June 1990

• When I was born, I weighed nine pounds-eight ounces, was a week late, and had the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck. I believe this caused me to be afraid of small confined spaces but not reluctant to pressure. 

 

 

As Nasty as They Wanna Be by 2 Live Crew was the first album in history to be labeled legally obscene. The album violated Florida’s obscenity law. Judge Jose Gonzales declared the subject matter was directed to the dirty and not the intellect. This changed the lyrics in music from then on. Now there is a parental advisory on albums that are considered obscene so musicians can produce the music they please.

 

 

September 1993

• I had my first day of school at age 3. I attended the same Montessori school as my older brother. My mother could have put me in a nursery school, but because I went to the same Montessori school as my brother, it made me feel very grown up. This event together with the schooling I received at Montessori resulted in my maturing at an earlier age.

 

 

New York Queens passed a law on September 13^th that required recycling, and solid waste management. This effected the management of glass, plastic and paper for the city maintenance. 

 

 

May 1996

• My very first trip away from home was when I was six years old. It was a trip for everyone over the age of six for the whole school for one week every year. It was the first time that I was separated from my family. This was the beginning of me being able to realize that I was self-sufficient. I could survive without my family. I learned how to feel safe in the world on my own at a very early age in life. It was also on these weeklong camping trips that I first realized I had a serious fear of spiders.

 

 

June 1997

• This was the day I went on a yellow potato sack slide at an amusement park at Kiddy Land. I was only 7 years old and quite small for my age. After sliding down this huge slide and before my mom could pick me up, a large man came sliding down the slide and kicked me in my head. Since that accident happened, I experience episodes when I space out and lose concentration quite often.

 

 

Within the same month the famous boxing match between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield happened on the 28^th. Tyson bit off part of Holyfield’s ear during a match. Tyson was fined three million dollars and received a suspended boxing license for a year. It was an event that no one will ever forget.

  

 

August 1999

 

• I transferred from Montessori to a traditional middle school. The first week of middle school was when I first encountered the standardized grading system. Coming from a Montessori school I didn’t understand why grades and tests were so important and it caused me to have test taking anxiety. I have been successful in dealing with it, but sometimes I still struggled with this issue.

 

 

The suspected murder of JF Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn, and his sister-in-law Lauren Bessette killed during a plane crash near the coast of Martha’s Vineyard on July 16^th, 1999.

 

 

January 2000

• I read to the elderly in an old people’s home where I met a man named Wrigley. He was 95 years old and he passed away in that same month I first met him but taught me an important lesson. He always used to say. “Life is like a coin.  You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.” This saying caused me to become more serious about my future. You only get one shot at life so I’m not going to waste it. I decide to take charge of my life, and not just let things happen to me, but try to make things happen. 

 

 

In the year 2000 there was, what everyone called the millennium bug. We referred to it as Y2K, the year 2000 computer virus. Companies all over the world set and checked their computer system. No significant computer failure took place when the world was anxious when the clock hit 12.

 

 

September 30, 2001

• This was the day my father told my brother and I that he wanted us to fly on a plane to meet our older sister that we had just found out about two days before. I was really angry and scared about the situation. We ended up flying to see her soon after.

 

 

On September 11, 2001 the world trade towers in New York collapsed after terrorists hijacked four planes crashing two into each building killing around 2,750 people. One hundred twenty five people died after one plane went down into the Pentagon in Washington DC. And one plane went down in Pennsylvania killing 64 people on the plane after US crew struggled to regain control (wiki answers). I was terrified to fly on a plane after this horrible event, to go meet someone I didn’t know existed till two days before.

 

 

February 2002

• I fractured my hip during gymnastics. I forgot to warm up before mounting the rings. After fracturing my hip, I stopped taking dance classes and decided that dance wasn’t my true passion and I never went back. Before that I had considered becoming a dancer, but that experience made me decide to focus on my art. Art was my true passion and I didn’t want to risk another injury. I decided to go to an art high school.

 

 

 

On the 19^th of February using the thermal emission imaging system NASA’s Mars odyssey space probe began to map the surface of Mars.

 

 

August 2004

• I entered as a freshman at a performing arts high school. Here I majored in visual art. This school was a gift to me. I loved the school. The environment inspired me to become much more serious about my academics. And it helped me be more focused and overcome many of my issues. 

 

 

The statue of liberty reopens on August 3rd 2004 after being closed because of the attack on September 11, 2001

 

 

November 2004

• In my freshman year of high school, I met my very best guy friend. He is also in the arts. He is a very serious art media/film major, who now attends USC. He is one of my biggest supporters.

 

 

 

 

July 2005

• My brother went to college in a different state, which made me the only child at home. I had never been without my brother. He left home at age eighteen and he inspired me not be scared.

 

August 2005 Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States. Thousand of people died and lost their homes. That made me want to be close to all my family and friends and it was hard on me because my brother had just moved to Arizona.

 

 

May 2008

• I graduated from high school and was excited to start my new life in the fall as a college student. I felt ready to move away from home. But due to some family issue, I delayed moving away from home. So I started at a local college and was able to experience the difference between high school time and college time. Because of that experience, I am much better at time management now.

 

  

After the state of California had previously ruled a ban unconstitutionally, California became the second state in the U.S. after Massachusetts to legalize same-sex marriage.

  

 

November 22, 2008

• The day I voted for the president of the United States of America.

 

 

November 4, 2008

• I experienced history happen on election night in Grant Park Chicago with nearly a quarter million people, when we found out Barack Obama won. It was a very special day in my life, in the year that I had just turned eighteen, I voted for the first time. And to make this date even more special for me, it was also special for our country, as well as, for the world. This was the day the United States of America voted and elected an African American to the highest office in the land, the president of the United States of America. This was an historical date I will never forget. As the whole world cheered, I believe Americans were proud that this happened and as an African-American I was and am especially proud that this happened in my lifetime.

  

 

History happened when the crowd in Grant Park Chicago heard Barack Obama won the election. All ethnicities, sexes, and religions alike cried and hugged each other in joy. We sat and stood to here his speech. I know my vote made a difference.

  

 

January 2009

• I finally moved from Chicago to LA for college, 2,077 mile away from home. This was really huge. Most of my friends moved away for school, but still were very close to home and into dorms. So moving to Otis was even more of an experience. I now had to do everything for myself. Cook, clean, laundry and my mom setup everything so that I even had to pay my own bills.

 

 

January 20, 2009 marked the day of the inauguration of Barack Obama four year term into the white house as our president. I celebrated with my newfound friends in California.

 

 

ARIELLE'S TOTAL LIFE = 22.5