Conversation Partner #5

            Paula and I met for the fifth time recently. It seems like our first meeting was just a week ago. The semester and my meetings with Paula have been flying by. Paula has continued to meet with me even though her classes for IEP are now over for the semester. We have become friends and our relationship has definitely grown a great deal since our first meeting at the beginning of the semester. On this occasion, we met at Chik Fil A and began talking and catching up with each other right away.

            As we sat down and began the conversation, Paula could not stop talking about how cold it was. She hates the cold. Growing up in Columbia, Paula was only exposed to warmer weather. Columbia has only two seasons and it definitely never snows there. Despite the fact that she has never experienced a true winter, Paula told me that she loves Christmas. As we began talking about the holidays, we started talking about each other’s family traditions.

When she lived in Columbia, Paula told me that her family celebrated Christmas on December 24^th. On Christmas Eve, her family would partake in activities such as going to mass, cooking, and sharing gifts with one another. She also told me of one especially unique tradition that her family has in Columbia. Every year, they would hide a little baby Jesus figure in the house with money attached to him. Before any gifts were opened, everyone in the house would search all over the place in order to find the money covered baby Jesus. The winner of the game got to keep all of the money every year. Oddly enough, this tradition is similar to one of my family’s traditions. On Christmas morning, all of my family members search for a green pickle ornament that is hidden on the tree. It is extremely difficult to find. However, whoever eventually finds the pickle gets to open the first present on Christmas morning. I enjoyed learning about Paula’s tradition and it was interesting to see how it related to my own.

In Texas, Paula celebrates with her husband’s side of the family. She also elaborately decorates her house. Paula showed me a number of pictures from last year and I was extremely impressed. Her trees were outfitted with lights and ornaments, and there were also plastic snowmen in the yard accompanied by Santa and his reindeer. It was cool to see how Paula’s Columbian traditions morphed with her husband’s American traditions when she moved to the states. Paula also showed me pictures of her husband’s side of the family and her celebrating Christmas together. Paula has no family members in Columbia so I was glad to see that she had found a tight knit group to spend the holidays with.

As we moved on from our Christmas discussion, Paula began to tell me about her fascination with personal training and going to the gym. She meets with a personal trainer multiple times every week. Paula described her the gym she goes to as a huge warehouse with no air conditioning. Like always, she proceeded to show me pictures of her gym and the behemoth that is her personal trainer. The guy was massive and it was quite hilarious to picture him running a workout for Paula. I enjoyed talking with Paula about working out because I could tell it was something she was passionate about. I am also glad that she is starting to share more personal stories with me. I can honestly say that I am a bit sad that I only have one more meeting left with Paula this semester. She has become a friend, and I have thoroughly enjoyed taking breaks from my busy school days to talk with her.   

Conversation Partner Meeting #4

          Today, I met with Paula for the fourth time this semester. At this point in our meetings, I feel pretty comfortable sitting down and conversing with Paula for an hour or so. When we sat down and started talking, I could tell Paula was a little upset. She just didn’t seem to be herself and wasn’t full of her big smiles and boisterous laughs like usual. We talked a little bit about our weeks and a few other small things before I finally inquired about what was bothering her. To my surprise, Paula informed me that a judge had denied her attempt to obtain a visa to become a full time citizen of the United States. Despite the fact that Paula currently has a driver’s license, social security number, etc., she still does not have the visa she needs to travel in and out of the country. Ever since Paula moved here five years ago to marry her husband, Paula has been trying to obtain this specific visa. When she told me the bad news, I felt terrible. I could tell that she was extremely disappointed by the judge’s decision. It was clear that the matter was extremely personal to her. In my opinion, Paula sharing her thoughts on the topic showed a lot about how our relationship has grown. In our first couple of meetings, I don’t think she would have been as open to share something so private with me. Upon quite a bit of encouragement, Paula started to lighten up a little bit more.

            As she opened up, Paula told me she wanted the visa in order to be able to visit Columbia, which was originally home for her. All of her friends and family still live in Columbia. Paula expressed how dearly she misses them. I felt for her. I couldn’t imagine going five years without seeing my parents, brothers, and friends. As our conversation continued, Paula went on talking about the parts of Columbia she missed such as the food, people, and overall culture. In an attempt to make her feel a little better, I told Paula how strong she was for leaving everything behind to come to America. She smiled and told me that she wished it were possible to have the best of both worlds. Paula then proceeded to tell me that there was still a slight chance that she could obtain the visa. The lawyer who was representing her told her that she could appeal the judge’s decision. Although the appeal process is long and tedious, it is still a possibility. Upon hearing this, I knocked on wood and told Paula I would be praying for her. She thanked me and we continued on with our conversation.

            Paula asked me what I was going to be up to for the rest of the day and I told her that I had no plans other than going to the gym after our meeting. Paula perked up and asked me what body parts I was going to work out. I was caught off guard by her question because Paula had never seemed to be the workout type to me. I answered her question with “back and biceps” and she then proceeded to ask me about rep/set schemes, my diet, and what my favorite exercises were. To say the least, I was surprised by her knowledge on the topic. Paula proudly informed me that she had her own personal trainer and that she was a bit of a health nut. She knew more about eating healthy and working out then I did! As we finished our discussion about the gym, I realized that our hour was up. Our conversation had flowed better than ever. I am quite pleased with the progress Paula and myself have been making as conversation partners. We have gotten to know each other on a personal level that I didn’t know we were capable of achieving. As we headed our separate ways, Paula and I agreed to meet up at the same place and time next week. 

Learning Experience: The influence a sibling can have

Ever since we were little kids, my brothers Jack, Robbie, and I have been extremely close with one another. Growing up, we did everything together. Tackle football in the backyard, dodge ball in the basement, and boxing matches in the living room were a few of our favorite activities. All of the preceding typically ended up with us fighting amongst one another in one way or another. My youngest brother Robbie got the worst of it. My brother Jack and I pounded him on a consistent basis. There was nothing he could do about it, that’s just what happens when you’re the youngest of three boys. No matter how rough my brothers and I were on each other, we never let other kids beat up on each other. The bond between us that started when we were kids has lived on to this day. There is nothing better than a little “brotherly love”.

Being the oldest sibling in the family, it was my job to always look out for my younger brothers. I also had to keep them in line when my mom started to lose control. For the most part, my brothers responded to what I told them to do. Obviously, there were instances when they wouldn’t listen to me at all and we would get into skirmishes. Nonetheless, I tried to always get through to them. Typically, I did so with my actions. I take pride in leading by example and have always attempted to show my brothers the right path in life by doing so.

Over the years, my brothers and I have matured a great deal. We’re not the little rascal kids we once were. As we’ve gotten older, Jack, Robbie, and I have been through quite a bit together. There have been both highs and lows. However, to this day, we still have the strong bond that we’ve had since our childhood. There is no doubt in my mind that we will always be there for one another when need be. Up to this point in life, I have done my best to be a role model for Jack and Robbie. They played the same sports I did growing up, wore the same kind of clothes, and acted the same way I did. When were younger I never realized it, but now it is clear that my brothers have always looked up to me. As of late, I have learned how much I have affected their lives without even knowing it.

Yesterday, my brother Jack applied to Texas Christian University. My mom informed me that a large part of the reason he decided to apply to the school was because of me. When I learned this, I felt a strong sense of pride. I couldn’t imagine anything better than spending a couple of years at college with one of my siblings. After all this time, I finally learned the true influence a sibling can have. If I did not attend TCU, there is a big chance that Jack would have never applied here or even heard about the school. In the past I had influenced Jack and Robbie’s decisions but never to this extent. Looking back, I have probably helped shape my siblings lives more than I ever thought possible.

In the future, I hope to continue leading the way for my brothers. I will always be there for them, and they will always be there for me. Lately, I have learned how important my siblings are to me and how important I am to them. The bond we have formed over the years will live on forever. Jack and Robbie are my best friends and always have been. I can’t wait to see what life has in store for us.