Home is where your story begins. Tell us about your home and how it has influenced your story.
My kitchen table is my true home. It has harbored everything from piles of AP exam study guides to my sweaty fencing gear after another gruesome eight hour clinic. The table used to be smaller, with only six seats, but as my family has grown, so has the table. Growing up, my table has always been open to any mouth that needed to be fed or had a story to tell or opinion to voice. The debates and discussions that have taken place here during and after dinner lead to my discovery that regardless of how similar we all are, none of us think exactly the same. I realized that I had the power to form my own opinions on government, economy, and social issues, even if they were not the same as my parents’. The confidence I have gained learning about myself at this table allowed me to be able to express my opinions in my AP Language class, even when I was in the vast minority and had to defend myself. My growth has shadowed these experiences in that I, too, will always be willing to welcome, to listen, or to help.