INDIVIDUAL PROJECT TONI PARENT FHS 1500

LIFE AS I KNOW IT…..  I WAS BORN ON JULY 18, SHORTLY AFTER I WAS BORN, I BECAME AN OLDER SISTER TO A YOUNGER SISTER AND A BROTHER.FROM THEN UNTIL AROUND THE AGE OF 10, I HAD LIVED IN THE SMALLEST STATE IN THE UNITED STATES, RHODE ISLAND.  WHEN I WAS AROUND THE AGE OF 9, MY PARENTS DIVORCED.  FROM RHODE ISLAND, I MOVED TO LAS VEGAS, NEVADA [BOTH OF MY PARENTS WENT TO VEGAS AS WELL]. WHICH MARKED ONE OF THE FIRST OF MANY PIVOTAL EVENTS IN MY LIFE.

MY YOUNGER DAYS….  I GRADUATED FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL WHILE LIVING IN LAS VEGAS, AND 4 YEARS LATER I GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL. I WAS THE FIRST ONE IN MY FAMILY TO GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL. SO IT WAS QUITE A BIG DEAL, AND OF COURSE, A PIVOTAL EVENT IN MY LIFE  WHEN I WAS A JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL, MY MOTHER MOVED TO UTAH.

THE NEW ADDITIONS…  UPON MOVING TO UTAH, MY MOM MET SOMEONE SHE WOULD LATER MARRY. BECAUSE OF THIS, I GAINED A STEPDAD, AND LITTLE DID I KNOW IT AT THE TIME, BUT I WOULD BECOME AN OLDER SISTER AGAIN. =] HOWEVER, AT THIS TIME I WAS STILL LIVING IN LAS VEGAS, AS MY MOM HAD MY BABY SISTER TWO WEEKS AFTER I GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL. CRAZY, I KNOW.

THE MOVE TO UTAH!!!!  AFTER I GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL, I TOOK A YEAR OF COLLEGE. DURING THAT TIME I HAD MOVED OUT AND WAS LIVING BY MYSELF WHICH I FOUND STRESSFUL. IN AUGUST OF 2010, I DECIDED TO MOVE BACK IN WITH MY MOM. THE ONLY CATCH, WAS THAT I WOULD HAVE TO LIVE IN UTAH!!!! AND THIS TURNED OUT TO BE THE BIGGEST EVENT OF MY LIFE, TO THIS DAY.

SINCE MOVING TO THE BEEHIVE STATE…..  SOON AFTER I MOVED TO UTAH, I BEGAN WORKING. IT WAS AT MY FIRST JOB HERE IN UTAH WHERE I MET SOMEONE WHO WOULD CHANGE MY LIFE.  THIS PARTICULAR PERSON, WHO AT THE TIME WAS JUST A CO-WORKER, WAS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS. BEING THAT HE WAS ALSO 22 YEARS OLD, HE WAS A RETURN MISSIONARY. AS PREDICTABLE AS IT MAY BE, I BEGAN TO LEARN ABOUT HIS RELIGION AND THIS ALSO CHANGED MY LIFE ITSELF.  A LITTLE WHILE AFTER, I GOT BAPTIZED INTO THE CHURCH, WHICH FOR ANYONE IN THEIR LIFE, IT WAS A MAJOR PIVOTAL EVENT. THIS CHANGED MANY ASPECTS OF MY LIFE, AND I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE MANY CHANGES.  I AM NOW IN MY FIRST SEMESTER AT SLCC,AND I PLAN ON BECOMING A TEACHER, WITH HOPES OF LATER BECOMING AN ADMINISTRATOR.[DEPENDS ON HOW BUSY I BECOME ONCE I AM MARRIED WITH BABIES.  LIVING IN UTAH HAS ALLOWED ME MANY GREAT OPPORTUNITES THUS FAR. MY BROTHER AND SISTER MOVED TO LIVE HERE THIS PAST SUMMER OF 2011, AND NOW I AM ABLE TO SPEND TIME WITH ALL OF MY YOUNGER SIBLINGS, WHICH BRINGS ME MUCH JOY.

PICTURES FROM ALONG THE WAY….

And more….

IN CONCLUSION….  I AM STILL VERY YOUNG AT THE AGE OF 20. I KNOW THAT THERE ARE MANY MORE PIVOTAL EVENTS TO COME. HOWEVER, I ALSO KNOW THAT SOCIETY, AND MY COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS A FEW OTHER FACTORS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO WHO I AM TODAY, WHERE I AM TODAY, AND WHERE I WANT TO GO IN LIFE. EACH EVENT IN MY LIFE HAS LED ME SOMEWHERE WHERE I NEEDED TO BE. WITHOUT THE DECISIONS I HAVE MADE, AND THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIETY AND THE COMMUNITY, I WOULDN’T BE WHERE I AM TODAY, AND I AM VERY HAPPY WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW. BECAUSE OF ALL THIS THINGS, I KNOW WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP, I KNOW WHO I AM GOING TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH, AND I HAVE A GENERAL IDEA OF MANY OTHER THINGS PERTAINING TO MY LIFE THAT MANY OTHER PEOPLE DON’T KNOW. UNTIL THIS PROJECT, I HAD NEVER REALLY SAT AND THOUGHT ABOUT THIS THINGS. THIS ASSIGNMENT HAS BROUGHT GREAT INSIGHT TO MY LIFE, AS WELL AS TREMENDOUS GRATITUDE FOR WHERE I’VE BEEN, AND WHERE I AM TODAY. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE PIVOTAL EVENTS IN MY NEAR FUTURE TO OCCUR, AND ALSO THE EVENTS THAT WILL HAPPEN MUCH LATER DOWN THE ROAD. IN EITHER CASE, I WILL FREQUENTLY TRY TO THINK ABOUT HOW SOCIETY AND THE COMMUNITY AND OTHER ASPECTS HAVE BROUGHT ME TO WHERE I AM, AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT AN INFLUENCE ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE TO EVERYONES’ LIFE.