The Important Things
Memoirs By Stephanie Rodriguez
My Everything
My sisters have been with me through everything and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know I sometimes wish I was the only child when they get too annoying but without them I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Alejandra, Elizabeth, and Virginia my sisters, have made me a strong and responsible person. I couldn’t imagine my life without them because I need them as much as I need them.
When we were little, Alex and I, we would do everything together. We would play outside, watch cartoons in the morning, and our clothes would always match. My sister Alex was my first best friend and I wouldn’t have it any other way. She could annoying as a bird chirping in the morning when you’re trying to sleep, but that’s what made Alex the person she is. Alex now makes me laugh like no other. She does and says the most funniest things.
Elizabeth is like my little baby, she acts like she’s the baby of the family when really she’s the youngest of the middle. She can quickly go from shy to outgoing in a heartbeat. We’ve been through so much together and I have seen her bloom into the beautiful flower she is. I’m so proud of the things she’s accomplished. She can get a bit annoying with her One Direction obsession, but I still love her to pieces.
Virginia is the youngest of my sisters even though she acts like a forty year old. Our relationship has always been hard because of the big age difference but that doesn’t stop me from loving her unconditionally. Sometimes she can be as sweet as candy and at other times she can be as annoying as the fly buzzing near your ear. I’m proud of the person she’s becoming though, she’s very outspoken and she will never hold her tongue. I admire her for that, she’s not afraid to express her opinions and I believe that’s a great thing.
I love all three of my sisters unconditionally and without them I wouldn’t be anything because they’re my everything. Sometimes it’s hard being the big sister because they look up to me and I always have to do everything right. I’m gonna go away to college in the fall and I don’t know how we’re going to survive without each other. The time has flown away and it’s finally almost time to leave the nest. It’s going to be exciting and sad at the same time but it’s necessary for me to do because I have to show them that we need to further our education in order to have a better life. It’s going to be hard but I have to get through college so I can give my sisters a better life because they’re my everything.
More Like Sisters
They’re more than my best friends, they’re like my sisters.
They’re the people I go to whenever I need help and they’re the people I can always count on.
They’re always making me laugh, always making me smile.
They’re the people who cry when I cry.
The’re the people who accept me for who I am and they’re the people who allow me to express myself.
They’re the people who support me in anything I want to do, and they’re the people who always encourage me to do better.
They’re the warmth in every hug, they’re the people I’ve had a billion laughs with.
They’re the people who I love to the moon and back, they’re the people who make me feel loved.
They’re the people who I couldn’t imagine ever letting go.
They’re my rock and they’re my sunshine.
Shyanne and Katie are more than my best friends, they’re more like my sisters.My 5th Birthday
I remember waking up super excited, it was finally here. The day my mom has been planning and buying stuff for the past month is finally here. I get out of bed, my toes touching the cold wooden floor but I don’t bother to put my slippers on because I’m just too excited. I try to wake up my little sister and she also gets up with sleepiness still in her eyes. “It’s here”, I say in my mind. My party for my 5th birthday is today!
I run out my room, down the hall and into my parents room. Daddy is still sleeping but mommy isn’t in the bed so I go to the kitchen and there she’s cooking breakfast in her pajamas and everything smells like heaven. We all sit down to eat breakfast and I’m just so ready for the party! The doorbell rings, “ding!”, and I know exactly who it is and I go run to the front door with my mom trailing behind me. It’s my mema and she’s come to help with the party.
They start cooking and daddy starts hanging up decorations in the living room and outside. I’m looking at what everyone’s doing, making sure everything is perfect. I’m kind of like a mini supervisor. My mom starts setting up the gift table and I’m hoping I will get billions of gifts!
My abuelita comes over and she’s gonna get my sister and I ready for the party. I can’t wait to put on my pretty pink dress! We go upstairs and take a bath. My abuelita forgets the towels and so she quickly runs out the bathroom and my sister and I decide that we should splash each other with the water. Well, Alex pushes me and I hit my chin on the edge of the bathtub and I, of course, start crying. My abuelita hurries into the bathroom with worry etched all over her face. She sees me and quickly carries me out the tub, all while I’m crying and trying to tell her that Alex pushed me.
After a while I start crying and I am now sporting an ugly, brown band-aid on my chin. I’m so upset until I come downstairs and see all the pretty pink decorations that match my dress, wow!
At the end of the day I forgot about the band-aid on my chin and focus on all my family who brought me lots of gifts and the sweet, pink, princess cake. This is the earliest memory I have of my life and I get to tell it every time someone asks me about the small scar on my chin. I use to hate my scar but it’s not just an ugly scar to me anymore, it symbolizes that life use to be easier and that the worst that could happen is getting a small scar.
Gone
I can’t believe you’re gone. I knew you were going to be gone someday, but not this day. I thought I would have more time with you, I thought I would have more hugs and more laughs. It was just last week that I was sitting on your bedside, holding your soft aged hands. You were telling me how much you loved me and how proud you were of me. I can’t believe you’re gone.
I’m going to miss you so much. I’m going to miss you like the desert misses the rain. I would move every mountain and swim across every ocean if I could just have you back. I’m going to miss the way you smelled of coffee, flour, and clean clothes. I’m going to miss your tight hugs and your feathered kisses on my cheeks. I can’t believe you’re gone.
I get to the funeral home and see all the pretty flowers everywhere, but they don’t make me feel better, each petal is a reminder as to why I’m here. Everyone greets my sisters and I and ask us how we’re doing and we reply with “fine” when we all know it’s not true. We’re not okay and we’re not whole because a part of us is in the casket at the end of the long aisle.
When I see you, I keep hoping you’ll wake up from this forever sleep but I know you’re not. It’s hard seeing you like this; cold and lifeless. This isn’t you; you’re wearing makeup when you’ve always hated it, you’re wearing a dress when you’ve always loved comfortable clothes and you’re lying still when you loved to be in the kitchen cooking. I touch your hand and I don’t feel the warmth of life within you and it’s scary and heartbreaking. The salty tears are slowly sliding down my cheeks and land onto my dark black dress. I can’t help but sob because the pain is just too much, but I pull myself together because I’m the big sister and I have to be strong. You’ve always told me to be strong, you always told me I was good, beautiful, smart, and that I would go far in life. I wish you didn’t have to leave, I wish you could be here to see all the great things I’m doing. They all say that I’ll be fine, that it will get better and I know these things but it’s so hard to think that you’re gone.The Next Big Thing
It’s finally here. It’s what we’ve been working our butts off for and it’s only a few days away. I can’t believe we actually made it, but then again I knew we could do it. It’s going to be emotional, it’s going to be sad, and it’s going to be great. It’s going to be a big ball of emotions for most of us. Graduation, I can’t believe it’s here.
We’re so excited and so worried as to what we’re gonna wear, it’s gonna be such a grand affair. All of our friends and family are coming to see us on this special day and I wouldn’t have it any other day. All the girls are out shopping, hoping to find the perfect dress and finding the right heels that won’t make you fall flat on stage. We despise the boys because they have it so easy, they make it look so breezy. I wish I didn’t have to worry about falling on stage and making a fool out of myself because that would be so embarrassing but at least i’ll be graduating!
I know i’m gonna cry on that day and I know i’m gonna have many laughs also. It’s gonna be hard to let some of ya'll go, but we have to go on our own. It might be scary but it’s necessary. We have to go find our place in this world and be who we were meant to be. I know we will do great and amazing things. I know we'll be successful, and I know we'll have the time of our lives in this next chapter of our life.
Sometimes it's gonna get tough, but we'll be just fine. When we were just little freshman, we came to high school to learn how to fly, well the time has come for us to leave Irving High School behind, flap our wings and fly away. Some are reluctant to leave the nest, but you'll be just fine. I'm going to go into this next chapter of my life with excitement and try my best to accomplish the goals I've been dreaming about that are now becoming a reality.
It's hard to think that I won't see some of ya'll ever again, but I've enjoyed my time here and now it's time to meet new people; to make new friends and memories. I'm so grateful for everyone who was my friend, for every person who listened to me, for every person who cared for me, and for every person who was just an overall great person. My time here has come to an end and it’s bittersweet, but i’m so glad to go onto the next big thing.
My Future
When I was little, I always wanted to be a princess or even an astronaut, but now I'm an adult. Now I know what is my reality and what I actually want to be and what I can do. When I was little I never thought I would want to be this person or do this thing, but now that I know what it is, I can't stop and I won't stop. Photography is what I love to do and it has become a passion of mine. I feel like I need it like I need it like air; it's now a part of me.
Photography helps me escape from my reality and I feel like a different person in a different world. I can take a photo and transform it into something I love and that someone else will also love. It brings me much happiness when I see others complimenting my work and saying that i’m doing a great job.
I know that I still have a long way to go, my journey for learning new things, is not over. I still have to know my companion, my camera, and I know I will one day. My hope is that this passion within me for this hobby will not die like a flower in the cold weather. I hope I can one day be as good as the photographers I admire today. I hope that one day I will be successful and that one day I will be able to do great things with my photography and show the world the beauty within others and within the world. I hope I can build my own little empire with this.
20 Years Later
I wanna wake up with the warmth of the sun shining through the big windows.
I wanna wake up with the person I love next to me, smiling at me.
I wanna wake up to the smell of cappuccino through the halls.
I wanna wake up to my children telling me to wake up because they have to go to school.
I wanna wake up and take a shower in my luxurious shower in my awesome bathroom.
I wanna wake up to the laughter of my husband, to a kiss that makes me still wanna fall to my knees.
I wanna walk in my grand closet and feel like I’m shopping in the mall.
I wanna walk to my vanity set and have all of my makeup and perfume laying there for me to pick up like flowers.
I wanna be able to walk down the stairs in my super cute louboutin heels and not feel like I’m gonna go flying down the stairs.
I wanna go to my grand kitchen and drink my cappuccino and eat my bagel.
I wanna walk out of my house and have a great view of the city.
I wanna walk into my garage and into my fast car.
I wanna drive down the highway like I’m in some cool movie and I wanna roll the windows down with my hair flying behind me.
I wanna get to work and do what I love and have a great business.
I wanna have lunch with my lovely husband in the great city of Dallas.
I wanna have walks in the park and finally go home after a long, great day of work.
I wanna get home, to my amazing family and amazing home.
I wanna and I will have this life.