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'I was given a promotion and title change by my superior. By the following week, my pay reflected on my checks, and I moved into a new office.'

'I ventured into work like any other day. I was tired and fed up with the conditions of my work environment and pay on top of that. On this day, I planned on spending my entire evening looking for another job. Around lunch time I was called in for a random meeting(that was not planned). I figured I was somehow in trouble for something. Turns out, it was completely opposite of what I had expected. My superior sat me down and he had a stack of papers in his hand. It was a contract stating my terms of employment would be changing if I agreed. My title was being changed along with my pay rate. I was just stunned, because I felt like my hard work was often dismissed and not even recognized. After going through this contract, I signed my name, thanked my superior, and nearly skipped out of this conference room. My new pay rate would take effect in my next pay check. It was a fairly significant increase, so I was excited to see what kind of checks I would be making now. With my promotion, came a new office as well. Overall it was a good day. Very unexpected, but in the end I was appreciative my hard work had finally been recognized.'

'My mom came to visit out of state for my birthday and took my husband and me to do an Escape Room. It was my first one and we failed, but we got really, really close to escaping. It was a much needed reminder that I am pretty darn good at thinking and have solid leadership skills.'

'Towards the end of April, my mom and her fiance came to visit me and my husband from Pennsylvania the weekend after my birthday and she\'d been asking me what I want to do. I\'m a major homebody nowadays - what with having moved away from family, friends, civilization as I had always known it. I don\'t explore, I don\'t go out, I like comfy socks and TV shows. I live in the most rural area I\'ve ever seen in my life after growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Talk about culture shock. But anyway, the last time I\'d visited Pennsylvania, she had talked about doing an Escape Room as a team building thing for work and I expressed how much I wanted to try one of those. So even though I didn\'t know what I wanted to do after my birthday, my mom found an Escape Room in a nearby city. She booked it and we went. So this being my first Escape Room, I had no idea what to expect. Mom sent me the list of the "scenarios" and said we should do an easier one since it was my first, but the one that struck my fancy was the one where I was supposed to be an FBI agent - the hardest one. I said, "I hear what you\'re saying, but I want to be an FBI agent!" So that\'s the one we did. And we did really well. At first there were so many different things that could be puzzle pieces that I was literally running from corner to corner wondering where to start. That took more time than it needed to, but once the first puzzle got solved it was pretty smooth sailing. We were in the room with three teenagers who seemed a little shy. Having worked retail, I tried to introduce myself and get their names because - you know, team building. It took a little while for them to really start engaging with us. The whole thing went by in a blur and I honestly barely remember the entire process, I just know I had a great time and that we got the very, very last piece of the puzzle - a book with the code to unlock the door - when the clock was at 30 seconds. At this point, we weren\'t thinking as much as we should have been anymore and all but ignored the telling part of the clue that revealed the page of the book the code would be on. I was proud for almost getting out though, I think we definitely would have done if we didn\'t get frantic. Afterwards my husband told me that he loved seeing me like that. I had no idea what he was talking about. "You were so amazing in there, you took charge of the situation and told people what you thought and I loved it." I didn\'t realize how naturally I\'d fallen back into my Assistant Manager role where I knew what to do and how it needed to get done, but it felt really good. It was a much needed reminder that I have valuable problem solving skills and leadership skills that I can apply when given the opportunity.'

'My daughter, who I am close to, got married and moved from North Carolina to Canada about 4 months ago. She keeps in touch but I still miss her terribly.'

"My daughter moved far away from home. When she met and got engaged to a Canadian who was working here in the US, I hoped he would try to get residency here and they would stay. But it's hard to get legal status nowadays, even for married couples, so they decided to move to Montreal, where he is from. She has already started the process for residency there. I miss her so much! She's been gone for about 4 months now and I still can't get used to not seeing her every few days. I was spoiled because we did spend a good amount of time together. I miss watching 90 Day Fiancee with her and talking about it (she can't get it in Canada!) and having Sunday dinners with them. We do message almost every day and talk a few times a week but I miss her SOOOO much. I am touched that even though she has her own grown up life now that she still sends me a meme or a note every day and keeps me updated on what's going on in her life. I plan to go visit her in the Spring but that's still a long time away. I'm trying to convince her to come for Christmas. I can't imagine the holidays without here. Some days I feel like a piece of my heart is missing. She is an adult but she will always be my little girl."

"I tought I was the big shot and slowly found out I had to be humble amongst my peers. I let me ego get the best of me. I didn't realize what i was doing."

"Six months ago I was hired at a great company as a travelling adviser making excellent pay. The benefits and vacation time were good and to top it all, I am able to travel to many places as part of my job. I felt everything has fallen in place for me and for the first time in a long time, I was on top of the world. Everyone was happy about me obtaining the job and able to afford to eat at fine dining restaurants, drive a very nice car, stay at the finest hotels and take my family to places they never thought they will see. My husband and I were pulling close to 300,000 a year with both incomes and to me, life was grand. I wasn't stinking wealthy but I were living great. I talked about my experiences often with friends, showing off places my family and I went, snapping pictures of wads of cash with captions here and there. Some noted as 'haters this could be you too!' The places I used to frequent with friends became less and less and I somehow found myself not exactly on the same levels as my friends anymore. I noticed I here less and less from each of them as time passed. Initially I did not think much of it until one day a long time good friend of mines wanted to have serious chat. She noticed a change of attitude with me and said I was not the same as woman she used to know. I had the tendency to humble brag a lot and seem to distanced myself away from everyone else. Other friends thought the same but fear upsetting me. I felt a bit shocked about how everyone felt and I apologized if I allowed my job to change who I were. Unfortunately that friend and I is no longer close like we used to be and a few others left my life too. I felt horrible about the outcome and made a conscious decision to humble myself. What comfort me is everything happens for a reason and a lesson to be learn is to not only be grateful but towards close to me ands not allow superficiality be a theme of my life."

'My now-girlfriend confessed she was interested in me after lots of online chatting. It was mutual. It worked out well.'

"This was something that i never even expected to happen. I was bored one Friday evening and i just went on an online dating website. I met this girl and we just connected right from the start. We had the same hobbies. We even liked the same type of food. Everything was going great. I decided that i really wanted to meet her in person. Just like that , i booked a ticket to New Jersey to see and meet her. She was exactly what i imagined. She was beautiful and smart. She was also very witty and friendly as well. After about 2 months of chatting, we were official. She decided she wanted to move to my state and live with me. Everything is going great. I'm so happy that i was able to meet her. She is my everything."

'My mom was diagnosed with a mental illness. It has caused distrust and alienation among the family members.'

"Five months ago, my mother was diagnosed with a mental illness. The news swept through the family like wildfire. Some of the family are trying to be supportive and helpful of our situation. Some of the others however, are wreaking havoc. They believe she can no longer be trusted to care for herself or important family things. They're blaming her for past incidences which never had a suspect before this diagnoses. All in all, the family is being ripped apart simply because my mother is ill. The disease she has been diagnosed with isn't even that life changing, and yet some of my family are behaving like it's the end of their lives. Some people just have that ability though, to turn someone elses problems into their own for sympathy or attention. My mother is receiving treatment, and isn't much different from her former self. She's not taking the mistrust of the family so well though, and it causes her to sometimes need to take extra medicine just to cope. I try to stop the family from bothering her. They just can't see that they're actually making things worse. If they'd just leave her alone, treat her like they used to, then she would BE just like she used to. A small mental disease doesn't always completely change a person."

'Journey through the healthcare system which finally lead to a quality Doctor who performed sinus surgery on me. My wonderful mother taking care of myself and small child so my husband could still work.'

"I was anxious to have the sinus surgery as my nose had been full of polyps with deviated septum for likely a couple of years at that point. I was quite miserable, comparable to a sinus infection for years with no real relief. Multiple doctors, many rounds of steroids and antibiotics with no relief. At one point I was offered depression medications. I was also scared to have someone cutting and cleaning right next to my brain and eyes with only a couple thin bones in between. But at this point I felt desperate. My quality of life was rather low so I was determined to go through with the surgery. And I'm glad I did and I'm grateful I found my ENT doctor when I did. My husband's mother took care of our toddler while my mother and husband accompanied me. I'm grateful for my husband for distracting me with talk of anything other than what was happening that day and rubbing my cold feet before surgery. It really is the little things in life that are most memorable. Breathing through one's nose is definitely something a lot of people take for granted. I remember laying on the freezing cold operating table with nurses, techs, doctor and all the machines as a nurse injected the drug to put me under which felt like cold fire in my veins. I remember waking up in recovery with my nose packed full of gauze and such, wondering where my family was. I've only been under anesthesia one other time and to be honest it is a rather traumatizing experience but the nurses and doctors certainly don't acknowledge it as such."

'Woke up one morning and heard one of my kids fall to the ground in their room. I thought my daughter was choking but it turned out to be something else...'

'I cannot believe the day that had just happened. It started out when I had to work a double shift and came home ridiculously tired the night before. I had only slept a total of 4 hours before I heard the thud and the scream from my 7 year old son which felt like it filled the house. It was 6 am and I was immediately taken in an out of body experience which is all I can describe it as. I heard my son screaming for help and I immediately screamed for my wife because I thought I was going to find my daughter dead in her room. My son was crying over my daughter as she shook and her eyes were rolling in the back of her head. I was sure that she was choking on something and my son through tears kept telling me she may have swallowed a lego because they had been playing with them. I felt sick and told my wife to call the ambulance right away. We were screaming at each other and crying and I shoved my fingers in my daughters throat to try and get her airway clear because I was positive it was choking. I even started doing heart compresses. I thought she was going to be gone and I have never been more afraid. I felt myself outside of my body looking in at that moment. My son was terrified and I did not keep it together well for him. When the ambulance came my wife was sure it was a seizure by the way she was reacting after. She immediately fell asleep and we took her to the ER. She had to have an xray to confirm that there was nothing blocking her airways. It was the single most terrifying moment in my life. My daughter has epilepsy.'

'i was actually writing about how my wedding was ruined and a life lost due to my delay to act since i thought all the information i was given was lie i proofed later after waiting for her at the alter for 6 hrs'

'They left me planted on my wedding day and since that day my life could not be the same, that day I was prepared to marry "the love of my life". It was not like that and the opposite happened. With the arrival of good weather, the number of couples who decide to go through the altar increases. Every weekend, churches, courts and town halls see love for their halls parade. although not all stories end up as a fairy tale. Ending a relationship and literally breaking wedding invitations is not that uncommon. Gone are months of preparations and disbursement of money as a reservation of the place of the invitation. the flowers, the trip or the dress of the bride. What can the abandoned do? Apart from crying, since it is legally impossible to demand the fulfillment of the promise and force someone who does not want to marry, you can claim the money invested for the celebration. Getting married today is a luxury that many cannot assume. It hurt the money. my life. my family. everything.'

'My dog was dying while I was out of town. I was denied the ability to get to her in time. She ended up passing away soon after, and I will never be the same again.'

"Over the summer, I was in another state visiting family. There was a day - a Sunday - when I was planning on going home. For one reason or another, I chose not to. The next day, my mom informed me that my dog was not doing well. Immediately, I knew I had to try to get back. I don't drive and couldn't find any flights, so I opted for Greyhound. I rushed to get to the station for a very last-minute departure. While trying to board, I was denied access because my identification had expired since I left town. I was profoundly crushed. And upset at myself for letting that happen. I would make different plans to get home the next morning. However, I woke up to a text from my mom saying that my dog had not made it through the night. I barely got out of bed for days. I didn't care about going home anymore. The thought of being in my house without my dog made it feel haunted."

'I had a birthday party that my friends and family organized. I knew something was up when a few of my friends texted me within a short time span. Although I was a bit tired from work, I still had a good time.'

"This was a birthday party that was supposed to be somewhat of a surprise though I had my suspicions beforehand due to the number of text messages I received from different friends. It was not only the messages themselves that gave it away but the volume of the messages were unusual. I distinctly remember walking in to the door and noticing my chairs being out of place. I knew what was coming but still tried to act surprised as everyone greeted me. I very clearly remember everyone's faces at that instant as they welcomed me to the party. Overall, my friend Steve helped quite a bit in organizing the party. Aside from my family, my childhood friends Raymond and Wei was also there at the party. We had some drinks, snacks and a very delicious fruit cake. I received some very nice gifts and was completely flattered. There was quite a bit of chatter and some catching up with friends that I see less often. Eventually we moved onto playing some games in groups. However, I had a long day at work and was very tired. I could not enjoy that portion of the birthday party to the fullest. Eventually people had to go and I thanked them for coming. I had a very nice long rest after everything."

'This story was about the passing of my best friend, my dog Luke. It was a general summary of the affects he had on my life and the quirks he had throughout his life.'

"The saddest day of my life is still the day my dog, Luke, passed away. I always loved my dog. He was like my best friend. He knew when I was sad and he was always right there for me to cry on. I can't even count the number of times I laid on his belly and cried my eyes out. He was there throughout a lot of my worst times as a young adult. The heart breaks, the lost jobs, Luke was always right there. Everyday when I came home he was the first thing I thought about. That feeling of opening the door and knowing he would be waiting right there and he would be so excited to see me was like nothing else in the world. I was always his favorite person. He would pretend to bite anyone who came too close to me or who touched me. He was the best thing in my world. And then one day he was gone. He was 12 years old, I knew it would happen eventually, but I wasn't ready for it. I have never felt such a profound loss. He was such a big part of my life, and now he was gone. I would come home from work and open the door and feel that momentary excitement of expecting to see him, and then I would remember he was gone. My heart would sink and I would fall apart sobbing. It hasn't gotten any easier as the months have gone by. Anytime I stop to think about him I still cry uncontrollably. I have his blanket that I sleep with sometimes. I used to use it to cover him when he was sleeping on the couch. It makes me feel safe when I am having a terrible day, the same way he used to when he was here."

"In a nutshell this world is more of a gray area then black or white when it comes to how the world really works. And I think most times keeping an open mind it's the way to be."

"In my life, a grey area is something that holds true in many aspects. A few months back my favorite cousin was sent back to jail. Sadly he tested dirty we went to his parole officer. What made matters worse was that his home was swatted and they found quite a bit of different drugs there as well. I live in a small town so of course this was in newspaper and featured the sheriff County's facebook page. There were a lot of negative comments stating that he was a horrible person and deserves jail time you name it they were saying it. But I know I love my cousin and things are just so black and white, if people kept open mind even know that he had a very rough child without a father and he got with the wrong crowd. When he got married 5 years ago he was clean and doing so well but there was a fire at his home and he had to jump out of a second-story when after saving his kids and wife. Because of this he hurt his back and got addicted to painkillers. And he started to smoke weed and two other drugs to take away his pain and progressing depression. I suppose if I didn't know the specifics behind it it would see my cousin. As a good or bad person (ie) a black or white mentality of his character. But most things in this life there's always two sides to every story which gives way to gray areas of life. I just wish more people saw the world this way. Perhaps the world would be a better place if we all did."

'A trip to Vegas to visit my mom that is recovering from a stroke. I enjoyed being helpful for the small amount of time I was visiting.'

'About two months ago i was visiting las vegas. I was going to see my mother. The main reason for the visit was that she had just had a stroke and i wanted to support her. I remember when i got there i gave her a very big hug. We bonded so much during the trip. I was very sad most of the time but happy to see her. I was very grateful that the doctor said she should be okay now . She will have to change her diet and work out more but she will be okay. It was a very big relief to hear the doctor say that . I plan on moving down closer to my mother soon. I want to be there for her . I dont want her to have another stroke. Overall i am very happy with the visit with my mother . I do plan on also seeing her again shortly in the future. One thing that shocked me was how much we bonded. We talked so much about past memories from when i was a child. We have never really bonded like this before and it was very nice to have bonded with her. I also remember we talked about my dad passing away and i dont want to watch my mother pass away. I plan on helping her with work out goals and changing her diet.'

'I wrote about moving to a new city and preparing for student teaching. I wrote how my placement was not handled properly by my incompetent advisor and how I had to postpone it.'

"i need to move a new city, because my adviser say need to move, suddenly ask me to move to new city. because i have incompetent adviser that's why he don't have knowledge about it. anyway i need to move on new city. need to pack everything and quickly need to move on, many difficulty at many things and my groceries and my clothes, bikes and cars. i dont know about the new city. whether, climate, surroundings, neighbors all. i need to spend long life there, i scared about new city life. my friends and collages are here, i don't know how about i spend their without this. i need to start my new life at new city. need to start everything, i hope there are hope and happiness and full of joy. i restart my life their. i need to find new friends and pet shop and groceries shop their, everything happens because of my adviser fault. lack of knowledge, my father scold him many time for his knowledge. i booked transport for shift everything to the new city. i come back to new city , i feel bit fine than older place, but my friends nobody around me. need to meet new friends there and everything make new. we all enjoyed the new city life. very nice amd a lot of fun at the new city. i feel good and compare to old house is better than new house."

'It was my time to go back to college, and there were mixed feelings about it. I enjoyed my time with family before I left. Once I got settled, it ended up being a great time.'

"I started two weeks ago. It was my first day of my sophomore year of college. I was nervous at first to go back. I wanted to go back but at the same time, I was still nervous to go back. Once I got back, it took what felt like a decade to get everything back into my room. It was not fun at all. My parents and siblings helped me out the whole time. After we finished, we went to get some food. We went to a Mediterranean restaurant that was very good. I ordered fish with vegetables. It was amazing, the best fish that I've had for a long time. Once we were done eating, it was time for me to go back to campus. I said my goodbyes and was off. I was glad to be back at college, however knew I would miss my family and pets back home. The sadness soon went away after I got into classes and such however. At this point in time, I am having a great time."

'My best friend, noticing that I had been slinking back into depression, went out of his way to help me get back into the path of recovery, starting by bringing me some homemade soup, since I had not been eating. He did so expecting nothing in return.'

"I have not been feeling the greatest lately. I have had periods where I get really bad depression. Two weeks ago, I had fallen into another deep depression. I was really down and felt like I had no one for support. I was sitting in my apartment when I heard my doorbell. I went to get it and it was my old friend Gary. I was so shocked to see him He not only came to visit but he surprised me by bringing me soup he made at home! He knew I was not doing too good and he came to cheer me up and give me company. Having him there showed me that I have people that still care about me. We talked for a long time and it was obvious to me that he wanted nothing in return. It was nice to be able to open up about myself to someone who I know I can trust. Greg convinced me to make an appointment to see a doctor. He wants me to feel better, and I do too! I am hopeful I will feel better in the future. I am very thankful for Greg's friendship."

'My friend and I took a long drive to go to this fitness expo, where nutrition and training were key. While there, we competed in a rigorous fitness contest. Somehow, and very unexpectedly, I outperformed those who I thought would definitely win and got first place in the contest!'

"Not too long ago, I won a contest at this one fitness expo that my friend and I attended for a whole weekend. He surprised me with a birthday ticket to the whole event, which really was a pleasant thing. The whole point of the expo was to promote proper nutrition and training when you adapt it to a full body workout experience. At the very least, I was hoping to get some really good information for future reference! We had to drive over 5 hours to get there by car, but it was not too bad since we split up the drive between us two. Anyways, while there, we also competed in a contest with over one hundred other individuals of varying levels of fitness! It was a crazy experience, and I was very nervous to perform in front of so many people, especially ones that were definitely more fit than me (at least they seemed to be). Some of these guys looked like they were bodybuilders and had been working out like that for many many years! I only happened to start the program just a year ago. I did put a lot of effort into the workouts leading up to this, but I definitely think I had my work cut out for me! Crazy enough though, I actually outperformed them and won first place! I was ecstatic and couldn't believe it. Little old me, who was half the size of most of the people there, on his first try did what seemed like the impossible. My friend told me that it was all the hard work I put in prior to this expo, which really made me feel happy and glad that I agreed to join him on this trip. What a great weekend!"

'My youngest son decided to leave West Virginia and move back to Florida. I cried harder then I ever had in my life. I have to live my life and let him grow into his own man.'

'Three weeks ago, James left to Florida. I have never been so sad in my life and I really hope that I can move on from this soon. I remember when he was a baby and he told me how much he loved life where we were and how he never wanted to leave. I wish I did not lie to myself all these years and think him honest in that situation. James has been my only child for these long years and I have cared for him as best as I could. I have worked several jobs to make ends meet and allow him a childhood that was stress free. In fact, he believed us wealthy because of the gentle disguise I held over his eyes. I do hope that he will be happy wherever he ends up. I know not what Florida will bring to him, but it will be an adventure for him nonetheless. I know I sound like I am rambling, but I just do not know how to get my feelings straight about James and my mind is going very fast at the thought of not seeing him for a long while. I take refuge in the thought that I will indeed see him again at Christmas. He has made a promise to return and James always keeps his promises, no matter how small. I always knew he would leave me and move on to his own life, but I did not want it to be true and I thought maybe just not thinking about it would make it go away. That is not right it appears. My thoughts have been on my husband of late as well. I wonder where he has gotten to on the other side. I lost him several years ago when James was a small boy and now I think of him everyday as well. Who would have thought that several years ago I would lose my husband to a disease and now I am losing my son to a move. One of them is one that I know I have to do, but if you would have told me years ago what would happen in my life, I would not believe it. The only person I will have left with James gone is not a person at all. My cat will have to be the replacement for James and those are hard shoes to fill. I am talking too much about myself here. I am very glad for James because he will go to college and met a lot of new people and make a happy life for himself. Maybe I could even go down there and live if he wants his mom nearby.'

"My wife and I were going to Paris for a friend's wedding. We had problems getting there, with cancelled flights and know-nothing airline employees hindering us. Eventually we made it to our destination and despite missing a lot, we made it for the main event and had a great time."

"All of these speeches can be great wedding toasts in honor of the bride... Modify any that need it and include a few personal touches to create the perfect tribute to your sister and her new husband. With the right personal touches, maid of honor speeches for a sister can be a heartwarming expression of love, support, and friendship between a bride and her sister... Make sure to practice ahead of time so that you can concentrate on your sister and not on your nerves...There are two different ways to go with your speech. You can either be sentimental or funny... To decide which is best, consider the bride and what she would likely prefer. It can depend on the tone of the wedding as well. Edit the templates using Adobe Reader. Fill your own information in with the details requested between the brackets to personalize the speech you select. A funny speech, like the one in the template to the right, is perfect if the bride has a great sense of humor and some cute quirks she wouldn't mind you sharing with everyone. For example, you could share a couple silly stories about how the bride likes cheese snacks dipped in dressing or that as a child, she tried to make toast in a VCR. The silliness continues as you share a couple impersonal dating tidbits and how you knew it was different with the groom. Pick this speech template if you know the bride wouldn't mind a few chuckles at her expense... This speech is written from the perspective of a sister who has a strong bond with the bride. The speech discusses their upbringing, recalls a childhood story or two, and talks about how growing up with this sister is entirely unique. The groom is casually mentioned and included as an integral part of the speech. His part in this speech is being welcomed to the family and the chaos you often go through. This speech is written from the perspective of a sister who has a strong bond with the bride. The speech discusses their upbringing, recalls a childhood story or two, and talks about how growing up with this sister is entirely unique. The groom is casually mentioned and included as an integral part of the speech. His part in this speech is being welcomed to the family and the chaos you often go through."

'I fell down the stairs in my home and suffered a broken collarbone, several broken ribs and a subdural hematoma. I was in the hospital for 10 days, trying to let the bones heal as much as possible and being kept check on because of the brain injury.'

"Last May, I had just come upstairs to get ready for bed and entered my bathroom without turning on a light. I I splashed water on my face and exited the bathroom, intending to go to my upstairs sitting room to see if the outside porch door was closed. I had neglected to turn any lights, so the hallway was dark. I took a path that I thought would lead to my sitting room, but, I found myself falling through space. I has accidentally gone toward the stairs and tumbled over. I remember hitting the first flight on my right side, and heard a strange voice, describing, to me, exactly what was happening. I knew I was hurt, badly, and I lay there for a few seconds, not yet in intense pain, but just trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Luckily, my brother was staying with me and he came quickly and helped me get my self into a proper position. The pain had set in and I was sure I had hurt myself pretty badly. My brother, called 911 and the ambulance arrived very quickly. The two EMT's assessed the situation, carefully, and for some reason decided to grab me by my arms and legs and carry me out of the house. I don't know why they did not get a stretcher, maybe they just wanted to cause more pain, which they did. Once I was in the ambulance, they made me as comfortable as possible, but I realized that I could not really answer their questions, properly, because I was slurring my speech, badly. They surmised that I had a a brain injury. Once at the hospital, I was asked many questions , but again, I could not answer, properly, due to my slurred speech. They kept asking me to smile. I later found out that is how to check to see if you have had a stroke. I was X-ray'd and I received a MRI. They found that I had a broken right collarbone and several broken ribs on both sides. Also, I suffered a subdural hemotoma that caused bleeding on my brain. They were obviously more worried about my brain injury. I received a half dozen MRI's of my head. As far as the broken bones, they just gave me a splint and told me that the collarbone and ribs would heal over time. For the next ten days, my stay at the hospital consisted of doctors asking me to smile and to squeeze their fingers. My slurred speech disappeared but I did notice a lingering numbness in my left hand, that has since disappeared and a numbness on the left side of my face, that has not."

'My former band had played a gig at Inkarceration Festival in Mansfield, Ohio. It was an extremely rewarding experience that I got to have with my friends and bandmates.'

'As I recall, the most exciting part of that month was the Inkarceration Festival in Ohio. I found myself again at Mansfield, after many years of struggling. Perhaps it was the location, or the people. Perhaps I was just getting over my breakup. All I know is, something wonderful happened there. The music we had practiced over and over this time put me in some sort of introspective trance. I felt like a different person. And that everything was going to be brighter in the future. I suppose everyone has these moments in life. These realizations where they feel that the road has just taken a turn for the better. The guys were there, doing what they normally do: rough housing, talking crap, lighting up to play cards in the back after the concert, or sometimes scouting the crowd for the easiest fan-girl. However, on this trip I felt more connected to them. I felt as though they were beginning to really understand me. Sometimes it would be just a look in the eye, or a nod here and there. Somehow I felt a part of the fold. That festival will always be a highlight of my new road. A masterfully crafted cobblestone compared to the briar-riddled swamp I was trudging through before.'

'I recently played a golf round at a top course with seven other great friends. We had a blast competing in teams for money, and spent five hours of great time with each other.'

'five hours might seem like a long time, but when i\'m with them it goes by like it was in an instant. I remember so many great moments from that trip, like when Tom got caught peeing behind the bushes on the 12th hole! i mean we all had to go but of course Tom couldn\'t wait, he\'s always like that. But probably the weirdest thing was something that you see in an Adam Sandler movie. I was on the 5th hole when i got a water foul, but it wasn\'t just any old regular foul. I\'m watching in horror as my ball flies towards the lake and then CHOMP a gator comes out and swallows it! I was shocked, and asked the manager about it later just to find out thats "Bill". Apparently he roams these here parts, and has done so for about the last 6 years. Unbelievable i know, but hey what can you do these things happen i guess? Man, it really doesn\'t feel like it was 2 months ago, it feels like yesterday and i already can\'t wait to get back out there and meet Bill again. And in the end, who do you think ended up winning all that prize money for our little wager? yeah thats right, me and Ron blew it out of the water (or sand if you prefer). I mean i felt bad of course and wanted to treat the guys to something special for being good sports. After the game we went down to the local bar "Charley\'s" and had a round on me. Of course one round is never enough for us and we ended up being there until about midnight before calling a taxi and heading home. What a night to remember!'

'A mother struggling to accept her sons diagnosis. A husband helping and supporting his wife. The wife feeling better and accepting of her new life.'

"A little while ago my son was going through a lot and it caused the family to have issues as well. He had some type of sickness that greatly impacted some of the things he did. about 5 months ago we had taken him to the doctor to get a check up. we just wanted to know what was wrong with our son. it took almost all day during that one appointment. The doctors finally told us about the what our son was diagnosed with. once they told me I just couldn't come to the acceptance of my son having this issue. I didnt wan't to face the truth of what was going on because it was hard. luckily my husband was there for me being able to calm me and guide me thoughout this problem. I really loved being with him because of his great support. I can get through almost anything with him and I love it. Eventually I just had to stop making things worse for myself. I knew I had to accept what was going on. The issues my son was having really took a toll on me. At the end I did prevail and was able to get my thoughts back together. I had to be in the best place to help my son."

'The memorable event I experienced was visiting the Eklutna spirit houses north of Anchorage, Alaska. This was my fifth visit there, and it is a very magical and spiritual place. I experienced a keen sense of spiritual unity and community there on my last visit, and it was emotionally overwhelming.'

'I am fascinated by old cemeteries, so when I had the chance to return to Alaska, I knew exactly where I would go. I had been to the Eklunta spirit houses four times before, and was looking forward to the visit. I took my kids with me this time. I want them to experience the feeling I got on my first visit. We get out of the car, and walk the distance to the spirit houses. It is a cold and peaceful morning as we approach the groups of brightly colored small buildings on the ground. I explain the history of the cemetery to the kids. The kids are not as religious as I am, and they do not have the connection to the Alaskan people I do, so they did not understand. I walk off by myself to pay my respects. I stop at each of the little buildings that contained the graves. I take in the colors, I think about how the family must have felt painting the colors on the little shelters. Tears come to my eyes. The native people fascinate me. They have managed to both embrace a new religion, yet keep their old traditions. I can feel the peace here, the love. I stay as long as I can, I could stay all day. I will surely return as I seem to be called back to this special place at least once a year.'

'I found out I was pregnant. Mine and the life of my husband have changed quite a lot since then as we prepare for the arrival of our first child.'

"Six months ago, I found out that I was pregnant! I'm married, and have been for three years. Before I got pregnant, we like to hang out with friends, drink, and smoke weed. Neither one of us had a great childhood. Both of us had alcoholic stepdads and mom's that let them mistreat us. When I found out that I was pregnant, we both new that we wanted a better family life for our child than what we had. We stopped drinking and smoking weed, and focused on spending quality time together and time with family and friends doing non-party things. My husband got a great job as an electrician. We had started to get the nursery ready, but we didn't know yet if the baby was a boy or a girl. We got some gender neutral things, and decided to wait to buy more until after the ultrasound. Well, I guess that we could have went ahead and bought either because we found out at the ultrasound that we are having twins, a boy and a girl. We are both so excited for this opportunity! We are both only children, so this is something neither one of us have experience with. We are looking forward to the challenge! We are both happy that our lives have changed in such an amazing way!"

'I lost my 5 years job for a mistake. My coworker was not reporting the spendings of projects as she should have been doing. I was stupid to trust in her word and not make sure everything was ok.'

"Last May I was forced to quit my 5 years old job. the first week of December I trust one of my coworker to help me out with an important project for the university, but in that project we had to deal with money. She was stealing money and I didn't realize it. Once the project was half way I had to request more money because we were out of it, and the way she explained to me was very convincing at that moment. The accounting department started to investigate, it was not at all clear. There were missing money from that project and som others as well. Eventhought, I had nothing to do with it, it was not the first time, so they said they need to let me go. I had no more option than quitting my job. I was sad and depressed for about 4 weeks. I was constantly blaming myslef for what happened. Those were the worst weeks of my life. I finally understood it was not my fault and things happened for a reason. I got another job almost as good as that one. I have been more careful with people and project. I haven't been able to trust people like I used to."

'I made a major life change by switching jobs. I make a lot more money, and I took a lot of stress off me. I cut my commute and the time I have to spend away from home.'

"I finally took the next step in my career at the beginning of July when I landed a new job. I had been stuck in a more entry-level IT job for three years, during which time I never got any promised raises. I even took a slight pay cut to start a career in IT after having been in print media layout for two decades. I have been looking for awhile, and came close to great jobs twice, but I never got out of that rut before now. I worked very hard sending out more than 100 resumes in my area and in other cities in Tennessee and even Florida. Finally, a small local company noticed my resume on a job site and called me. Initially, I was worried about this job because I couldn't see if it was right for the next phase in my career. But I figured I should interview, if for no other reason than I needed the practice for other job opportunities. When I went to the first interview, I liked the company, and I saw that I could use a variety of IT disciplines. The primary job is hardware/software help desk, but I get to use my data and networking skills too. I agreed to a second interview, but I needed a big increase in pay. I got the job offer, which was $50 more a week. However, I got another $70 a week for healthcare. My wife carries our insurance, so the overall effect is $120 per week. I jumped on the job and have loved it. I cut my commute by almost 60 miles a day, and I have almost 1.5 hours more that I am not spending driving to and from work. I also feel a lot better since I don't spend most of the day dreading being at work. I am so happy I found this new job."

"We didn't have many people show up to my son's first birthday party and my husband and I were saddened. The day ended on a positive note when the girls in the family went down the huge inflatable slide together."

"Prior to my 2nd son's 1st birthday party, we were told that several family members were going to attend. The day of, we found out by other people that majority of our family members weren't going to make it to his party. Not only were my husband and I let down, my kids were disappointed. We were so heart broken for them. Their cousins weren't there to play with them so they were they only kids. We of course decided to make the best of it and my husband ran around and played with our toddler while the one-year-old was getting plenty of attention from his grandparents and great grandparents. On the bright side, there was an abundance of food and drink for us all. We only had the party room rented for a couple hours so we needed to start packing up our food and decorations in time for the employees to clean. It felt like the party flew by! My mom had the funny idea of having my grandma, her, myself and my sister to all go down the giant inflatable slide together. She wanted to end the day on a positive and fun memory. After laughing about the idea, we starting climbing into the slide. My mom went down first and after much effort my sister and I made it down. We waited a while for my grandma to get to the top. The happiest and silliest moment of the day was watching her have so much fun sliding down the slide. We all got packed up and said our goodbyes with hugs to end the day."

'I had a medical emergency, I had emergency surgery to save my life. Gallbladder did extensive damage with the gall stones.'

'Exactly three months ago today, I had the worst experience of my life. I could not eat without vomiting. I could not sleep for the pain. I was in desperate need of a doctor but didn\'t have health insurance. I waited as long as I could and finally when my eyes began turning yellow and my skin a yellowish orange color, I decided it was time to go to the emergency room. I was concerned of how I would pay for a visit but I knew something was wrong. It was almost like I could feel death approaching me. When I came into the emergency department, I was immediately triaged and when the doctor examined me, his first words to the nurse was, "Book an OR, stat!". That was scary but at that point I was a the mercy of the physicians. I prayed to God, asking for his protection. Ten minutes later, I was under anesthesia, grasping at life. The initial surgery took 2 hours and the second surgery took 11 hours. In recovery, the doctor explained to me that I had to be opened up and fixed. My gallbladder had gall stones and those gall stones had acted like bullets inside my body when my gallbladder had burst open. The gallstones tore through my pancreas, liver, and right kidney. They had to go in and do some repairs. While the ordeal was traumatic and scary, it is a constant reminder that in a blink of an eye, I could have been 6 feet under right now. I am thankful I went to the hospital when I did. I am still unsure how to pay for the $800,000 bill, but I suppose that is the cost of my life. Today I am a healthy 39 year old female who has an incredible deep red and ugly abdominal scar, but has the hope of a future.'

'I lost my 5 years job for a mistake. My coworker was not reporting the spendings of projects as she should have been doing. I was stupid to trust in her word and not make sure everything was ok.'

"I lost my 5 years job for a mistake. The company was very 'sales driven' and as long as I created good 'numbers' nothing could happen to me. But making sales meant that the people who already joined our clubs didn't get the attention they needed, and left. I preferred to embrace the existing members instead of the stress of gaining enough new members. To make a long story short, I wasn't useful for the company anymore (although my clubs gained profit month after month) so I got kicked out of the company in a very bad way. My coworker was not reporting the spendings of projects as she should have been doing. From that time on I promised myself never to give a huge part of my time to a company that doesn't give a shit about anyone, only themselves, to make lots of money. While sitting at home I decided to start a company so I would be able to do work I love, and to be in total control of what went right and wrong. In the beginning the company didn't earn much money, so I found a part-time job working 3 days a week, which gave me the opportunity to earn enough money to pay the bills and still have 4 days to work for my own business. But it didn't work that way. The evenings I was home from the part-time job I wasn't very productive, which meant that I had to fit all the other stuff (like working on building my company) into the other 4 days, while in the weekends I had lots of assignments. So the actual time I had left to build up my company was reduced to one day a week. In other words: I couldn't combine it anymore. For me it was clear my company is that one thing I love to do most, so if I want to make it work then I need 150% focus and time. Decision made. I was stupid to trust in her word and not make sure everything was ok."

'This is the story of how my precious and beloved dog Bella passed away. Losing her was such a difficult thing to experience, but the love she brought me made it worth all the heartache.'

'It\'s been almost a year since my dog Bella passed away. I still miss her terribly and think about her each and every day! Bella was a dog that my daughter actually wanted to adopt from the shelter. I had no interest in her and didn\'t really want to adopt any animal. I was not a fan of dogs at all before Bella. I adopted her and brought her home for my daughter. Anyone who is reading this and loves dogs probably knows exactly what happened next. Bella quickly stole my heart and became my best friend, basically like a child. I loved her with all my heart and soul. We bonded in ways that words cannot begin to describe. A couple of years after adopting Bella, she started showing signs of having an autoimmune disorder. She was seven years old when we adopted her but appeared to be in great health. I will never know for sure what caused her illness. The vet prescribed some medications that helped her but were quite strong and hard on her body. About 4 1/2 years after we adopted her, she started to go downhill. She was sick and weak for a few months towards the end. To say it was devastating is an understatement. It was absolutely horrible to watch my baby suffer and not be able to do much. She got to where she couldn\'t hardly walk up stairs and had to be carried. One night before tucking her into bed, I could tell she was in great pain because she was whimpering and couldn\'t stand up. My family and I rushed her to an emergency vet where we were told there was nothing that could be done. Before they had a chance to give her anything, she passed peacefully on her own. I was right by her side and somehow even though it was a terrible experience, it was beautiful at the same time because she knew I was with her when she took her last breath. I will never forget my precious Bella or the great impact that she had on my life. I am now a "crazy" dog person and always will be!'

"We didn't have many people show up to my son's first birthday party and my husband and I were saddened. The day ended on a positive note when the girls in the family went down the huge inflatable slide together."

"2 months ago we had a birthday party for my son--now, being that it was his first birthday, it was less his party and more me and my husband's. Think of it more of like a joint birthday, I suppose? A celebration of my son surviving his first year. He wouldn't remember it, but, hey, adults cant have big birthdays anymore! So, yes, not many people showed up. That was the sad part, I guess? A few family members came, but, like I said, it was like being stood up on YOUR birthday. So, frankly, we were pissed. We had taken the time to set up reservations, and we got jilted. Cool, I guess. So our family showed up, and we did have fun! The girls in the family all took turns on a slide we had decided to rent last minute for the kids. You know, to distract them. But I guess the distraction became ours, too! It was fun. I went down a few times, to be honest with you. It's nice feeling like a kid again."

'Was asked to open for a reunion of a favorite band from the past. A good time was had by all and friends were made.'

"A few months ago I received the shock of my life. I was at the local Bar and Grill hanging out with some friends. We was drinking and playing some pool, when all of a sudden my phone started ringing. I answered the call and it was another friend on the end of the line. He told me that I and my band had been chosen to open for musical group on an upcoming musical tour. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My other buddy at the bar with me took my phone and placed it on speaker. He held it up high so everyone at the bar could hear the news. The Bar and Grill played the message over the intercom PA system. Everyone at the Bar cheered with delight. But the best part was when the announcement came who we had been chosen to open for. None other than the great band Def Leppard. They had recently been in retirement but decided to do a reunion tour. It blew my mind to think that they had chosen me to be their opening act. Me as well as the other patrons in the bar celebrated into the wee hours of the morning. It was a great night had by everyone there."

"I went to rehab. I was terrified and I didn't know what was going on or who anyone was. I bought a pack of cigarettes, threw up my dinner, and did yoga before falling asleep."

'After all of that happened though I did feel better throughout the days. I guess it just took a little bit to get used to rehab. I do know when I was sober which was rare before rehab, I had always wanted to try yoga. I guess this was just the time I was supposed to eventually try it. After about a week I was able to fully understand why I was in rehab. It was just something that I had to go through to get better. I know now that I really did need it, maybe at the time I did not which is probably normal. I know all of my friends and family know I needed it thought it was going to be helpful, but at the time obviously I was out of my mind. I think now that I have completed rehab and feel sober and fine, I would have to recommend it to everyone. Just know that at first you are going to hate it and want to leave, but please be patient. I wanted that so much after a week, I wanted to get out asap, but that second week I felt better. I was able to finish my dinner without throwing it up, and the yoga was the best thing that ever happened to me. My mind became so much more clearer too in the end. I just felt like a new person when I was able to leave the place. And now I do yoga a few times a week and have never felt healthier. I just think that rehab was supposed to happen to me. I was supposed to get help, and in the end, that is more than okay.'

'I have a need which was not easily met. I got the need (sewing maching) as a suprise from my husband. I got new clients from there.'

"I have my own business creating different products for clients on demand. I make anything from clothes to accessories, pillows, pillow cases, decorative items, throws, among others things. I show my items on my website and the clients order the amount they need, I make the products and ship them to the clients. Two months ago I got a big order for custom made pillows of different shapes and designs. I started sewing the items with and was halfway done when my sewing machine stopped working. This put my business in serious jeopardy. The client doesn't pay until the products are delivered. I didn't have enough money to replace or repair the sewing machine. I need one urgently to complete the order. I didn't know what to do. the order was due a week from then. I was so worried and panicked. I told my husband about this. he saw how depressed I was and how concerned I was. The sewing machine was industrial quality. It wasn't something I could but cheaply. It was an absolute necessity if I was going to survive as a business. My reputation was at stake here. I also didn't want to let this new client down. There was potential for continued business with them and I couldn't risk losing their trust. I came home one day after shopping for groceries feeling helpless. I noticed my husband has a funny smile on his face and he told me to look in my office. I went in there and to my surprise I found a large box on the floor. I opened it and saw the sewing machine I desperately needed. I was able to complete the order on time, deliver the product, get paid and, on top of everything else, the client recommended my business to a partner who also order products from me."

'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.'

'My son Jason is four years old. He always wish to visit various places. So we decided to go to park near by my home. Last week my wife ad I took my young son to that park. I just helped my wife for arrangements. My son started to play around trees in the park. He felt so energetic I am also. After arrangement I spend time with my kid. he always love the nature. So he observed things happened around him. He ased many questions about various trees planted in the park. I answered his questions as much as possible. During answering the question, there were many questions appeared in front of my mind. So I took my smart phone. I started to search about trees. With the help of mobile, I got clear view on his questions. So I deeply explained about trees. tthere were so many people were arriving on the moment. Each one have some problems and stress. To avoid this kind of problems, doctors prescribes medicine . But nature is the best doctor. it can cure our diseases by its visuals. After walking at few hours, my wife called us to take lunch. So we just ate lunch together. During lunch we made conversation about various good things. it felt much better'

'I got a job at a big box store but quickly learned that my position was being eliminated. I worked until the last night with my overnight crew mates and we had a final poignant night together, then went our separate ways, feeling bittersweet about the experience.'

"I always wanted to go to Peace Corps. I had one friend ask me what makes me think that I will get into Peace Corps. He said that he had friends that didnt get in. The implication is that his friends were better qualified than me to get in and they didn't. Therefore, I would not get in. It was true that I had some setbacks in my life. I had sufferred from depression and college was a little rough. However, I now saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I don't know exactly why I wanted to go to peace corps. After all, it is kind of a crazy thing to do. But I remember that the first time I spoke of it was to my ex boyfriend. He looked at me like I was crazy. Of course, I kind of was crazy so I get that he thought that this was just one more crazy thing. I worry that his reaction was what made me want to do it even more, but I don't think so. I think it was really because I started to love travel. Travel became addicting. And it was a challenge. And, hell ya. I did it. i got accepted and it changed my life."

'This reunion occured on September 28 , 2019. I went with my husband and met with old friends when we got there. We danced, ate and partied like it was 1972 again!'

"It was my best friends 50th wedding anniversary, but we decided to call it a reunion of old friends. They had invited us, but my husband and I didn't know if we would be able to make it. My husband had been feeling ill since the start of the year, but he convinced me it was important to go. We decided to drive instead of flying, and the excuse was to see friends we hadn't seen in decades. When we got there, we saw so many faces of people we were so close to ages ago. Then, something just hit us, and it felt like we were in our 20's again! The music started playing, people stopped talking and hit the dance floor. I hadn't seen my husband move like that since our wedding night (August 4th of 1972)! Maybe it was the alcohol, but he seemed to be having such a great time, it was almost too good to be true! The DJ was playing the best 70's music, he food was fantastic, and it felt like I had been transported back to the golden years. When all was said and done, I profusely thanked my best friend, and my husband and I danced our way back to the hotel, without any music. I hadn't felt this way in years, what a wonderful feeling. I went to bed worried that we would feel the effects of the party the next day, but we woke up with springs in our step. All was wonderful. I can't wait until my friend hosts another party like that, we'll definitely make it a priority to attend it again!"

'I went to Greece with my friend and walked through a dark alley. I discovered some beautiful music by a local band.'

'I went to Greece with a close friend of mine and we had such a difficult time at first. We ran out of money during our trip because we initially just went for backpacking. We did not see as many sites as initially wanted. During one of the hot evenings we decided to cool down and go through an alley way instead of the main street. We heard beautiful music playing down the alley and saw a band practicing their music for a show. It was a very human experience since I was able to unwind and just listen to the music wafting through the alley. Of different sorts of instruments and a slow strum guitar. The locals said in a heavy accent that they enjoyed us listening while we just cooled down and de-stressed. It was a relaxing and humble experience. Out of all my adventures I find this experience to be the best because I was able to see the side of humanity that is universal and no cultural differences kept that apart. I really liked the feeling it gave me. I think the best thing about the experience was that it made me realize we all are human. It does not matter where we come from. I think the backpacking trip as a whole kept me grounded. I do not take things for granted as much. I relate it all to the day in the alley.'

'My girlfriend and I with her family went on a river trip to South Texas. We went camping, and we kayaked, canoed, and fished along the river. Even thought the weather was really hot, we had a great time outdoors and we cannot wait to go back again.'

"In the beginning of June I went on a little bit of a vacation with my girlfriend and her family. We went on a camping trip to south Texas, by the Nueces river. My girlfriends family was able to get a tow-able camper for us to stay in, which ended up being a great thing because the weather hit over 100 degrees several times. I had brought a tent for my girlfriend and I to use, but I was glad that we were able to sleep in the camper instead because of the heat and humidity. During the trip we went fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and floating down the river. The water was pretty fast at times, but that made it even more exciting for us. Even though the weather was a little too hot, I was thrilled to spend some time with my girlfriend and her family. We have been together for two years, and our relationship has been a long distance one for the majority of that time. Because of this, I do not get to see her as often as I would like. We enjoyed the trip so much that we are thinking about going back to the same place some time in the near future. I would love to go in the fall (because it wouldn't be as hot), but if we want to go back when the weather is warm, I think we would have to go about a month earlier than we did. Overall, it was a great bonding experience for us all. My girlfriend and I cannot wait to go back. We had so much fun. In fact, we may plan a trip of our own next time."

'I went on a summer vacation to Vermont. I had such a nice time due to all of the nature, relaxation, people, and food. I am eager to go back and hope it happens again soon.'

'I recently went to Vermont for a vacation. It was a very fun time. The weather was much cooler. There was so much nature and relaxation. We went hiking a few times, and it was so pretty and scenic. We stayed at a house on a lake. The lake was so beautiful. There were lovely sunsets every night. Everyone we met was so friendly. We got to go to a free concert at a vineyard. We got to canoe to go get creemees. We got to four wheeling. Four wheeling may have been my favorite. It started raining though, and we got soaked and cold. We got home cooked meals and wine and it was all delicious. I cannot wait to go back.'

'single mother from another country coming to the usa looking for asylum after the death of her husband/father of her three children.'

"My husband died a little while ago. As a now single mother, I was devastated. I almost gave up on everything, but the need for providing and helping my 3 children kept me going. I am from a country marred with corruption and nepotism. I knew that my income would not be enough to raise three kids, and I also understood that it would be difficult getting a new job. I talked to a few people and they told me that I should try going to United States of America under asylum. I researched on the process, and I started my journey. I researched lawyers and picked a good one who is an expert in the field. We made all necessary contact, and she invited me to come to the United States. Shortly after arriving, I applied for asylum. The lawyer told me that I should apply ''affirmatively''. During application, I included my children who are my driving force and the main reason I was doing it. I included all necessary additional documents. I also had to add the little evidence I had that my country was not good for raising three kids as a single mother. After this, I mailed my document to the relevant organization. Earlier this week, I was invited for an interview by the USCIS. I had to bring some identification and witnesses. At the end of it all, I was granted asylum."

'We were sold our house and was going to start to build another home. However circumstances prevented us from building right away. We found out that our disaster actually was a blessing in disguise.'

'Approximately 6 months ago we made the decision to sell our home and build another one with all of the things we wanted. I had recently gotten a significant promotion at work and we knew that with the economy being the way it was, it was as good a time as ever to make this move. Whenever we talked about our wishes for our future home, we always knew we wanted a view. There was some land being prepared for some new houses to be built on in our current neighborhood. The way it was set up, we knew that there would never be the ability to have new construction block the view of the lot we wanted to purchase, meaning we would always have the view we wanted. With the market being the way it is, our house sold quickly and we needed to move into temporary residence until the new home construction was completed. We chose to rent a duplex in our current neighborhood so that the kids school would not be affected. This was going to be an exciting adventure for them! We had secured all the loans and funding in addition to the money from the sale of our house to purchase the new home and were all set to get going on the build. There ended up being a very bad weather pattern that settled in our area for weeks. The land we wanted was on a pretty steep hill and as it turns out the water run off washed away a good part of the hill during this unusual weather pattern. We backed out of the deal and decided to keep looking for a different location to build. I had gone to work the next week and as it turns out my new position at work was offering me an opportunity to relocate with better pay! The new job was located in California, just 20 minutes away from Disneyland! We talked it over as a family and ultimately made the decision to start this new adventure over in a whole new place! We were all so excited!'

'Took a bus to Boston for my aunt and uncles 40th anniversary. It was the first time my whole family had been together for a while. Being together brought back fond memories of when I was a kid.'

"Last week, my aunt and uncle were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. My family lives about 2 hours from Boston but we decided to take a bus to the city in order to celebrate. So my dad, mom, sister, and I got to the bus station early in the morning and began the trip. When we pulled into the bus station in Boston, it turned out that we had a lot of extended family members waiting for us who also made the trip. It was awesome to be able to see these family members because I hadn't seen them in so long. I saw all of my cousins and it was like no time had passed between the last time I had seen them. Last time we were all together, was at a family reunion when we were little. That was such a fun time and me and my cousins always enjoyed it so much. So being able to be with them all again for my aunt and uncle's anniversary was wonderful. We spent the week exploring the city and seeing everything that Boston had to offer. We went to the harbor, ate at a lot of restaurants, went on the duck boats, and just enjoyed being with family. This was the most fun I had had in a long time. Finally, the week came to an end and we all had to say goodbye to each other. We promised that not as much time would pass until the next time that we saw each other again. I feel like we grew closer as family members and will remember the trip for the rest of our lives. I love my family."

'Her wedding dress was beautiful with lots of pearls. She carried a bouquet of light pink and white roses. A beautiful bride to match a beautiful day.'

"The event that just happened was my daughter's wedding. The wedding was in june. We had so much fun planning for the wedding. Her dress was beautiful and she looked gorgeous. The groom looked very handsome as did the entire wedding party. First was the church ceremony then was the reception. The appetizers and meal was delicious. There was A choice of chicken, meat, or fish. The wedding cake was beautiful. It was a 5 tier wedding cake. It had a beautiful topping of crystal doves. There was lots of music and dancing. She was very happy which made me happy and very proud. I will never forget such a beautiful day. We are constantly looking back at the pictures."

"In the past year, I went through a very dark period in my life after a separation and divorce. Since going through that dark period, I've met a great woman who I am still with today. This serves as a reminder to me that all tough times pass with enough persistence and hard work."

"My wife and I had a messy separation and divorce. I had tried to avoid it, but fights and arguments would still take place. I even had to live like a homeless person for a few weeks at a time due to our struggles. Finally, we pulled the cord on our marriage by getting divorced. Following the divorce, I went through a dark period. Thankfully, during this dark period. I met a great woman. She is aware of my previous marriage. She encourages me to move forward. She forgives me for my past. I'm still with her today. I am thankful that someone else decided to be with me although I had a divorce. This serves as a strong reminder to me. Tough times pass with persistence and hard work. If you give up, the tough times will never pass."

'My four year old son needed foot surgery. My husband and I were nervous because we had never gone through surgery before. It ended up going fairly well.'

"When my now four year old son was born, we were surprised to discover he had an extra pinky toe on his left foot. It was not something that needed urgent attention, but the doctors told us that he would probably need to have it surgically removed at some time in his life. Sometimes extra digits are just flesh, but my son's was well-developed with bone, blood vessels, and tendons. As a baby, the extra toe did not hinder his development at all. He started walking around 12 months old, the typical age. However, shoes were hard to find to accommodate his much wider than average foot. We spoke with a specialist when he was two years old, but she wanted to wait at least a year for the surgery because the risks from anesthesia lessen in slightly older children. We returned to the specialist just after he turned four. Given that the surgery wasn't an emergency, we had to wait a few months for an appointment time to be available. On the day of the surgery my son was calm and happy. Being so young, he wasn't really aware what was about to happen. The surgery was also taking place in a children's hospital, so they had a lot of toys and other accommodations to make him feel comfortable. The surgery went quickly and smoothly, but waking up was difficult for my son. He was in a lot of pain and required three shots of morphine into his IV before he felt better. However, after that initial discomfort, the rest of the recovery went really well. He never needed pain medicine and was up waking around with his cast by that evening. After two weeks, he was able to have his cast removed. His foot was tender and sensitive without the support and protection of the cast, but after about three days he was able to walk normally again. Now the only thing that remains from the surgery is a light scar on the side of his foot."

'I had surgery and developed complicaions from unknown reasons. The complications led to additional surgery and lingering symptoms.'

'Went to the hospital for surgery on my cervical spine. They made the incision in the side of my neck and placed the necessary hardware to fuse together three vertebrae. While recovering from the surgery the next day something happened (I believe that a mistake was made and I was overdosed with medication) and I developed weakness on my right side. I was treated in the hospital for the sypmptoms and after four days and transferred to a rehab hospital to regain strength and stability. While in the rehab facility I developed a staph infection in the surgical incision which progressed into my blood stream and turned septic. This infection made me incredibly weak and delirious. I was transferred back to the hospital where my surgery was done and a second surgery was performed to clean the infection out of the incision and area of the surgery. I was placed on an antibiotic IV drip and transferred back to the rehab center. I was in the rehab center for another 3 weeks while recovering, and was finally released to go home. I still am recovering from the residual effects of the incident, and have pain and weakness in my leg. I think about the incident every time I stand up and feel the instablilty and pain in my leg. I have continued to see specialists for the infection and cervical surgery. I am told that I will be on antibiotics for at least a year. The spinal surgeon said that he has no idea why the infection developed, He says the reason I will have to remain on the antibiotics is that the infection could have contacted the hardware used to fuse my vertebrae. All in all I wish I had never had the surgery, and just lived with the pain.'

'Mostly, I got married to my husband a few months ago. It was pretty stressful leading up to the ceremony start time. But, after I saw him I felt way better.'

"A few months ago, I got married to my husband. However, the events leading up to the ceremony were pretty stressful. To start, the weather was lousy. We were having an outdoor wedding. It looked like it was going to rain, and it was already very windy. We were worried that some of the setup might just blow over from the wind. Also, we hit a lot of traffic going over to the venue, and I was already very stressed. My wedding dress also felt like it was not fitting right, even though it fit perfectly when I tried it on numerous times before. However, this could have been in my head, as I was already very stressed about the wedding and everything that was going on. It's not like I did not love my soon to be husband. Nor did I have second thoughts about it. On the contrary, I love him very much, and I was just looking forward to getting the ceremony started. When I finally walked down the aisle with my father and I saw my husband to be, I felt way better. Seeing him standing up there just seemed to alleviate all the stress. With that being said, the most surprising thing that happened was when the ring bearer tripped and fell. He quickly got up though, and he acted like nothing happened. It ended up not raining, and the wedding was relatively calm after that."

"A long-time coworker confesses his feelings for me which are mutual. It's a potential romance with chemistry, as we never would've guessed we had feelings. Things are complicated when he's moving across country, but we'll always keep each other in our thoughts."

"Dear Diary,Today I found out something really shocking about one of my closest friends. He's a really close coworker of mine and we work together all the time. Me and him went to our mutual friend's birthday party and we had a good time. Later during the party, I found out that for the past 2 years we've been working together, he had a crush on me! It was really nice to hear because I also had a crush on him too. We both always thought neither one of us were interested in one another so we never bothered pursuing each other. It does suck though because he's moving to New York for college in a few weeks so any chances of a relationship is zero to none. We're both not in a place to be in a relationship anyway, much less a long distance one. What was even more surprising was that he actually tried making a move on earlier in our friendship, but I was completely oblivious to it. It was really touching to hear that coming from him though. He's someone I get along with very well and we always have something interesting to talk about with each other. Upon learning this information, we decided to keep each other in touch when he eventually moves away. Maybe something will happen in the nearby future? We both have no clue yet, but it would be really something special. We don't talk as much because we're both insanely busy in school, but we hope to see each other soon for the holidays."

'I went on a date with a man I thought I would not be compatible with just on his style of clothes. I learned that was very immature of me and I was completely wrong. We got along famously.'

"I seen this one man in high school that looked really good he had all the name brand clothes and I knew he had money. I asked him out and I really felt bad because really I didn't like him at all just his style of clothing. He really liked me and he was even falling in love with me so I never told him I didn't truly like him. We started dating for a long time but behind his back I was seeing other men and I still felt terrible but never told him. He was into me so much he asked my dad if he could marry me wants we graduated. My dad didn't know I didn't really like him so my dad told him of course because he was a hard working great guy. I really needed to tell him that we could be friends but he wasn't the guy for me. I decided to tell him the next time we went out together just me and him I didn't want to embarrass him. One day we got in the car together and went to the movies we both love the movies I didn't know it was the day he planed on proposing to me. I told him that we needed to talk and he said that he needed to talk to and he had something special for me. So I asked him if I could go first and he said that would be great he was always sweet. So I told him that i loved him and he was a great guy but that I thought we could only be friends. He was so sweet he said he loved me to and he was wanting to marry me but he totally understand and thought that would be great that would could be friends and never loss touch. Months went by and I found out that he was going to marry me the same day I appalled to him and he was alright he actually found someone else. Me and him now are married to different people but are still the best est friends."

'The story is about applying for a new role in the company I currently work for. It talked about my desire for the job, the interview process and how I felt about a new beginning.'

"I have been working as an engineer at the IT firm I've been working at since 2015. I like my job, and it pay well for what I do and my workload. However, I have had this feeling in my gut that I can be doing more. So when I can across a flyer in the office for an open position for a team leader 12 weeks ago, it peaked my interest. I thought about the new levels of stress and responsibility I would have to deal with if I got the position, but I also thought about all the new projects I can be involved in and the work I can help shape. So I ultimately decided to take a chance an applied for the position. About a week after I sent in my application, I got a call from my supervisor. He told me that if I was sure about taking this position? He said he's asking because this role is known to have a high turn over rate. To be honest, I felt like he was just trying to scare me away from the job, so I told him I was serious about the job. He then said the interview for the position starts a week from that day, and I am the first one up to be interview out of a total of 15 applicants. I spent the next week practicing my answer and pitch. I made sure to remember all my accomplishments and the best way to convey them during the interview. By the day of the interview, I felt that I was ready. The interview was more intense that I expected. The questions were pointed and the complexity of the questions were high. I absolutely believe I would have bombed the interview if I didn't spend every waking moment I wasn't working or sleeping practicing my answers and my delivery. The interview lasted for about a half hour, and I was told we candidate would get an answer on who got the position in 72 hours. Two days later, I was called into my supervisor's office and was told I got the job."

'Went a a trip to see various places intentionally. Got to meet women in Australia and see the colosseum in Rome.'

"First I went an international trip that included the following. Flying over the coast of Perth on my trip to Australia, and first sight of Oz. Looking out of the plane window and seeing it as we started our descent. It wasn't my intended destination, it was supposed to be Brisbane. My flight to Bris was cancelled so they gave me a new flight which went to Perth, and then a domestic flight to Bris. Second part of the trip that was memorable. meeting a blonde, true blonde, on a date while I was there. I normally prefer redheads or brunettes. But I was in a new country so I wasn't going to hold it against her. After that getting to see the Great Barrier Reef. Needs no explanation. Finally, going to Italy and Seeing the Rome Colosseum for the first time for real. I could right at length about that. But suffice to say it was glorious. A real since of history. A great trip."

'I went and had drinks with some friends, one of whom being someone my husband hates. This made my husband really mad at me and we got into a big fight.'

'I was invited for drinks with friends. One of them was someone my husband really does not like at all. These were coworkers as well as friends, and my husband used to work at the same place I work at, so he knows them well. That\'s how he knows this specific person and how he gained this antipathy for him. Anyway, my husband claimed that this man only invited me out for a drink to "get back" at him or like, prove that he\'s capable of getting me to do things, sway me in a certain way, or whatever. This made me really mad because it\'s like he\'s saying people can\'t just enjoy my company, they would only invite me if they had ulterior motives. Also, it wasn\'t just one person, it was a group of people! So it\'s not like I was just having one drinks with one guy, which I would never do because I am loyal to my husband. Furthermore, my husband is not normally jealous and he does trust me, so this just threw me entirely for a loop. He wasn\'t accusing me of doing anything shady, he was accusing me of being naive, which bothered me a lot anyway because I\'m not a naive person. I just think he has a huge blind spot where this dude is concerned. So this fight erupted because I could not see his side at all, and he on the other hand was being a macho macho man and would not back down because it\'s like he has to stake his territory. We went back and forth for awhile and honestly didn\'t apologize for a solid day. Normally if we have an argument it gets hashed out quickly. Neither of us get into prolonged fights. This one was a doozy and it took a day to work out.'

'My dad had enjoyed good health and had not been sick. June 2019, he called and i felt he was sounding low. He insisted he was fine. But on checking up on him the following day, he was gone. Dead!'

'My dad and I have been very close as any child can be close to his father. He was a dedicated family man and loved every member of his family. He was growing older but has always enjoyed good health. We lived a little far apart. To keep in touch, i would call him up on phone two or three times a day to seek his advice on matters, share a joke or say a good night to him. He has been an integral part of my life and my daily routine. Then one day in June 2019, i got a call from him at an unusual hour. He was not sounding his usual ebullient self. I tried to press him to know what was bothering him but he kept insisting he was fine. I sent my sister who lived in same neighborhood to go check him up. She also phoned to say he was doing fine. She went back to her own place. But i had an uneasy feeling. The following morning, i kept calling dad but his phone rang away with no response. I took my car and drove all the way to his place. I have a spare key to the house. I got in and went straight into his room where he laid peacefully on the bed, cold, not moving. He was gone! I was terribly devastated. Not even a goodbye to me!. This event was memorable in my mind and has refused to go away.'

'the birthday party always come up in a year and to be prepare for the birthday is very compulsory, and about how guest will be served with cake pieces, sweets, snacks and soft drinks and tea.'

'I shall ever remember my twenty five birthday. It was celebrated in a grand style. My birthday falls on the 13th of April every year. one of my friend is also celebrated the same day. My birthday falls in the spring season and days are very pleasant then. This year a cool and fragrant breeze was blowing. All my friends and near relatives were invited for the occasion. A special sky-blue shirt and a black trouser were prepared for me. It was a day full of excitement, joy and expectations. The drawing-room was tastefully decorated with flowers balloons and colourful paper buntings. In the evening, the celebrations began The guests were served with cake pieces, sweets, snacks and soft drinks and tea. There was much fun, merry-making, laughter and jokes. Children were given toffees and chocolates. As a return gift, every person was given a set of books. When the party was over, I unpacked the gifts. I was surprised to find so many lovel'

"The other week my best friend and my boyfriend finally met for the first time. We went to dinner, and afterwards met up at my friend's house and played with her dog. It went really well, and I'm glad they got to meet after all this time."

"My best friend is probably the most important person in my life. I've been dating a new guy for a few weeks, and I really wanted him to have a chance to meet her since she is so important in my life. We decided to go out for dinner last week, and things could not have gone better. I wasn't really nervous about introducing them because many of our friends say we're like two peas in a pod. I knew he would adore her as much as I do. At dinner, he was very charming and polite to her. He made sure to show his humorous side, which helped her get comfortable. They laughed and joked a lot, and we had a very good time. I think the best part of the night was after dinner. We decided to go to her house to drink some coffee. She has a little dog named Bailey, and he doesn't really like new people. When my boyfriend sat down on the couch, however, Bailey was immediately taken with him. He probably enjoyed meeting Bailey more than he did my friend! They played fetch for what felt like hours. After we drank our coffee, we took Bailey on a walk in the neighborhood. It was the perfect end to a perfect night! I can see the three of us having a very close friendship together!"

'My father died and I had to deliver a message during the service. I dealt with extreme emotions and sadness during the event.'

"I had to give a message at my father's service. I could barely get through it. I had so many emotions going through me that I was miserable. I was embarrassed because I could hardly talk. I kept thinking about him being gone when I was talking. I don't think that anyone understood what I said. I was hoping to be able to give a great tribute to my dad, but I clearly did not. I wanted it to be over, i was uncomfortable enough already with his death and now I was making a fool of myself. It was hard enough to be without a dad, I just should have let someone else do it. I am still mad at myself for trying to speak, I should have know that I couldn't do it. I am still grieving and my heart is still broken from my loss. I hope that time will heal this wound. I am constantly thinking about this, and I know it is having an effect on my every day life. I try to move on from it and I can't. I wonder what me being like this is doing to my family."

'My husband decided on really short notice that we would visit his parents in central Mexico. We had an exhausting day long drive, and were grateful when we arrived safe and sound.'

"The drive felt like forever, especially since the day was so hot. It kept getting hotter and hotter as we made our way south. It was all for a good reason so that helped it be a little bit more bearable. The best part of the drive was all the food stops we made. I love tacos as it is but the ones in Mexico were so much better than any I've had before. I know some people say driving to Mexico isn't worth it and that it's better to fly but being able to see the country through the drive was great. Of course the food on the way was great too. My children enjoyed it as well, although they were complaining any time we weren't stopped to eat. If I had to do it again I would probably choose to fly but I have no regrets about the road trip this time. My husband's parents welcomed us with love when we got there. The home was out in the country. They had a few livestock as well and some chickens. The children loved spending time there. I hope to come visit them again soon. I had a great time visiting Mexico."

'We wanted our kids to spend some time with their friends over the summer. We though that this cookout would give everyone a chance to come and hang out for a bit.'

"For the day of the cookout, we got everything together and set up. That included the tables, chairs, tents, food and were just waiting on the kids friends to arrive. They arrived right on time and I prepared for the appetizers to go outside on the table as my husband prepared the grill for the hotdogs and hambugers. One of my kid's friend's dad sat with my husband and said that it was raining on the way to our house, however it wasn't doing anything yet. I did notice clouds were forming quickly and just like that it rained just after most of the guests arrive. I joked with him and told him that he jinxed us because all week long it was sunny and hot out. We had to usher all the kids into the living room which was not really big and the adults hung around outside underneath the eave of the house to stay dry a bit and to mingle. The kids played board games or took refuge in a separate room to play on the game system. After the food was cooked on the grill, I told the kids to come on and eat, which they all did. The adults came to grab some food on the second round that was finished and either sat at the kitchen table or went back outside. Finally, the rain did subside for the rest of the time and the kids went outside a bit after I dried the chairs so they could sit. Everyone had enjoyed their time even when it was almost rained out. Some of the kids friends came later before the cookout ended, but still enjoyed the time they spend with everyone. Two of the families stayed a little after to help out with the clean up a bit. They didn't feel right to leave us with so much to do which was very considerate of them. We laughed and talked a little bit more until it stated to get dark and they had to leave because of how far they drove. After eveyone had left, I was pretty happy with the turnout and that the house was quiet again. Even our dog had a great time and the kids were happy that they were able to see their friends before the new school year began. I hope that we are able to do this again for them. That day was a happy and great day."

"I was surprised to be asked to officiant my friends wedding. Although incredibly nervous, I steadily prepared and the event went off without a hitch. I got a lot of feedback my part was well received and I'm very happy about that."

"I was asked to officiant my best friends wedding which was a huge surprise. The wedding was held back in August. I was very nervous about it. I generally don't have a fear of speaking in public but I wanted to really ensure I got this right for my friend and his wife. I practiced a lot and took a ton of time to write out a heart felt speech. I was so nervous leading up the event but when the day came I actually felt calm. The wedding went great and my part went off without a hitch. It get great and very releaving to get through it and be done! I've heard a lot of feedback that the guests enjoyed my speech and I'm happy it went so well. My friend was very happy having choose me to officiant not only to save money I heard! His new wife was pleased as well and the guests enjoyed the ceremony I set up and provided. I would certainly do this again now having been through it. I was at first really hesitant. I was of course honored but had no experience doing this. All in all, I'm glad I did this for my friend."

'I was riding go cart on a nice day. It malfunctioned and the gas line started leaking. it had got gas all over me. when I went to start it, it caught on fire. I had to walk miles home.'

"I had the worst thing happen to me a couple months ago. I like to go go-cart riding. It's really fun and relaxing and kind of thrilling to time a turn right. Well, I drove my go-cart over to the track which was a mistake but I don't have a car that it fits in. I had a couple nice rounds on the track and it was a really pretty day but then my gas line started to leak which was dumb because I just did a whole bunch of maintenance on my cart and should have caught if the line was bad. But the gas got everywhere! I got it all over my hands and my pants. I should have known to clean it up too after I reattached the line but I wasn't thinking and just started the cart back up. IT CAUGHT FIRE. It was so awful! I had to jump out of the cart so I didn't catch fire and run for the fire extinguisher. I managed to get it out okay and nothing on the track got damaged but my cart was ruined. My gas line was warped and important parts of the motor were completely melted. I think the owner of the track felt really bad for me because he agreed to store the cart until I decided what I wanted to do with it, try and repair it or just scrap it for parts. A new cart is so expensive though. I still don't know the answer to that one. But then I was kind of stuck. I didn't have my phone on me so I couldn't call someone for a ride and I certainly didn't have a go-cart to ride back home in. So I had to walk. I didn't even realize how far away the track was until I just had to huff it on foot. It's far! Like, at least five miles. It took me a whole hour to get home and I was exhausted. So I was out a go-cart and winded from the walk. I basically just played video games for the rest of the day to make myself feel better."

'Last night we went to a Styx concert and the love of my life proposed to me during the song "Lady". It was so romantic and I am very happy and blessed to marry such a wonderful man.'

'Dear Diary, a few months ago at the Styx concert, He surprised me and proposed. After 13 years of being together, I actually never thought it would happen . The song "Lady" started and he gave his phone to a person we didn\'t know behind us. I thought that was really strange but it didn\'t dawn on me that there could be any other reason but that he wanted someone to take out picture together. That annoyed me because I don\'t like getting my picture taken. The next think I new, he was talking in my ear so I could hear him over the loud music and then he got down on one knee. Next he held out a ring he pulled from his pocket. I started crying and said, "yes, definitely yes!". I was in total shock. Even though I don\'t like to have my picture taken, I\'m so glad he had someone videotape the proposal. It\'s really funny to see the shocked look on my face. After the proposal, he told me that he first for permission from my girls and my dad as well. I thought that was a very noble gesture and something that he didn\'t have to do. Now we have a wedding to plan. I feel so blessed to marry the love of my life who is also my best friend. I wonder how I ever got so lucky.'

'After wanting kids for a long time, I finally got pregnant. My sister-in-law told us she was pregnant too!'

"My husband and I got married a couple years ago, and really wanted to have kids. We were trying for kids for the past year, and it was very heartbreaking and difficult. There was a lot of pressure to have kids After about a year we had all but given up and decided to adopt instead. A couple months ago, I found out I was pregnant and we were really really happy. We had just gotten really great insurance. We are so excited to be parents soon. This event is really special for us, since it took so long to get pregnant, and it is my parents' first grandchild and my grandmothers' first great-grandchild as well! It was also really special for our family too. My sister in law knew how difficult it had been, and she was so happy for us. She revealed to us that she was pregnant too, and only a little further along than me, so our kids will be close in age. We were really excited for each other. My grandparents were also really excited. Right after I found out, we went on vacation to the lake. I will always remember that lake as a special place now. We are hoping to make more memories at this lake too!"

'My girlfriend and I decided to move to a new state. We packed everything in our cars and drove there.'

"I few months ago I moved across the country. My girlfriend came with me as well. We moved from Pennsylvania to Colorado. We packed everything we could fit in our cars and drove across the country. It took us about two and a half days. The drive itself was pretty brutal but it was exciting as well. It was exciting because we had both started a new part of our lives. The most memorable part was when we were driving a long way through Nebraska and there was not anything on either side for miles. Eventually we got to Colorado and it was a great feeling. It felt great because we had finally made it. We both felt very happy. We also felt relieved. I think we also could not believe that we actually decided to move across the country and then actually did it. Looking back we also had fun. I'm glad we made that decision."

"It was my little cousin's birthday and went to choose a present for her. She threw a tantrum at the store, and got mad at her. Eventually she apologized, and learned a valuable life lesson in the process."

"This event occurred about two weeks ago. I was going shopping for a birthday present with my little cousin(she's 8). So we went in, and spent about 45 minutes just browsing around the store, trying to pick a toy that she would like. My little cousin wasn't sure which toy to pick, but I told her that it couldn't be more than 20 dollars. However, she insisted that she wanted this miniature action figure that was well beyond the price range we had agreed on. When I firmly told her no, she began throwing the biggest tantrum I had ever witnessed. She was crying her lungs out, and no matter what I did, there was no quieting her. Given that I detest when children do this, I forcefully grabbed her by her wrists and got her out of the store empty handed. Not only did she not get the toy she wanted, but I told her that she could forget about getting anything else. She looked at me with eyes of rage, and just stopped talking to me for a few days after that. My aunt wasn't particularly happy with the situation but she took my side that it was the best thing that I could've done. That doesn't mean that I felt happy by the outcome, but I think teaching kids at early age that throwing fits like those are not going to solve problems. A few days before her birthday, I went and had a serious talk with her explaining how what she did was wrong. She eventually apologized, and told her that if she still wanted a toy. She ended up just going for ice cream, saying that she didn't want anything else. Fortunately, her birthday was a success, and seemed quite happy for having all her family and friends with her. I did ended up buying her that toy that she wanted because I think she showed maturity when she apologized for what she did, and wanted to reward her for that."

'On a recent kayaking trip down the river, my bothers girlfriend has entirely too much to drink and swamped her kayak so many times, that I was completely exhausted from helping her that all I wanted to do was finish and go home to bed.'

"I woke up early, excited for the day. I was going kayaking, with my brother and his girlfriend. We ate breakfast then loaded up the truck with the kayaks and drove out to the dock. After parking and getting set up we were ready to go out on the river. We had coolers filled with drinks and sandwiches, fruit and snacks. My brother's girlfriend started drinking as soon as she woke up, and didn't eat breakfast so the drinks started hitting her hard before we were even out on the water. As we started kayaking I was having fun, but it was apparent that my brother's girlfriend was drinking too much and was going to have some issues. She immediately lost her paddle and we had to hurry to grab it for her. She thought it was funny, well she thought everything was funny thanks to the influence of alcohol, and while she started laughing and having fun, my brother and I were in damage control mode, having to watch her and make sure that she was ok. I wasn't able to have a good time because everytime we got into a rhythm on the water, she would flip her kayak and we'd have to stop and fix everything again. I was getting really frustrated, if she hadn't drank so much then we could be having an enjoyable time. I think next time my brother asks me to go kayaking with him I'm going to specify that it should only be me and him, that way I can have fun without worrying about another person. I really wanted to have a good time today, I'm miffed that I wasn't able to because of one person. Maybe if she would've ate breakfast it wouldn't have been so bad. I'm going to have a talk with my brother about this, maybe he can tell her how uncool her actions were. I enjoy drinking and having a good time too, but not when we're doing something in water, that can be dangerous."

'My best friend passed away unexpectedly. This was very hard on all of his good friends, including me. We all came together and attended his funeral.'

"I had just spent time with him two days prior. We went to a fourth of July carnival in town. We met up with some other old friends down there and had a fun time. I dropped him back off at home after. Two days later I hear that he had passed away suddenly. It was such a shock that it didn't really seem real at first. It took a few hours to really set in. I spent that entire day on the phone with friends. Telling them the news and talking to them about it. It was great the way that everyone came together so quickly to support each other. The funeral was tough but it was good to see so many old familiar faces in the same room again after years apart. I think my life has changed significantly since. It has made me more appreciate everyone more and focus more on spending time with the people in my life, even if I'm too tired to want to do anything or any other kind of excuse. It still sucks without him here, sometimes for a second I will forget that he's gone. Sometimes I try not to think about it too."

'A former coworker reached out to me about a job opportunity, however the company was over 3,000 miles away. After interviewing with the company, they offered me the job and are allowing me to work remotely.'

'This event was about a job opportunity that I had approximately 3.5 months ago. A former coworker, who I had a great working relationship with, reached out to me. She told me about how her new company was a leader in the industry. In addition, she mentioned how she was excelling in her current role with them and really enjoyed the work. She mentioned that I would be a great fit for an open position that they wanted to fill. This company was over 3,000 miles away from where I live. However, the most surprising thing is that they were willing to let me work remotely! This was definitely a surprise to me, especially since it is uncommon to have a full-time employee work remotely in this specific industry. I was shocked and extremely grateful for the opportunity. This experience was significant to me because it helped me be more grateful with my current circumstances. I also felt a closer bond to my former coworker and felt a sense of thanks, especially since she helped connect me to this position. I learned a bit more about myself through writing about this experience. I learned that I have a good network of people around me. I also learned about my specific feelings around work and my circumstances. I really need to reflect more and learn to count my blessings. We have limited time to live, and it is important for health and longevity to reflect on the good in life.'

'me and my sister were separated at a very young age. I searched for her all over the internet with no results until I got a message from her friend. We finally met up after years of being away from each other.'

"Two weeks ago, I finally found my long lost sister! It has been such a long journey to find her, since we were separated so long ago. We were very young the last time we saw each other. I can't even remember how old we were, but it has been a very long time. I could never accept the fact that difficulties in our family had caused us to be separated. Before I was able to connect with her, I had made several attempts. I tried searching all over the internet, and never had any real results. There were a few times I thought I was close, but they all ended up being nothing. I had gotten so discouraged over time, with so many failed attempts and dead ends. I would have thought with all the technology today, and social media, it would have been much easier. I had gotten to the point where I honestly thought I would never be able to find her! I was so thrilled when I received a message from one of her friends! That lead to us getting in touch with each other, and finally meeting up! It was worth the years searching. I can't wait to build a relationship with her, and try to make up for some of the lost years!"

'My partner and I went on a sunset mountain hike while travelling in Costa Rica. Some local dogs randomly joined us as we began, leading us through a beautiful and lush path as the sun fell.'

'Several months ago, my partner and I were lucky enough to journey to Costa Rica. We were excited to settle in for a few days deep into the mountains, where we could unplug and experience the quiet and lushness of pure nature. We stayed in a cabin next to a stream, falling asleep to the sounds of local flora and fauna each night. We spent each day lounging about and getting a feel for a different sort of life. Each day, we were a little happier. It was a joy to use our bodies and minds for something other than work. On our last day, we decided to try to do a nearby hike in hopes of seeing the sun set from a particularly choice location. We got a tip from a local and decided to set out in the late afternoon. As we left our cabin, a few local dogs seemed to just understand where we were heading and suddenly followed us. After traipsing alongside us for a few moments, they rushed ahead and started to lead us up a beautiful winding path. They played and trotted in front of us, taking us through a dense path of beautiful trees. As they led us up the mountain, the sun began to fall. They would stop and play if we fell behind, sometimes posing regally as the sun continued to drop in the sky. It was an overwhelmingly serene experience--we felt at one with the day, the world, the dogs, the country. We finished the ascent and sat with our one-day canine friends, full of calm and ready to return home with an astonishing memory of natural connection.'

'My son, his friends, and I traveled out of town to eat dinner at a Japanese restaurant, spend the night in a hotel, and see a Broadway show. We had a wonderful trip.'

"I remember fondly an event in the past few months. My son, a few of his friends, and I traveled to nearby city to spend the night and see a touring version of a Broadway play. We enjoyed a nice dinner, saw the musical, and then walked home to our hotel together. It was a wonderful evening that I think of fondly and would like to relive sometime. My son's favorite food to eat is Japanese, so we visited a fancy Ramen restaurant and I enjoyed a wonderful scallop salad due to my dietary restrictions. Later, we went to the hotel and dressed up nicely for the show, then walked to the theater since it was walking distance from our hotel. The play was bustling and exciting, and we all enjoyed it very much. The next morning, we visited the zoo and saw many different animals. My son's favorite are always the wolves, and his friends enjoyed seeing the penguins and the polar bears. At the zoo, we had lunch at a cafe. At the end of our zoo visit, we were all hot and tired, and stopped for cold drinks and ice cream. After our drinks, we piled into the car for our drive home. It was about a three hour drive. We had the drive uneventfully, thanks to multiple drivers and good traffic patterns. After returning home, we were excited to tell everyone about our wonderful trip."

'My declining health led me to the realization. That my lifelong dream will never happen, Trying to move on and make my life have some meaning.'

"Dear Diary,Four months ago, I came to a realization and had to accept a hard truth about myself. Do you remember about a year ago, when I told you about my lifelong dream to be a professional weightlifter? I started to do what I could to make this dream a reality. I ate healthy, protein rich foods. I took supplements. I started lifting in steady, gradually increasing increments. Alas, I believe that this life revelation came too late. I fear now that I'll never become a professional weightlifter. I'm starting to recognize the limits of my own body. I tore a muscle while attempting a particularly challenging curl. I know now that my body is past its prime. From here on, my health will only be getting worse. My body will keep aging, and become even more susceptible to injury than before. I need to move on. I want to stay in good shape, but I'll have to simply do it for my health now."

'I was excited to receive a promotion at work. However the promotion went to someone else in the office.'

'So I just found out how that big project ended up at work. My coworker, Ray, and I had been working on it really hard together. It was a collaborative project, neither of us could have done it alone, but we were also kind of competing. We knew that management was monitoring our progress and that the open Supervisor position would probably go to whichever one of us appeared to be the highest performer. I felt as if I had done really well, contributing most of the labor to the project. However, Ray also did a good job of keeping everything organized. I guess I demonstrated more work ethic, but he demonstrated better project management skills. I say "I guess" because here we are, three months later, and Ray is the new supervisor. I\'m not really upset, although I am a little disappointed. After working with him on this project I do like and respect him, both as a coworker and as a leader. Obviously I wish I had gotten the promotion instead though. I will probably remember this incident, so I can bring it up at my next performance review. I will ask management if there was something in particular that affected their decision, and if so, are there any suggestions on how I can improve. I will also ask if there are any alternative routes for my advancement, since Ray has taken this open position. Who knows, maybe now that Ray is a Supervisor, he\'s privy to the behind the scenes action that led to this decision. I think I will ask him about it, and see if he knows why he was picked over me. I\'ll make it clear there are no hard feelings, and maybe he can help me improve so that I will be the top candidate next time around.'

'I had only my student teaching internship to complete for my Elementary Education degree, but had to quit due to financial difficulties. It was a time in which I felt like a huge failure.'

"I was a mere 12 weeks away from my Bachelors in Elementary Education. All that was required was my student internship, which involved me working full time at an elementary school in my area under a supervising teacher. The internship would allow me to apply what I'd learned in my classes while getting real life experience and guidance from an experienced teacher. The only downside to this was that the internship was unpaid, so I had to leave my job for 3 months. I'd known about this for a while, so I planned ahead and had money set aside to get me through until I graduated. Unfortunately, once I started my internship, life decided to intervene. It seemed like every week there was a new emergency that required me to dip into my savings, and by week 6, I was totally broke. I ran the numbers and realized that if I'd stayed in my internship and finished it, I would be so behind on rent and car payments that I would probably have lost both. Being a husband and a father, I wasn't willing to risk that, so I quit my internship and went back to work. Doing this forced me to change my major and lose about a year of credits in the process. The process of getting back in school also took about 4 months, but I got back to it about 35 credits less than what I had before. The whole experience made me feel like a total failure. Walking back into work 6 weeks early and having to answer everybody's questions about why I was back so soon was humiliating. I felt like I let my family down. I felt like I let myself down. I felt frustrated because I'd done everything right; I'd planned ahead and put money aside, worked hard in class, and did everything I had to do, but no matter what I did I still found myself stuck. Even revisiting it now brings back a ton of emotions, and at this point I'm within months of graduating again, but to think of all the time lost and money wasted really stings."

'I went to a family wedding in San Francisco. My immediate family went with me and we stayed a local motel. The wedding itself was beautiful.'

"Our trip to San Francisco was refreshing. It was a great opportunity to spend time with family. Sometimes you don't know how much you've missed someone until you see them again. The reason for this family reunion was the wedding of my beautiful cousin. The wedding was actually quite small. But many of the guests stayed at our cousin's house so the place was cramped. Being the thoughtful person she is, our cousin booked us a stay at a local motel. At first, my family and I were wary of staying at motels. But we soon found out that the motel she booked was more of a family inn — complete with a wonderful complimentary breakfast. The day of the wedding was hectic, as you could imagine. The bride was running everywhere — followed by 3 or 4 of her bridesmaids and female relatives. The groom seemed relaxed (maybe he was good at hiding his emotions). The actual ceremony went off without a hitch. And the reception featured a wonderful buffet that I can see and smell. Overall, the trip was an overwhelming success. We got to enjoy the cool weather of San Francisco while bonding with family members we've known for a while. We even met a few of our relatives for the first time! I hope to travel more with my family in the near future."

'My family had a birthday party last month for my Great Aunt. She turned 100 and the entire event was touching with a lot of reminiscing and was just really positive overall.'

"What an amazing month this has been! Great Aunt Sally turned 100 years old. What an amazing milestone. We had a fabulous birthday party for her on the Queen Mary ship in Long Beach. It was so much fun. We had a huge turnout with more than 150 people coming. All 12 of her children, their spouses and their children were able to be there! We rented the ballroom and had the party catered with an amazing array of foods. There were so many people I hadn't seen in such a long time there. My favorite part was when all of her grandchildren got together and performed a musical that they had been working on for 2 months. They were amazing! It was filmed and I know it's just going to be a huge hit on the internet. We all made plans to get together 6 months from now. We'll have to find a local park that will be able to accommodate all of us, lol. It was such a wonderful day and I'm so happy I got to be a part of it."

'Recently I had to move into a new apartment because my former room mates were too messy, not reliable for money, and unwilling to change. I reflect on my poor choice in them as room mates. Overall, I am glad that period in my life is over and I can focus on living in my new place.'

"August 7th, 2019. I have just moved all my belongings from the motel into my new apartment. The nightmare is over. It is a new day now and I can get on with my life. Granted, I still have a lot of stuff in a storage locker and I need to find another job, but I don't have to deal with all the issues of that last house anymore. I will have to put more thought into how I choose roommates in the future. It started out pretty good. I was in school and everyone was pulling their weight. It didn't take long though for my younger roommates to not be reliable for rent and utilities. That kind of stuff reflects badly on me. Additionally they were very messy. Dirty clothes draped over furniture and stacks of dirty dishes was the norm. The smell would get badly sometimes. My girlfriend noticed it and it was awkward. I am so glad I know how to clean up after myself and these issues won't be a problem anymore. It might be more expensive for this single apartment but I am thankful. My cats seem to like it but they probably also miss the backyard of the last place. It was a wonderful house, I just wish they took better care of it. I certainly tried to."

'Story about the birth of my son, The day leading up to, and after. How my labor and delivery went and how he was as a baby.'

"The trip to the hospital seemed to take forever. I struggled because of my weight and because there was no one there to help me. I had called my husband on the phone but he did not pick up. I called my mother as well, but it made more sense for her to meet me at the hospital. My best friend lived next door and was on her way over. Once my friend got there everything seemed to go a lot easier. She put me in her car and we were on our way. The pain was intermittent but intense. I could not really believe the day had finally arrived. Where was my husband? Why hadn't he picked up? Didn't we agree to be on high alert? My friend pulled into the emergency entrance and they wheeled me into the hospital room. They told me my doctor was on her way. I couldn't find my phone. What had they done with it. It felt like I would be having this baby any second. But it was actually still a few hours away. My husband got to the hospital; so did my mom. Giving birth seemed a lot easier to me than being pregnant. It went by very quickly. Holding my son was the best thing that ever happened to me. I was a mother. Life was good."

'We were sold our house and was going to start to build another home. However circumstances prevented us from building right away. We found out that our disaster actually was a blessing in disguise.'

'After we sold our house of 19 years I thought that building our new home on our dream property would be easy. My husband had worked his job for over eight years and life seemed to be moving well. We enjoyed our new town living close by in our camper. We knew it would be a few months until we could move on our property while living in our RV. It just happened that the day we went to closed on our property my husband received a phone from his work. He had just lost his job. It could not have come at a worse time. We were just hours away from closing on the the property and start the house building process. One of the smart things that we did was pay cash for our property. So losing the property was not even on the horizon. It was ours, but it would delay us from actually building our home. So there we were homeless. We had a home, but not a brick and mortar home. Not one that was stable. Or so we thought. We took this opportunity to travel with our boys. We had a bit of a savings and decided that we would travel. Our home had wheels and we could take it anywhere with us! We saw parts of the country we had never seen. Stayed in places we would have never stayed in if it was not for him losing his job. We woke up to some of the most stunning sunrises and went to bed with the absolute gorgeous sunsets. I remember my son saying mom we do need a house we have a home. He was right. We had a home it just had wheels.'

"In May of this year I graduated and received my degree from university. It was memorable because I didn't think I was capable of doing so in my 30s."

"I am in my 30s. College didn't seem like an option. But I persevered. And I graduated. It was quite fun overall. Some definite stress, but knowing I was working on something with value made it worth it. I felt I got along with the student great. Even with my age. I liked all the instructors. The curriculum was proper and difficult where it needed to be. I felt it was very engaging courses. While I do miss it, I am glad I succeeded and am ready for the next stage in my life. I often joked with others that I was too old for it. But they laughed along with me and we all helped each other. I'll keep in touch with many."

'The event described details my wedding which occurred in December of 2018. The details described go over the year leading up to the event and the actual day itself.'

"2018 was a whirlwind. I was getting married. The planning and preparations were may more intense than expected. Who would have thought planning a wedding would take so much work? I really didn't expect it despite what everyone told me. I remember going Wedding dress shopping with my mom and sisters. The day was perfect. I wasn't sure what kind of dress I wanted, all I knew is I wanted to look fabulous. I had tried on several dresses when finally I put on THE Dress. Everyone agreed, and I cried happy tears knowing that this was going to be the best day ever. Cake testing was fun as well. Not to mention making decorations with my little sister who tends to be bossy. But we got through that. The rehearsal dinner was a hoot. Everyone showed up on time, and we rehearsed like it was the real thing. The dinner was delicious and I was ready to get married to my man. That night I cried happy tears knowing this was my future. I was so lucky. The actual day went by so fast but was so beautiful. My favorite part was getting to dance with my mother, who didn't expect it. It was a special mother daughter dance. I wanted to show her how much I appreciated her work being a great single mom!"

'The most memorable and fun full event in my marriage was my friends and family members surprise. They gifted as a car for both of them. Also they arranged a night party for us.'

'Now i would like write the diary entry on my very memorable and happy wedding. Actually before 5 years I have been studying my undergraduate degree in my finance subject at that time i have meet my wife as a junior student in my department. When i see her i was totally collapsed. I had love at my first sight after few month i had propose her and luckily she did accept my propose suddenly and that will be very happiest moment in my life. After completing my under graduation we married each other on 06/15/2015. That was the very memorable and happiest day in my life. Our wedding was the most funniest thing because of our friends and family members presence. On our wedding we both were made an affirmation to each other. It was so emotional and memorable. Our parents were so happy for us. Our friend make a sham pine and white cake and surprise us. We enjoyed very well. I am so lucky one to have these relationships. And we made a free lunch for the peoples who are the poor refuges, It was so awesome moment in my entire life. Now after 4 years we have a baby her name is sara.'

"My brother was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. Given the cancer's progression, he was only given a month to live."

"It's hard to look back and think about how I felt when they told us Johnny only had a month to live. I haven't spoken about this since the funeral service. I just wish I could carry on my days like everything is the same and he is still here. When he was diagnosed with lung cancer 2 months ago, we didn't think it would be that serious. Surely medical treatments and cures are advanced enough in the year 2019 that he will be fine. But the doctor said he only had 1 month. I refused to believe that and continued on life as normal. I wish I hadn't done that. I wish I had spent more time with him. I wish I had done those things with him that you do when you know you're going to die. I feel so stupid and I feel so empty. I don't know what I'm supposed to do or how I'm supposed to feel. It's not like he was in pain and dying was solace for him. This just crept up on us overnight. He was supposed to have a complete and full life ahead of him. Not this stupid cancer killing him in a month. I will miss him and I will live my life to the fullest in his memory."

'I shared my first kiss with a woman. It was a truly wonderful and unique experience. I will cherish this kiss for the rest of my life.'

'Roughly one month ago, I shared my first kiss with a woman. It happened at a week-long festivity called Sirius Rising, located on the campgrounds of Brushwood Folklore Center in Sherman, NY. The kiss we shared happened without warning and struck a special chord in my heart as well as my mind. The moment we kissed unfolded Thursday night, while I was waiting for a concert to start. Earlier in the day, I attended a mystical workshop at the Sirius Rising event led by a kind middle-aged lady in a electric wheelchair. I got to meet this lady and know a little bit about her as well as her profession during this workshop. As I was waiting for the concert hosted by a world-famous juggler to start, I met the middle-aged lady again and she set up a seat next to me. After we exchanged a few pleasantries, my mind went into overdrive as I noticed she was leaning in for a kiss. The moment I noticed she was leaning in for a kiss, I did not hesitate; I immediately leaned over and gave her the most tender kiss I could possibly give her. Instinct took over in that moment; 2 seconds seemed like 10, my thoughts no longer required any form of concentration, and I revealed my true character to her without blemish. The kiss we shared was exciting and invigorating. Although I had never kissed a woman before, the experience reached out to me in ways I did not think it could reach. I never believe something as soft as a kiss could get past my hardened heart and mind, but it did in a way that was pleasent. When our lips left, I did not feel any sort of negative emotions as we continued to talk to each other about a variety of topics that are best kept to myself. The kiss we shared is truly unique, and because it was my first kiss, I doubt it will ever happen again, which is why I will cherish the experience forever.'

'The person I met 4 years ago and married last summer after 3 years turned out to be an animal abuser. We met on-line doing animal advocacy work and our whole relationship was founded on helping animals -- not hurting them.'

"I met an amazing individual four years ago. We met online while both doing animal advocacy work, and began to bond over our love of helping animals. Our conversation slowly turned from our own animals and we began to learn more about each other. We began exchanging information, and eventually our online messages turned to phone calls and texts. We had so much in common, and there was just an instant chemistry and connection. We clicked. It was like a match had been ignited, and thus grew the flame of our love. I had found someone who valued the same things I did, and felt the same deep compassion I felt for animals. Being an animal advocate is an important part of who I am, and finding someone who felt animal advocacy was a core part of their being excited me. A coincidence, fate, whatever you call it- that was it. We instantly met and made things official. We dated for three years, and just last year became man and wife. It was picture perfect. Was. This person that I thought I knew, was a fraud. Three months ago, the man who supposedly held the same love for animals as me, actually did not. Not only does he not care for them, he is an animal abuser. I am crushed, and so disgusted that I was fooled for so long. When I see an abused animal now, deep in their eyes I feel it's like they're peering into my soul, seeing the monster that I was married to."

'My story is about a relatively routine trip to the grocery store that ended up forming a friendship. I, a younger person, she an older woman.'

"It seemed like a normal day. In fact, it pretty much was the most normal of a day that it could had been. I was out and about on my day off, when by complete chance I got a craving for a candy bar. I decided that I deserved a treat and so I went to my local grocery store. Since I was there, I got a couple more necessities so I wouldn't have to go later on in the week. It was then, in the flour aisle, where I ran into her. She seemed an ordinary older woman, no different than an average elderly person. However, she looked strikingly similar to my mother. It wasn't actually my mom (obviously) but she looked similar enough where I had to go talk to her. She was a very interesting woman, and surprisingly, she wasn't taken aback by anything I said. I told her that I thought she might be related to me. I told her my own name, my mother's name, and even some extended family's names. But she said that she had never heard of any of them. I apologized profusely for my mistake, but she wasn't upset at all. We decided to grab a donut and a coffee and chat. It turned out that we actually had quite a bit in common. I will never forget the day that I met that woman."

'My niece and I had a day out together. We got some toys, ice cream, dinner, and went to my house and the pet store. 3 places gave us discounts because of how cute my niece is.'

"I took my niece out for a day of fun, which was rare. Even though we live close to each other, my sister is very strict with her. I finally got permission to take her out, so we went to a few places she wanted to go to. We went to the store first to get her a toy. I always buy her a toy when we go out, but was hoping she'd choose something cheap. I ended up getting her more than I had planned, but it worked out because I got a discount. We then went to get ice cream. This is also something we always do. We went to a mom and pop place and the person there loved my niece and said how cute she was. She ended up giving us our ice cream for free! After that, we went to my house to see my dog, Finn. She loves dogs, but her mom won't let her get one. Talking to her in the car rides to and from places was one of the best parts of the day just because of how many funny things she says. She has a similar sense of humor to my mom and I. We went for dinner next. I want to say it was Red Robin, but I'm not 100 percent sure. We ended up getting a discount once again. I forget how much money I saved that day. But it was very fun being with her. I took her back home, played a bit, and that was that."

'the most difficult part was to pass the practical exam, which required me to ride my motorbike over some obstacles.Get on my motorbike and finish my turn.'

'The most impressive event in my life so far was the day I participated in the driving exam. When I was 18, I had to leave home to study in another city, so my mother thought that I had better got a motorbike so I could easily travel to school. They intended to buy me a pretty one, but I could only get it after I successfully passed the driving exam. I signed up to study in a training course, and it took me about a week to learn all the theory and traffic law. However, the most difficult part was to pass the practical exam, which required me to ride my motorbike over some obstacles. After another week of practice, I finally got to the driving lot. There were a lot of people there, and all of them were as worried as me. I felt that my heart nearly jumped out of my chest, and I could not keep my hands from shaking. I had been through many tests in different subjects in my student life, but I thought that was the only one that made me freak out. The 8 line was the most difficult part, and many people failed to pass it. It made me even more stressful, but my father told me to watch them closely so I could avoid the same mistakes. My name was finally called, and I could not remember exactly how I walked towards the lot, got on the motorbike and finished my turn. I heard something but my vision was blurred, but I was attempted to complete the ride well. My dad almost yelled when I got out, and I was so happy that I hug him really tight. Maybe it is just an ordinary license that anyone can get, but for me it is such a great process and effort; and I will never forget about that event.'

'Bucket list float trip by myself. 6 days and 5 nights on the buffalo national river. Met lots of good people and the weather was good.'

"It has always been a dream of mine to take a trip to the might Buffalo National River and go on a float trip. I'd been to Saco a few times with some friends and I have always been yearning for another trip. We're all getting older, so it's tougher to organize a trip with everyone, but I was committed to going. It was the last thing I wanted to do on my bucket list and I was presented with the perfect time to go about 3 months ago when I had quit my job after being offered a much better paying job in a new city. I took the leap and took the trip to the river on my own in this free time I had. I was nervous since I would be alone, but even if I didn't make friends, I would be content floating on the river and relaxing in nature for 6 days. Much to my luck, when I got there, I almost instantly found a few people who were in the same situation I was and we bonded instantly. As we floated down the river, swapping stories and kicking back beers, our group grew larger and larger. It got to the point where we were floating in a big group of about a dozen people. We were from all walks of life and we would have never met or interacted in any other setting. Everyone had a unique life experience and we all enjoyed each other's company and stories. We would stay up all night talking about our lives, what led us here, what we hope the future brings, and shared some of our fondest memories from growing up. This group of people were amazing, and I am so happy I was able to meet them. The weather on the trip was perfect so I was able to relax with my new friends without having to worry about the conditions too much. As it turns out, a few of the people I met were from the city I was moving to, so I made sure to get their contact info. I even met a really cute girl who I made plans with meeting up with once I got to the city and settled in. This trip truly was life changing."

'Went to a baseball game with my brother-in-law. Had a great time. Looking forward to going again. Probably out of town'

"Last month I went with my brother in law John to a baseball game. We are both huge Yankee fans so we were excited to go together. I hadn't spent much time alone with him. I was looking forward to a little bonding, as it was important to my sister that we get along. All the Yankee games in town have been sold out this season so we decided to take a short road trip to see them out of town. We figured it would be fun to drive up to Boston and see them play the Red Sox. There is a huge rivalry between the 2 teams, so I thought it would be fun to go and cheer for the Yankees in the Red Sox ballpark. The drive up to Boston was pretty cool. We chatted and listened to music. I learned a lot about John. I always thought he was boring, but it turns out he had a pretty wild past. Once we got to the game it was absolutely insane. Everyone heckled us for wearing our Yankees jerseys. A few people even threw their popcorn at us, but it was all in good fun. I had a great time. The Yankees lost, which was upsetting, but we had so much fun it didn't even matter. By time we got back to New York I felt like me and John had really bonded. We made plans to go to another game again next month, we are thinking maybe we will go to Baltimore for this one."

'My mother almost died getting a pacemaker put in her heart. She suffered from a pulmonary edema right before the surgery. She was able to recover in the end.'

"About a month ago a medical emergency happened to my mother and it made my entire family distraught. My mother is getting up there in her age, she's 83 years old. Recently she had been having problems with her heart. It pumps very slowly and and she always has a very pale look to her face. Eventually the doctors say she needs to receive a pacemaker to help get her heart pumping again. The day of the surgery comes and the whole family is there talking with her and keeping her company before the surgery. She goes into the surgery and then next thing you know she's being taken to the ICU. The doctors said she had a sudden pulmonary edema and her lungs had filled up with fluid. She could barely get any oxygen. What was supposed to be a simple surgery turned into a life or death situation. We all waited by and were emotional wrecks, we thought she may not make it through the night. Luckily the doctors were able to stabilize her condition. She also had the pacemaker put in after she recovered. She ended up staying in the hospital about two weeks so the doctors could monitor her. My family and I were so happy she managed to survive."

'I got very sick because I had not eaten in six days: I had *no* appetite at all. As a result, I was taken to the hospital where I was admitted and spent three days. I am now on a medication that gives me an appetite so I can eat regularly.'

'Wow, what a memory! I think about that from time to time. it was a benchmark in my life, really. I remember some nutso woman on Facebook telling me, "Just force yourself to eat! That\'s what I tell my daughter and sister-in-law when they make such a nonsense bitch! Just EAT!"And that woman was crazy. Forcing yourself to eat probably works most of the time for most people. But what I was suffering from was almost ... an ANTI-eating illness. My body didn\'t WANT me to eat food. And that is truly weird. I should do some Internet research and find out what was going on with my system.\tAnd I still find it... interesting, that after taking the medication I was given to make me eat, I now eat regularly with no problem. (I just wish I had better food to eat!)I wonder if my current weird eating habits now have anything to do with my previous problem? I love toast with scads of margarine spread on it. And I\'m suddenly really like strawberry. Strawberry ice cream, strawberry jam, strawberry whatever. :)But just so long as I am EATING, it is much, **much** better for me, health wise, than what I was going through a few months ago. Thanks for this opportunity, and have a good day!!'

'I am about to move into my new house. Then I am about to open up my bakery at the same time. Now is a good time to be me.'

"Three weeks ago, I was moving into my new house. I hugged my parents goodbye. My mom cried. My father had a few tears as well. I was also going to open a bakery. This will be my first business. I am a little nervous. This business has a high failure rate. I hope I don't go under. I learned a lot of tips on how to have a successful business. The most important part is location. Another important tip is price and quality. I will make the best donuts this world has ever seen. I will also make some delicious bagels. I will have coffee that will rival the giants in the industry. I hope I will be successful in the world."

'This story is about my personal awakening and the realization that the American Dream for some is truly the American nightmare. In it I briefly describe my struggle with who I want to be with who I am truly am, all while trying to figure a way out of the day to day grind I have come to despise.'

"Three months ago I lost a job that paid minimum wage. It was barely enough income to get by on and not enough for my budget to include savings. That's how I found myself homeless. Within a matter of a few months, I was consigned to wander through the streets that used to be mine. I now sleep in the same park where once I stood looking lovingly at the green earth, the trees, the birds sweetly fluttering. That park is now a place to hide away from the rest of the world, so like a leper. It seems just yesterday that I'd belonged with those people who come for the fresh open space. My eyes now follow their peaceful smiles, their kids full of crisp laughter as they casually walk about the grounds. They're spending a pleasant holiday hours just seizing a chance to drift and dream. That's very different than being me who is now a drifter who never dreams anymore. Much of the time I stay huddled far back into the rich foliage, under old blankets and plastic. I've ceased dreaming and now know only the nightmare of little to no food, warmth, or affection, and all I can feel is fear. I don't understand why this happened to me. I didn't do anything wrong; I just lost my job. Several losses followed-- my apartment, belongings, my pets, even my friends. I hold onto my faith fiercely hoping a miracle might come along."

'I lost a huge amount of money in the market market. I was naive and greedy and it was my fault. Having waited for over 4 months learning the ways and patterns of the market.'

"A couple of weeks ago I lost a big pile. I had been betting on volatility at the end of the year. The market has seen volatility sink to all time lows. I figured the only direction that things could go is up from here. How silly was I. As the saw goes: the market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent. I was so convinced volatility would trend up I employed the largest dose of leverage I could get from my broker and levered it even more with options. And then I compounded it by betting large on Bitcoin rising. Can you say oh for two? All of my options contracts expired at the end of the year worthless. If volatility has spiked or Bitcoin had popped I would have made a killing. It would have been the best late Christmas or New Year's gift ever. As it stands now I'm going to have to cut way back on my spending just to be able to pay off Christmas presents in 3 months. What a tough situation to be in. Why couldn't the market come around to my view? My finances hurt and so does my brain. I'll have to stay away from exotic trading instruments."

'In my life there was most memorable day is my wedding day and in my office there was promotion for me in my office it is so respectful moment in my office.'

'In my life there was lot of things are there to summarize with happy and sad things. There was a day with most memorable day is "my wedding day" it is most important day and most forgettable day in my whole life. and there was a very fun things are made. and next thing was "my baby born day". I live with my life with my soulmates. And professionally there was a most memorable day is my "promotion day". and it gives my life more comfortable zone and having with good self esteem. and there was good respect for everyone. As my knowledge i got this promotion. It was very precious moment in my life. at this year my baby\'s first birthday party was there and we celebrate very grandly with parents and friends and we help some helpless people with food and dress and money it gives us very fulfill moment. and this is also very memorable moment. There was a "surprising and unexpected moment" was there. there is lot of surprise from my lovable partner and he is my life my whole life is my husband. In recent time there was in my office there is "best employee award"was deserved by me it is and it was so surprising and most respectful in my office. and there was a party with my coworkers and there was lot of fun and taking lot of photos with my coworkers and it makes us more happy and fun. and the past six months my daddy\'s retirement day was there and he is getting relaxed and i am so happy with him. it gives more relaxation for my daddy and there after my daddy was here and we had a joint family with my parents and makes us more comfort zone. this is what are placed in my dairy and it remembers some best thing in my life. and there a happy zone with whole life it make me more happy with satisfied life.'

'Driving to the fair, witnessed an accident, checked on injuries, helped get someone to safety, paramedics took people away.'

"About 2 weeks ago I decided to go enjoy a day at the fair. I don't buy much as food and things are exorbitantly priced, even entry and parking are outrageous, but I do like to walk around for hours and just look; watch car races, look at the animals, watch dancers, etc... there's many free things to enjoy. On the way to the event a multiple car accident happened right in front of me. I was blessed with quick reflexes or I may have been caught in the accident myself. All traffic stopped and I was front row. I got out and ran up to the vehicle just in front of me to check on its passengers. The person in this car was a little bloody from hitting their head on the steering wheel, and they were a little shocked, but they were in overall good shape. Two of the other cars, I think 5 or 6 in total, had serious damages and injuries. We had to pull two people out and get them laid on the ground as their car was on fire. It didn't end up exploding but you never know. Anyway, paramedics came and took all the injured away. Bad there were horrible injuries but good there were no deaths. The police came as well. They asked all around what happened. I don't actually know what happened to start the entire pile-up even though it happened right in front of me. I believe it was someone changing lanes quickly and without looking. I'm not sure."

'This was basically about my dog dying. How he just went no matter what I did. The feelings I had about this horrid event.'

"Today my dog died. I was running with him in the front yard and he suddenly dropped. His breathing was labored for a few moments and I was foolishly thinking he would catch his breath. He didn't. After a few seconds of not breathing I tried and tried to get him to start again. I did compressions on his side and even tried mouth to mouth and no matter how hard I tried nothing would work. I scooped him up in my arms and ran him to the vet as fast as I could but they were closed. I walked home carrying him, tears streaming down my face hoping for a miracle. One never came. I knew he was old. I'd had him since I was a kid. But I still just was not ready. My mom says that he lived a good life. I know that he was happy. He would meet me at the door every time I got off the school bus. He would eat my scraps at dinner when mom wasn't looking. He'd lay on my feet as I slept, keeping me warm. And now I have to figure out how to live without those things. I know it's not like I lost a parent or sibling, but it hurts because I was responsible for him. It hurts that he died running and exhausted when he should have died just laying down in his bed or something. I just hope that he knew how much he was loved. I buried him in the back yard with his favorite chew toys. My dad went and got a beautiful wooden plaque made for his headstone. I thought that was beautiful. I just hope he knows how loved he was and how much I'll miss him."