. I did. In this marriage, we had one child, a son, a son for whom I would do anythang. I messed up by spoiling him. I gave him everything a poor person could wish for, and another person wish they could have had it so good. I didn't let him have any responsibilities. My husband would always tell me that my son was going to make me cry. At that time I thought it was funny. So I told him, I cried when I had him. It was normal for a mom to want nothing but the best for her child. Now my husband I are separated, and life goes on.

Now it's October 3, 2001, I had just come in from work, from a hot, little, and dingy restaurant where I had worked as the head cook for twenty years. I had begun to clean my house when the phone began to ring and the doorbell was sounding off. I answered the door, then the phone. Later that evening, someone came up to my door, but I thought that it was my son playing around the door. So I was thinking that he had forgotten his keys. As I began to open the door the person or persons on the otherside pushed the door, and I pushed back. Then a voice said, "Police!" and I let the door swing open. They came in my house with guns telling me to get down on the floor. Later they talked with me, showed me a warrant, and then searched through my house. They found a few items that shouldn't have been there. At that time I knew they belonged to my son. Now I was thinking anythang for my son. I loved him just that much. So I took this charge for him.

Now I sit lonely in this small and smelly room, looking at the brick walls and looking out the little narrow window. Now I am asking myself, "Why? Why did I allow myself to end up in here?" Then again I say, "Anythang for my son."

veryone has a family, we live in it and feel very warm. There are four persons in my family, my parents, my husband, and I. We live together very happily. Certainly, they are all my favorite family members.

There are many interesting things about the family. I would like to share one of them with you. This is a enjoyable story about a Spring Festival. Spring Festival is the most important and traditional holiday in China. Last Spring Festival Eve, the family members decided to have a pot luck to celebrate. Everybody should cook his or her favorite dish. At dinner time we all brought our dishes. They were put on the table. Wow, what a wonderful dinner! But the members laughed when we saw them. Why did we laugh? Because Beef Noodle Soup was made by my mom, it is my dad's favorite food. Vegetables Salad was made by my dad, it is my favorite food. Roast Duck was made by me, it is my husband's favorite food. And Seafood was made by my husband, it is my dad's favorite food. We cooked the favorite dishes of the others. How interesting it is! We spent a pleasant dinner time together.

In the family we could enjoy family happiness. All members get along with others very well and are like friends. Our life is full of love, care, respect, and understanding. These are very valuable to me. I take great pride in my family.

y husband Wayne is retired. I have three children. One is in college. His name is John Wayne. My older daughter is seventeen and my younger daughter is fifteen. My children are very good. They are very smart.

My girls are learning Spanish. I am learning English. My husband doesn't speak Spanish. Before I learned English, we used to use hand language to communicate.

ne of my favorite family members is my baby brother, Ernie. My family's favorite time together is Christmas. I cherish my family most because of the love I've always shared with them.

My brother Ernie is like my child because I helped raise him. He is 21 years old now and is having some problems in his life, but he is coping. He is younger than me, but will always be a very special part of my life.

My family and I love the Christmas season. When I was younger I would always wake Mom and Dad up before my brother and I would run downstairs to see what was under the tree. Dad always had a camera or camcorder. After all the excitement, we would wait for a nice Christmas dinner made by my grandmother when she was alive, and then later by my mother. It would always consist of ham, mashed potatoes, candied yams, prayers and love.

I have always cherished my family for consistently being loving toward each other. I can't remember a day when there was no love in our home. My brother and I knew what true love was because we always received so much of it.

Today I am in prison and I have 22 years left to do. My brother is also incarcerated. Sometimes I blame myself, but I will never forget the memories and the love I received at home. Today I still receive that same love through my family. I've also learned to give it to every person around me.

miss my family.

I lived in Charlottesville for one year six months.

I come to Charlottesville. I am not happy because I do not understand English.

I miss my son.

I miss my mother.

My son is beautiful.

My son never separated from my heart.

My family is important for everything.

Every holiday my family was together.

Now every Christmas party every holiday I don't see my son or my mother, the two most important people in the world.

hen I was younger I liked the Harvest Moon festival. The day was a holiday so I didn't go to school during the 2-3 days. I was happy.

But the reason why I really liked things: first, my mom bought to me new dresses and shoes. Second, they visited my home. Who? Old sister's family and long distance relationship. Third, the most of important to me, my mom cooked many kinds of foods which is special foods. Fourth, we made special rice cakes. We called them "song pyen" which is rice cake stuffed with bean jam or a chestnut. This was smaller and looks like a dumpling, but does not use meat. When we did making, it was happy because shape was different per member of family. So I waited making time. I was created new style and new shape. It was fun.

Fifth, we wore Korean clothes. We called "Han-Bok" which color was gorgeous and beautiful. It was handmade article so I like that.

Sixth, we played game which is "four-stick game." We called "yut" and many kind of games.

Seventh, we went to grave of ancestors, bring foods which special foods, fruits, and "song pyen." We tidy up a grave. We were setting foods and "song pyen" and fruits on the table and then we did ceremonial bow. When we did ceremonial bow, we said, "Thanks, ancstors." We came back home. We talked about special story both them.

Eighth, the last one. Some people gave to me gifts which were dresses, books, shoes, hat, and money. So I was really happy because I was younger. I waited next year holiday.

hat can I say?
I am the Mama of the day, if my two girls had it their way
funny it may seem, but when my girls look at me
they see Mama,
some mistakes that grown folks would make
would be looked at as "she's a loser"
even when I can't seem to love myself
they have said time before it doesn't matter
you're still mama, but as human frailties exist
my children, my two girls, didn't list
my mistakes or throw them in my face
they have said mama you hurt me, but
I love you no matter what, that's the
beauty of a child, sometimes I had to
stop and think about that for a while, how
could they still love me so, with all
the broken promises I bestowed
but little did I know, Jesus was working to make it so
that unconditional thing he does, given
freely to my girls from up above -- love
the power of love has come shining through
who knew, that the few loving words I
did say, that my two girls listened to those
words and gave them back to me on my
darkest days. I am proud to say that
my two girls, Tonia and Erica, have made my
day, because now I know that Jesus lives
in my two girls and me, love that's shining through.

am the fourth son in my family. When I was ten years old, my mother got divorced and she has never gotten married again.

She worked hard every day to help us. My two older brothers were in high school, but they did not get to graduate. I graduated from the middle school. My other brother, too.

Mama is a great mother. She loves us. We grew up together. We had a hard time, but we all appreciate her. She doesn't work any more, so now we help her.

My older brother got married. He and his wife have two girls and two boys. My mother is a grandmother. She is very happy right now.

I love her.

y mother was born in West Virginia. She was married to Gary Miller. She was expecting her first baby and lost it by carrying a bag of potatoes up a hill. Her family had made her carry that bag of potatoes. She got pregnant the second time by Gary and had a baby girl which she named Virginia Marie Miller. Virginia is my half sister. Then she got a divorce from Gary and married Ira Cutlip. Ira and Maggie have been married for about 36 years now. In 1970 she had a boy and named him Ira Cutlip, Jr. In 1972 I was born -- Angel Marie Cutlip. My Mommy told me that when I was born I was a breach baby and I came out feet first. In 1975 she had another boy and named him Henry Cutlip. While I was growing up, she worked in my dad's shop. She enjoyed driving the tow motor there. She was a busy mother at home.

My mother has several serious health conditions: MS, bronchitis, arthritis, and asthma. My Mommy had two strokes while I was locked up. When I called home the first time, she was in the hospital. The second time I called, I found out she had had a stroke. "They almost lost her!" my little brother told me. I was on the phone crying when people asked me what was wrong with me. I told them my Mommy had a second stroke, and the hospital almost lost her. I got off the phone still crying and went to my room, crying even harder. I said, "God, why did you do this to my Mommy? Why don't you do it to me, not my Mommy?" Then my Mommy went blind in both of her eyes after the second stroke. That was when people started to pray for her.

I called home the third time to check on Mommy. Mommy told me she had some good news for me. I said, "What's the good news, Mommy?" She said, "I can see, but very little!" I was so happy. She said that her left eye was 20/20 and her right eye was 25/20. She is taking six different kinds of medicine which cost my daddy $297.00. The medicines she is taking are making her eyesight come back and helping her health, too. People prayed for my Mommy and it helped.

y family is special. We do many things together like go play soccer together with my brother. I like my family. In my family we have ten people: three girls and five boys and my father and mother. I am the big brother. I help my little brother if he has trouble. I talk with him. If it is hard I have to tell my father and mother. My family makes me happy. Sometimes we sit down together with my father and mother. They tell the family story about the past and the future, about life. Sometimes I miss my country because I have family there -- my uncle, my sister, my grandfather and grandmother and others. Sometimes I call them on the phone. They say, "When can we see you again?" I just say, "One day and one time we can meet. For many years I haven't seen them. I don't know when I will go back there.

y mom is favorite family member. I love my mom because she is always more than I need.

I like Christmas with my family. We eat turkey and give presents. We talk at the table and drink champagne.

Now, in the USA I live with my grandmother and my uncle. I spent this Christmas with my grandma, my uncle, my aunt, and my cousin. We were very happy together.

have three children. Their names are Diana, Evelyn, and Anthony. They are 11, 8, and 6. They go to school in Ohio and live with their dad. I have one sister named Lolis. She has one daughter. I never get to see my kids. I miss them. My family lives in Mexico. I never get to see them, either. They live in Jalisco, Guadalajara. I like Guadalajara. I miss my family.

n April 13, 1943, a bouncy baby girl was born to Richard and Gracie Johnson. They named her Nannie Mae. Such a beautiful young woman she turned out to become. She married Marvin James Phipps (now deceased.) In their union, nine children were born. This wonderful woman is my mother.

On her 55th birthday, we gave her a big surprise birthday party. My brother from Maryland took her out shopping. When they pulled in her yard, she was ecstatic to see tents decorated with balloons and a banner with "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! WE LOVE YOU!" She received many gifts. I bought her a plaque, "The Best Mom in the World," with all of her children's names engraved on it in gold. Although there have been many other family gatherings, I'll never forget her surprise birthday party. We really enjoyed her birthday; it was very special to her.

Today she's the mother of nine, grandmother of twenty-two, and great-grandmother of two. I'm very proud of the woman she is. I am thankful to call her mother and I love her with all of my heart.

ducation is one of the most important things. In my family, unfortunately, not even one person had completed school through high school. I am one of them. Even though I believed education is a bright light for the future, I didn't take the chance to go through it.

The highest grade I completed was 9th grade. I had several problems that prevented me from continuing my education.

After I stopped school, I thought about the importance of education and wanted to go back. Unfortunately, I couldn't. I always regret the chance that I missed and have blamed it on myself. Sometimes I realize that it wasn't all my fault. My parents were not that well educated, but they thought I should have the chance they did not have. All my sisters and partner are educated. That is what I want for my children too. To have that chance and complete their education. Of course, education only ends when they meet their dreams.

My daughter is already in a two-year college and hopes to transfer to University. My other daughter is still a baby, but when she grows up I will tell her the same thing. I've been telling my oldest daughter the importance of education for success in life.

er absence draws out the sky
Blanketing every crevice, every crack.
Misery has sharpened its reflection,
Weighing heavy on my tracks.

I lie awake, with heartbreak...
Thinking of heartbreak, and lying awake.

Fantasies and daydreams my only instruments,
To surpass the anguished mentality.
Thinking, dreaming of a better world,
Till all is crushed, when I revive reality.

My soul is starving, from missing feasts
Love is repellant, bitter and uncertain.
My mind in all survives the torture,
Whilst my heart has drawn the curtains.

I turn, I weep, I drift.

Honey, I'm forever missing you!

y family is very wonderful. When I was three years old my mother and my father came here to the U.S. because in my country it is very difficult to find work. Later I came to the U.S. to help my mother because she was separated from my father. But my father always helped me and my brother and sister.

I have one sister and one brother. My sister is twenty-one years old and my brother is nineteen. They live in El Salvador. My Mom lives in Washington D.C. I live with my aunt; she lives in Charlottesville. I live with my aunt because I don't like Washington. Here I have an aunt and a cousin.

My grandmother and grandfather live in El Salvador. Sometimes they come to the U.S. for vacation. They are sweet. My father is always talking. He is very funny. My Mom is very sullen. I don't know why my Mom and father got married.

My sister is married. She is very young. She has one daughter who is three years old. She is beautiful. My brother is a student. He likes cars. Wow! He is very intelligent. He is similar to my father and my grandfather. My family is very big. I have twenty-three cousins from my mother and father.

y name is Hassan Mahamud. I am 22 years old. I am from Somalia. I left my country when I was six or seven years old. It was very hard to survive because of civil war.

My parents decided to move to Kenya Refugee Camp where there was a lot of refugees. In 1992 we arrived the refugee camp. There was agency called UNHCR. They provided food, medical care, and education. They also placed me in school when I was nine years old. I really enjoyed studying. That was my first time going to school and my parents were very happy. They also used to help me with homework.

In 1996 my mom passed away. I started feeling very sad. I quit the school because I have two younger sisters. My father was having another wife at that time. I started taking care of my two sisters to make them happy and well fed. My dad was trying to get us processed to come to America.

In 2002 my dad found for us the process. They started giving us medical examination and we passed the exam.

In June 14, 2004 we came to Grand Rapids, Michigan. We came by an agency called Lutheran Social Services. They also helped us in America. They also placed school for my sisters, and I am very happy to see my sisters are going to school in America.

call my mother Okasaan for a long time. Okasaan means ' mother' in Japanese. The phrase of Okasaan reminds me of precious heart.

I have a lot of memories with my mother, but I had not realized how deeply my mother loved me until I was engaged. I lived with my mother until I got married. At that time I hardly felt that my mother was a special person, because we were always together and it was almost natural that she took care of me and my family. We were sometimes like friends but we sometimes had quarrels and I sometimes resisted against her in my girlhood.

After the engagement, she seemed more excited than I. She enjoyed choosing my Japanese kimono and the dress for my wedding day very much and she thought about what was the best present for our guests. Of course, I was interested in these things, too, but actually I was very busy and tired every day at that time because of my job, so I didn't have a lot of time to think about my wedding. She looked very excited about my wedding as if it was her own.

One day my mother and I went out with my fiance to choose my wedding dress. According to my fiance, while I tried on dresses, my mother said to him, "She is my only daughter, so I am really happy. I can look at my daughter's bridal appearance soon." I didn't know it until the wedding day.

On the wedding day, I read my letter to my parents and I handed a big bouquet to my mother at the end of the party. At that time I was very surprised because my mother was crying very much. I had never seen my mother crying like that before. I really realized she loved me a lot.

After the marriage, I can feel her love for me which I could not feel in my childhood. Each time I have unfamiliar housework, I regret I should have learned those things from my mother and I remember those things my mother did. Although my mother was busy working at the office where my father managed, she always took care of everything about me and my family. I can imagine easily now how it was hard for her to do them with her job.

Even though I am in Charlottesville now, away from Japan, my mother sometimes helps me by sending some Japanese items, for example rice cakes, rice crackers, miso and her recipes with her letter written by hand. I always tell her, "You don't have to send so many things any more because I can get many Japanese items here," but she always does it. When I get her packagers, I'm filled with the feeling of gratitude for her kindness I miss her a lot, but I'm always cheered up by her letters and packages.

If I have some children someday, I hope I want to be their mother like my mother. And I hope I am called Okasaan. I called her so, though many Japanese mothers are called Mom by their children nowadays. When I was scared about something or when I needed some help in my childhood, I always called "Okasaan!!" Then she came to me and gave me comfortable feeling. When I receive the packages from my mother, I murmur, "This is from Okasaan and after that I can find many Japanese items and her love in her packages. So the phrase Okasaan reminds me of feelings of love and home. This has not changed even now. I can rely on her wherever I live, and I can get a lot of energy from her. So I hope that I will be Okasaan for my children as my mother was for me.

y name is Robert and I am about to tell you about one school experience in which I earned the reputation of being "Louie's little brother."

Mr. Wise was the math teacher at my high school and with him there was a time to play and a time not to play. Once with his back turned to us, he heard that familiar voice AGAIN (yup, my voice). "Louie's little brother BE QUIET!" he said, without turning around. Well, obviously to me this was a slip of the tongue. Now Mr. Wise was an exception because he was an excellent teacher at a school where most teachers would not find themselves. Most of the teachers were at the wrong school, as this was a special school for learning disabled and here there were always problems. Though there were problems, it was a regular school to me. School was just school to me, and while some of the kids had bad tempers and bad moods and would "go off" I at least knew how to control mine.

One fellow named Louie (not my brother) and I still talk today. I've known him from elementary school on through high school and to this day, we still talk on the phone and email. Over the summer and after school "Louie's little brother" (me), this friend Louie, and my brother Louie worked helping the custodians.

One summer day, we were helping the custodians as usual, and also as usual this custodian named Ralph told us to "go get lost" until it was time to go home. What happened one day, the two Louies started fighting. They both had tempers. I WAS CALLED OVER TO COME HELP BREAK UP THE FIGHT. When I came in I turned around to my brother Louie and I said, "Come on you want to fight, fight me!" Suddenly, he started calming down. This was because there was a way that I could always get to him. This stopped the fight. Everyone else was looking at me in shock, that I could calm him down when he was so caught into the fight. The end of this fight was to draw on the blood brother and not the blood. In this way, we all won. We learn something about fighting and we all don't get hurt.

have six brothers and one sister. My oldest brother is Joseph. He is the outgoing one. Then there is Ronnie. He is a minister and loves the church. Next is my sister Patricia. Randy is next and loves sports, and he is followed by Larry who loves to sing. Then there is me. Melvin, the quiet one is next followed by Brian, an OK guy. Our stepsister is Pam who is very interesting to talk to.

We all get together for the holidays at Thanksgiving and Christmas. We sit around the table and eat good home cooking; everybody brings a dish. We also play games and, of course, talk about the good old days. After we have dessert, we'll sing church songs which is always a good time.

All of us were born in New York City. We moved from there to Charlottesville when I was eleven. The pace of life in Charlottesville was slower than in New York. The family likes the fast pace better, but we have gotten used to Charlottesville. We all got to grow up together here.

My brothers and sisters are so important to me because they always do me right. They look out for me in a good way. I love all of them.

y name is Yarnelle Woodfolk. This is my life's story. When I was young I got pregnant at 15 years old, and I had my first child at 16 years old. I still went to school throughout my pregnancy and I went to work at the age of 16. After that, I got pregnant again at the age of 17. I went to school through the 10th grade and then I just dropped out and went to Job Corps. I stayed in Job Corps for two weeks. I called my mom and told her that I wanted to come home, so I did just that!

When I got home, I found that I was two weeks pregnant. I had my second child at the age of 18. As I was getting older, I went to sign up for GED class. I stayed in that for awhile, and I just stopped going. I was still working at the time all the above was going on in my life along with having two children to raise. One day I decided to have another child, at the age of 22. When my third child was born, I decided to go back to work so my children can have a roof over their heads. So that was then and this is now. I'm 28 years old and I have three beautiful children with me. As my children got older and are now in school, I thought of going back to school What really made me come back was my children. As I was sitting in my mom's living room, my older son came to me with some homework and guess what subject it was? Math (my worst subject in school.) When he showed me the paper, I told him I will try and help him. My son told me to go back to school to get my GED and go to college and get a degree in Childhood Early Development.

Now that I'm doing this and I have a wonderful boyfriend by my side, I couldn't ask for anything else in life. My true heroes and inspirations are Rashad, Mickia and Tylique. They are my heart, soul, and my friends. Without my children, I would not be here today.

came to America with husband in July of last year. Now, I miss my whole family in South Korea. My family consists of my father and mother, one younger sister, two younger brothers and two puppies. I can communicate with my parents, sister and brothers by telephone or e-mail, but can not communicate with my puppies. As a result, I miss my puppies more.

One of the puppies is the mother and the other is her daughter. The name of the mother puppy is Ae-gi and the name of the daughter is Bbu-ni. When Ae-gi came my house six years ago for the first time, she was a very little and young baby puppy.

Since Ae-gi was a young baby, she has been excreting urine and stoool in the bathroom like people. (The bathroom of Korea has a drainage system.) After two years, Ae-gi bred four babies. Two babies were boys and the others were girls. My family chose to bring up Ae-gi and her first daughter. The first daughter's name is Bbu-ni.

The character of Bbu-ni is different from her mother Ae-gi. Ae-gi is not amiable, but she is a graceful, calm, very clever and clear puppy, and is no trouble. But Bbu-ni is cheerful, bright and very amiable so she is a puppy which can express the love. Despite having a different character, Bbu-ni learned the behavior of her mother, the way of excreting urine and stool, eating, sleeping, playing games, washing her face...

Also, since Bbu-ni was young she has sung very well. When my family came at home from their jobs, Bbu-ni sang loudly with lovely gestures. When Bbu-ni sang a song, accumulated fatigue disappeared from the day and my house was full of happiness and smiles. Bbu-ni's song and gesture always present my busy family with pleasure, comfort and coziness. And they make more conversation. Stories and smiles increase between the members of my family.

I would like to see Bbu-ni and Ae-gi very much. Especially Bbu-ni...How is Bbu-ni living today also? I wonder about how they are. I don't know when I will see Bbu-ni and Ae-gi. When I have my baby on April this year, maybe my parents may bring Bbu-ni and Ae-gi. Through Ae-gi and Bbu-ni I realize a loving heart. Although they don't speak, they understand, learn feel everything as well. People must cherish animal's life like persons.

Quickly, I would like to cuddle a chubby Bbu-ni and Ae-gi and to kiss them. With Bbu-ni and Ae-gi waiting to greet me, I want to live with my family forever very well.