Two Truths, One Lie. Can You Guess?

When I was fifteen my mom wanted to throw me a party and I said no, I’ve never liked having all the attention on me. She kept insisting for a few months and we would always end in an argument. Since I always ended up saying no, she went behind my back and started planning my sweet sixteen. Apparently, everyone in my house knew and my sister was the one that was doing all the planning. My mom needed me to do the dress fitting, so she decided to trick me into going by telling me we were going to the movie theater and then to eat some tacos. When she took me to the dress fitting, I told her again that I didn’t want a sweet sixteen and that’s when she told me everything. She told me all about the invitations being sent out, the salon being paid for and the food being picked. At the end, I had no other choice but to say yes. I can’t complain really, I had a lot of fun and the good thing is that I didn’t have to stress about the whole planning thing.

After I graduated high school, I decided to take some time off school and go live with my sister in San Jose, California. When I moved to San Jose, we went on bike rides in the most beautiful park I’ve seen. It had two big lakes and there was a lot of green trees and it was magnificent. I loved going on bike rides with my sister. The last time we went, I was carrying my nieces on the back of my bike in a little “wagon” and my sister was rollerblading with her husband. There was a really steep fall that if you didn’t turn fast, you could go straight to the lake! I had a brand new bike and I was barely learning how to handle it. My sister, out of nowhere, just fell on her ass and I was going right behind her. I had no idea how to use the brakes so my instant reaction was to turn towards the lake and prevent from hitting my sister with a really heavy bike. I was extremely scared because I had my two nieces with me and the next thing I know, BAM! I slammed into a fence. So there I was laughing so loud my stomach started to hurt, and my sister was crying way too much. My face was sore for a week and it left a bruise for a month. We now laugh about it, but it was terrible at the time. 

I lived in Mexicali when I was a child. I've always loved asking for candy in Halloween, it made me feel like a gangster. I remember this Halloween in particular because I had never been so scared in my life. One Halloween night, we were walking around in the dark streets and my sister was extremely scared. I wanted some candy, so there was no way I was going back home without a candy on my bag. There was this man that was fully dressed in black, he even had black paint on his face, he was offering some candy and we started walking toward him all happy because he had a lot of candies. As we started getting closer, he started walking backward and as soon as we reached his truck, BAM! A dog came out of nowhere and my sister and I just screamed and ran. My sister was crying so bad that my mom had to take us back home. At the end of the night, we didn't gather a single candy. I still got to laugh at my sister, which was nice. 

Could I Break the Cycle?

Growing up in a dysfunctional family, I saw how my mother and my sister struggled within their decisions because they thought they were in love. They made those men their priorities and forgot all about their plans and goals. They weren’t thinking about their futures; they were thinking about the present with them. Witnessing those decisions had made me analyze who I was, am, and want to be. Will making the same decisions make me reach happiness, or changing my perspective find me a new beginning? My mother became my hero, yet I decided I want to be nothing like her; I want to break the cycle.

Although I had an amazing childhood and looked up to my mother because of the strong person she is, there came a point where I feared becoming like her. My mother’s life has been a series of life changing decisions that at the time seemed right but ended hurting the people around her. For example, one of the biggest decisions she made was struggling two jobs at a time, this meant that I didn’t get to see much of her on a daily basis. At the time I felt abandoned because I was used to having her around every single minute of the day. After years of financial struggle, my mother decided that it was best for the family to immigrate to the United States. She thought that by coming here it would give us better opportunities and it would give her more time with us because she only needed one job. After all, it was true, she was there for us more than ever. She worked extra hard to support and make us happy, but that didn’t change the fact that I had to start over. I was angry and scared, and I hated the fact that her decisions hurt me the most. How could she be so selfish?  The person I considered my role model slowly shattered my expectations and left me vulnerable.

As a result, by the time I was seventeen, I had experienced more emotional damage than a normal teenager would have. I found myself depressed, feeling insecure, confused, and emotionally drained. Part of the reasons why I felt that way was due to the effects my mom had in all her relationships, relationships that began as fairytales and ended in fights and loneliness.  Seeing my mother so vulnerable made me feel insecure about having a relationship of my own.  In addition to that, my sister had also fallen into my mother’s cycle without realizing it. Witnessing the fights and my mom’s ego being shattered by men would often lead to me locking myself in a room for a whole day. It later began to be more than just one day and I wouldn’t come out, not even to eat.  I didn’t want to be emotionally involved in a situation that could trigger my anxiety, which would keep me from achieving my daily activities. I would often question myself, “Is this really the life I want for me?” That was the moment I realized the importance of being who I wanted to be and what future I wanted to build for myself.

After years of self evaluation and determination, I have finally come to the point where it is time for me to take matters into my own hands and break the cycle. I would do what my mother and sister never did, have my own career and become independent. I can see how my mother’s eyes lighten when she sees me dedicated to my studies; after all, she never knew what it was to go to college because she never finished junior high. Trying to be that independent and successful person has inspired my sister into getting her career as well. I am glad I can be an inspiration to my sister, and I hope I can be an inspiration to other people as well. After all, being successful in a dysfunctional family can be quite challenging, but not impossible.

Even though I’ve always looked up to my mother, I knew I had to make decisions that would lead me to a different path. My mother inspired me to be a different, and better person. I have learned throughout my life that she is a fighter, and even though her decisions affected me more than I would like to admit, they have made me the person I am today. Although I want to be different from my mother, I admire the courage she had, being a single mother must not be easy. That doesn’t change my decision on wanting to be better than her. Breaking the cycle is a long life process, but I am determined to break it, and I will.

Sacrifice on Man on Fire

Sacrifice is an unselfish act that benefits somebody else besides yourself. It’s not about trading; it’s about giving without expecting something in return. In “Man on Fire”, Creasy sacrifice didn’t come from violence, it came from unconditional love.

In the beginning, Creasy seemed to care for little of anything, anyone, much less himself. Creasy was an ex-CIA officer and a former U.S Marine Force Recon who went to Mexico to meet his friend Paul Rayburn, who runs a security firm. Since there is an extremely high rate of kidnappings in Mexico City for ransom money, Samuel Ramos hires Mr. Creasy through Rayburn's agency to guard his nine-year-old daughter, Pita. Besides, Mr. Ramos intended to keep Creasy for a short period of time. Creasy was suicidal and suffered from alcoholism, depression, and guilt as a result of his past job as an assassin; he had no sympathy for the world. Even though John was overqualified and was going to get paid way below what he would originally ask for, he took the job because he had nothing else to live for. Besides, being a bodyguard wouldn't require him to go back into being the assassin he was before. Creasy knew this would only be temporary, so he decides to distance himself socially and emotionally from Pita.

The pure love of an innocent child has the power to change even the most bitter person. Creasy was annoyed by Pita when he first met her. But slowly he puts his guard down and opens up to her. Pita changes Creasy’s behavior, making him live and smile again. For example, when Creasy was driving Pita to her piano lessons and she kept asking him questions, he responded by saying, “I am not being paid to be your friend, so no more questions.” Creasy was a curiosity for Pita and she knew she would eventually own his heart.

In every story that involves sacrifice, the main character often shows a way of redemption. At the end, Creasy was ready to sacrifice his life for Pita. He had finally found a meaning to his life, something that he hadn't felt before. After a long life full of violence and remorse, he knew that it was Pita’s turn to have a life of her own. Even though he wasn’t sure if Pita was still alive, he was determined to take a risk in order to find peace for both: her mother and himself. At the end of the movie, it shows Creasy walking down a bridge, you could see three vehicles waiting for him. As he approaches the vehicles, his face shows relief as he sees Pita getting out the car. Pita runs and hugs him, at the moment he realizes that his sacrifice was worth it. Seeing Pita’s smile brought him a sense of fulfillment, he was ready to “go home” even if that meant death.

In the end, sacrifice is not something you live for; it’s something you die for. Sacrifice can come and end in many ways, but it takes love, courage, and determination to do so. Creasy expressed the true meaning of sacrifice, however, Pita showed him the purpose of his life.

The Meaning Behind a Simple Tattoo

This tattoo is placed on the back, near the ribs. Having a tattoo on your back often signifies that the person is mysterious or somewhat shy. Some people also choose to get a tattoo on their backs at the ending of phases in their lives, or relationships to symbolize that they have put these parts of their lives behind them. The size of this tattoo is a bit large, yet based on the location it is placed, it makes the tattoo look perfect in size. This tattoo is based on Arabic alphabet. Arabic tattoos are often used as a hidden message for the person itself. That way, other people do not know what it says. This has been very popular in the last couple of years and it has been used by some celebrities to display it as part of their lifestyles. This tattoo is not visible unless the person is wearing clothing that would be revealing. This tattoo is plain black, and this gives the tattoo a very sophisticated look and it doesn't make the person look trashy. If we were to translate what this tattoo says, it would say, "Love Yourself First." This is a tattoo that sends a meaningful message to a lot of people.