The most influential person in my life is no other than my grandmother, "Kemin", who had the most wonderful and kind-hearted personality I've ever known in my life. Of course, I've wonderful relatives, friends and loved-ones like my husband, but nobody compares to my grandmother, who made great impact on my personality during those seventeen, tender years of growing up in her custody.

My grandmother's real name is Imelda Agsicio Pulacan, a typical Filipina, popularly known as "Kemin" in our village, someplace around Baguio City, Philippines. I could say she's a wonderful person because of her unconditional love, generosity, perseverance, determination and humble positive outlook in life. With her mediocre education and knowledge, she persevered in bringing up me and my kid sister. When I was three years old, my parents separated and left us to my Grandma's care and sought their own way of life.

Grandma Kemin treated me and my kid sister like her very own flesh and blood, with so much devotion. With her immense determination to provide us a good life, she worked hard almost everyday notwithstanding all the difficulties and hardship of life. She'd seize every opportunity in any work, just to provide food and shelter for the family of four that comprises her and grandpa Felix (a retired veteran), my sister and I. She was the breadwinner, while grandpa, my sister and I help each other in the house chores. Grandma's one of a kind, who wants to give everything for the people she dearly loves. She'd been a devoted, selfless person. I'll always remember those times when she wanted to buy something for herself but ended up buying a better quality of shoes and clothes for my sister and me. I knew she'd willingly gave her own food for us is we needed more. She accommodated us the best she could physically, morally and emotionally. She provided for me and my kid sister's education until we finished high school. Actually she wanted to give us a higher education but her age and health caught up with her.

Whenever Grandma had time, she'd always devoted for us to teach us good moral character, before tucking us into bed. Besides the Golden Rule: "Do not do unto others what you won't like others do unto you", she'd embedded in our minds, she's the first person who taught us to pray the Lord's Prayer in our own dialect. The most repeated advice she'd gave us is: "To always take good care of each other no matter what life brings", and to study hard because good education was the only gift and treasure she could leave behind, which nobody can steal from us. There are also lots of good and inspiring experiences my grandma Kemin shared to me. Every weekend and holiday, I'd always accompany and help her in either going to the mines for gold panning or vending wooden, or stone key chains and ashtrays that my grandfather and I did at home, at the city parks and sidewalks. She'd always tell me to be proud no matter how hard or what kind of job I do, for as long as it's decent and I work hard for it, the fruit of labor is gratifying.

Without that unconditional love and gracious support grandma gave me and my sister, we wouldn't be what we are today. We may never had the comfort of materialistic life other people have, but the wisdom, good foundation of life and principles taught to us would be efficient enough as a tool while I'm growing older. I may not be the best person she wanted me to be, but I'm pretty sure she'd be very proud of what  I've accomplished for now. I think she was the best gift God had ever given to us and I would always cherish those memories and times I had with my grandmother whom I adore as a mother, best friend and mentor for the rest of my life.

RVG

A Hero

Have you ever had so many heroes that you have looked up to? I have and every single one of them is very special to me! There is one individual who sticks out the most to me; that is my wonderful mom! She is the best person I know. She is very family oriented, a wonderful house wife and she is there when you need her.

My mommy spends all of her time with her children and grandchildren no matter how she feels. She is the most dedicated person I know. My mom spends alot of her time doing things that I need to do for college such as driving me to school and helping me to get my work done. When I have a question she is there to help me out as much as possible. She has been there for me through everything. Even when I'm moody and yelling she puts up with alot more then most people would.

My mom is a stay at home mom and house wife; however, for her that is a full time job. She cooks, cleans, and does the laundry. My mom does everything! She is the base of the house hold; without my mom the house would fall apart. I remember that no matter what was going on when the school bus ran, mom had supper on the table waiting for us.

Mom has always been there for me when I needed her. She is the one who everyone turns to when there is a problem or a question we don't have the answer to. My mom is the one that has all of my trust because I know no matter what happens my mom will never turn her back on my brother, my sister, or me. Mom is always there when she is needed.

Friends may come and go, but your mom will never leave. Your mom, mommy, mother, whatever it is you may call her is with you for life, and she is your best friend. You may not notice it now but you will when you move out or you're going through a tough time, and she is the one helping you through it. Your mom will be the one there greeting you at the door when you come in to visit her if you've been gone or just coming in from work/ school. She is there to dry your tears or provide a shoulder to cry on, and when you need a hug she is there with arms wide open.

Responsibilities

As I have gotten older my responsibilities have changed. When I was a little kid I only had a few responsibilities that my parents gave me. They wanted to make sure that I understood the consequences that could affect my life. Now as I am coming into the adult world my responsibilities have gotten more serious.

Some young kids do not have big responsibilities, but some kids have huge responsibilities depending on their situation. When I was a little girl my parents gave me some responsibilities like feeding animals every night, keeping my room clean, and getting up in time for school every morning. They never made it a big deal if I forgot to do something; they just made sure that I understood some of the consequences that would happen. I have been told that if I didn't feed the animals or give them water they could starve or become dehydrated. If I didn't get up for school on time and they noticed, they would come and see if I felt fine and make sure I got up to make it on time so I didn't miss any class work or important information that would be taught. The responsibility of keeping my room clean was going to help me with organization skills, and if there was an emergency my parents would be able to get to me safely without having to trip over anything.


With becoming older I have realized that I have important responsibilities such as paying bills, getting to college classes on time, and getting all my homework done on time. Although I don't have to pay bills quite yet, I have learned that if they are not paid on time they can end the supply. Since I have to pay to go to college, it is a big responsibility to make sure I am not late or miss information that would be taught. Also, it is important to make sure I do the homework that is assigned, so I don't end up flunking the class.

Responsibilities become more important as we get older. Some responsibilities are the same from when we are young to, as we get older. If my wonderful parents did not teach me the importance with responsibilities, then who knows where I would end up, not being able to take care of my family or myself.

Amber Kirchner

The Challenges of Being a Firefighter

The challenges faced by a professional fire department are numerous. But here’s the top four problems faced: recruitment, funding, manpower, and morale.

Because professional fire departments are not always paid a regular salary, getting people to join is a major challenge faced on a daily basis. Most of the time, people look to see how much money they will make. When they find out that they only get a Christmas bonus, often times they change their mind.

Funding is a concern because everything has to be approved before being able to purchase. Situations may arise when people need gear; it needs to be approved. New tools need to be approved first. It may take days, weeks, even months before it will be approved. Meanwhile you just have to make do with what you got.

Manpower during the day and early morning is a challenge because people work during the day and need sleep. Sometimes trucks will roll out of the station under manned for calls, and sometimes it’s no problem, but when a truck rolls out with only three people to a house fire, you got a problem.

Morale is an issue due to firefighters getting tired of going on stupid calls and not getting anything in return, which brings up a very old but very true saying “You gotta love what you do.” Being a volunteer firefighter takes a lot out of somebody but when you love firefighting as much as firefighters do its no problem. I have been a firefighter for three years and I love it, I love the fact of when everything goes wrong, and we come rolling up people seem to get a feeling of relief.

In closing, I would like to say that firefighting is something that not everyone is cut out to do. Firefighters are a special breed of people. Even though we face several challenges, we seem to make everything seem better.

Philip Perry

Unsafe Driving Awareness

There are many reasons why traffic accidents occur, all though some are more common then others. Take the elderly for example. They have fading eyesight and much slower reflexes. Others like to drink and drive. Adding alcohol to your blood stream slows you down, impairs your reflexes and judgment. That’s just plain dumb. It causes numerous amounts of deaths each and every day. Last but not least would be cell phone usage. The rate of accidents caused by talking on the phone without a head set along with the new trend of texting has sky rocketed statistics.

As we get older our senses change a huge deal. Vision and slower reflexes play a big roll in elderly accidents. As Fading eyesight and mental confusion come into play, it can cause serious car mayhem. Many states still give drivers licenses even after failing to pass a quick response test or simple exam.

One of the biggest problems with traffic accidents according to Alcoholalert.com is drinking and driving. They state that there are 15,000 deaths caused by DUI’s (Driving under the influence) out of the 40,000 that occur each year. Most that are involved in a DUI are male and under the age of 25. Many of these young men combine drag racing with little driving experience. It becomes catastrophic.

Finally there is cell phone usage. More and more think it’s okay to multi task while driving. The University of Utah held a study recently and found that someone behind the wheel texting or talking on their phone at the same timer are six times more likely to be in an accident then other drivers that have their full attention on the road. Edgarsnyder.com states that everyday of the year people are texting or talking on cell phones while driving. This results in half a million accidents over 5,000 involving fatalities.

When it comes to driving we shouldn’t compromise our safety as well as the safety of others on the road. We all need to stop and use our heads. Thinking about the accidents that are caused by these and many many others on a daily basis would slow down or even stop deaths across America. So when you jump behind the wheel remember, our lives are important. Drive smart.

Tiffany Dean

Reasons for Returning to School

My reasons to return to school this year are many. I was, for many years, a truck driver hauling many different commodities we use in everyday life. It was a rewarding job in the past, but as time and today's changes in the economy took a downward spiral, I had to decide my future and my career choices wisely. So, since I wanted to succeed and accomplish the goals that I always wanted to achieve, I decided to go back to school.

Deciding to go back to school is a major challenge for me, but if I want a stable career, it's the only thing that makes sense in today's world and its challenges. There are lots of opportunities out in the job market as a truck driver, but I have decided that school is the best thing for my future and the new career I have chosen. There are easier things I could have chosen to do, but I like learning now more than I did when I was a student at Boyd County High School back in 1974-76. I learned a valuable lesson the hard way. Now I have to learn from that and go on and never give up on my expectations.

Furthermore, as a truck driver for many years, I always had the drive to learn something new every day. Every time I read something that pertained to the job I was doing, I learned new things, so I was in certain circumstances learning. So school is something I have been doing but in a different form or environment. For example, reading log books or paper work related to the job I was doing at the time of employment were things I could not have accomplished without school and its rewards from the past.

So, I decided to take my career to a new level and further my education. I can use my past experience as a truck driver in my new career that I wish to achieve when I get out of school. I plan to use my school degree and experience as a truck driver to achieve this goal that I have set for myself. My new career that I have chosen at this time is to be a D.O.T. officer in Kentucky. A D.O.T. officer's job is to check commercial trucks that travel through the state of Kentucky. They do road patrols and check for safety violations and things that might be unsafe to the general public and the drivers who operate them.

Finally, my choice to go back to school at this time in my life will be an investment that I think will be worth the time and effort I put forth to achieve my new career and life style. My past experiences have made me realize that if anyone wants to achieve things in life, you have to put an effort into your goal and never give up, no matter how many times you have a setback in life. Never quit learning; it will carry you a long way in life. Look out in the world today and look at all the things and wonders that we have because of school and learning. So this has inspired me to go back to school and become a D.O.T. officer and make my career choice a reality.

Robert Rigsby

My enjoyment of my free time is spent in many ways. I like hanging out and catching up with my friends. I really enjoy many forms of exercise and going to the gym. The most important form of leisure to me is spending it with my family.

To me, catching up on things and getting to hang out with my friends is a great way to spend my spare time. I like to go shopping and being able to try on clothes with my girl-friends. I also think being able to walk around a park and maybe even bringing the kids is a good way to catch up and hang out. Just one evening out to dinner and having a casual conversation, or just having a relaxing evening out with a friend is a good way to spend if I get a free evening.

Another way I enjoy my time off is spent in many forms of exercise or even going to the gym. I like to get out and walk, sometimes even run for several miles to challenge myself. Going to the gym for a good workout clears my head and it also is a good stress release for me. My favorite is spent hiking with my father and we spend the day observing nature, and it's also a great getaway from daily life if I get any leisure time.

Most importantly to me is to be able to spend time with my family. I think having a game night is a great way to spend with them to catch up on everyday things. Getting to go biking is a very enjoyable way to spend with my family and is a good activity too when we are free. I also love to spend a pleasant evening just sitting around a campfire and going camping with my family as well.

These are many ways that I enjoy spending my free time along with so much more that I love to do. I think just to be able to catch up and hang out with my friends once in a while is a great escape. To be able to go out to the gym or even go exercise is mentally and physically a good way to spend if I get time off. The most significant way that I can spend any spare time is with with family.

Autumn Johnson

Staying Healthy

There are many things you can do to keep healthy and also many benefits to staying healthy. Dieting and exercising are the most common techniques to staying in shape and healthy. Staying healthy yourself not only provides a better lifestyle for you, but also provides a better future for your family. Best of all, it improves your mental and physical state of mind.

Dieting doesn’t always work. The majority of people who diet either fails or they gain back all the weight. You don’t have to “diet”, you just need to improve your eating habits. It’s always nice to eat out, but don’t do it often. Greasy foods are horrible for your body! Also, it’s good to make not eating after six or seven a habit. Sodas are full of calories. With that said, watch drinking them too much or just totally eliminate sodas from your diet. The acids are horrible for your teeth anyway!

Exercising is great for your health and your state of mind. Exercises like running, sit – ups, push-ups, swimming, and weight-lifting, etc. burns many calories. It tones your muscles, suppresses your appetite, and also increases your strength and endurance. Exercising is known to inhibit depression, while also encouraging others to have a healthier lifestyle. In addition, exercising improves your mental and physical performances.

Staying healthy is easy for some, yet hard for others. If you have a healthy lifestyle it encourages your family to stay healthy their selves, while it also gives you a healthier future with your family. If you keep a well balanced diet, along with exercise you’ll have less risk of being obese. Furthermore, when you’re healthy you feel better about yourself.

After all, staying healthy isn’t all that complicated. There are many benefits to it also. Dieting betters your whole family’s future, along exercise. It helps you mentally and physically. The healthier your lifestyle is the more likely you are to encourage your family and any others around you to better themselves and the way they live by balancing their diet and exercising.

Ashley Freeze