New year’s resolutions really never work for anybody unless you really try and care to change something about yourself. What I want to do is to improve my reading skills and expand my language skills. Neither of these things will be easy as I will need to focus really hard and find a book I will enjoy. I also want to speak a new language I can't even speak, if my own family only knows two languages. I want to learn more, but who do I talk to, to understand me or help me know if I'm pronouncing it right? I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of others. Or think I'm disrespecting someone's culture speech, which is not my intent to do, I just want to communicate with more people without having that language barrier over us. 

This is important because traveling is something I would like to do when I finish high school. To do that I need to at least learn the basics of a language to understand what I am doing or where I'm going.

I have plans of things I want to do this year but I can't put everything into just one year, nothing can be done in one year when it is something big, such as getting a house, having surgery, buying a car, things that you need or want. Everything takes time and a lot of money, but also a lot of hard work to get what you want in life. But I will get my dream and make it a reality.  

One time I saw an elderly man having trouble with his groceries, so I helped him put the groceries in his car. It made me feel good that the man didn’t feel like he had to struggle to put his groceries away. It is kind to help out anybody that is having some sort of difficulties in their lives for whatever reason.

One way I showed kindness was going to my grandpa's funeral when he passed away. It made me feel really sad because I've never attended a funeral. I went because my parents couldn't go to Mexico so I went to Mexico to keep my grandma company and comfort her.

Love is something amazing, nothing can beat the feeling of love. My mom loves me a lot because she wants me to do my best in school and get a job that will pay well. She  wants me to have a stable income so I have a good living. People I love are my sister, niece and mom. They mean the world to me and I will do anything for them to see them happy. 

Someone else I love is my friend Ronaldo, this dude is like my brother. We hang out a lot, we have some of the same music taste and have a lot of favorite hobbies. If he needs anything I will help him and he will do the same for me. Someone I have drifted away from is an old best friend named Miguel, I lost communication with him when I entered high school. He was my best friend in and out of school and I always played soccer with him. One day I hopefully reunite with him and we catch up on everything.

Wassup Fabian haha, you’re so little! (not in height though) We are still the same, I am bigger now.  A couple inches taller, but we are still kind of the same. Now I am really fit, joke:). You know how we like food. 

 I am writing this to you just so you can feel proud of yourself (or myself). Since you are learning some new languages, now you are going to speak them fluently and even learn more languages. 

Don’t change your mentality because that’s what got you/me here. Now you’re living in a quieter place. You often go to Mexico to visit our parents after living there for some years because you missed Grandma. 

You already know how we are going to get money and live peacefully. Don’t even trip about girls, ha, get money first. You know all the dog names I’ve chosen for our dogs. I want to get a lot of them ha. You just gotta keep doing everything you are doing now and you’ll be just fine. You know we don’t care about money but we are going to have some, we are going to have plenty. Stick to the plan and everything will be alright. Go

 Be humble, treat everyone with respect and you’ll be respected and liked everywhere you go. But remember every place you go there’s ALWAYS that person. Just don’t give them any of your energy and let them be.

As we are growing up some of us like to look back to the things we've done. Some of us regret doing some things and others wish they could've done more. As I'm getting older I wish I could go back and change some things I regret doing.  Things that got me into bad habits. Some of the things I wish I would've done is paid attention to the advice my teachers had given me,been wiser with who I chose to hang out with,and  taken school seriously. I wish I wouldn't have thought life was a game. 

One accomplishment I'm truly proud of is making it as far as I am right now.  I haven’t given up, even when I really wanted to. 

Something I can't live without would be my parents because they give me hope and that's what keeps me going.

What has brought us here in this moment is coexisting in this world. If I had the power, I wish I had stopped my parents from meeting each other, because if they didn't he wouldn't have gone through so much and raised us on his own.

 I don't really think I have any accomplishments that I'm proud of or anything I have accomplished.  Well there is one, which is I acknowledge my mistakes.  Not a lot of people take responsibility..

There are alot of things I regret in my life and the choices I have made, like making my father sad and getting angry at him for not having the things others had. But this has made me the person I am now, so I'm not mad about it. I have not really thought about the things I can't live without.  People can't really live without food or water or having a roof over their heads. Those are the things that all the people in this world need most in life.

Hey Seventh Graders,

I’m a senior in high school and here’s some advice I thought might be helpful. Know that all of the friends you have right now might not be your friends when you get to high school. Be careful with who you surround yourself with.  If you don't like getting into trouble or one of your friends is starting off like that, distance yourself from them. 

And for my girls, if one of your girlfriends starts to get into drama and starts acting differently towards you, it's better if you end that friendship right there and then. If you let it keep happening and keep letting that person back into your life, it's going to get toxic. They are going to start making things up that's not true. I've learned this from past experience.

Another piece of advice I have for you guys is don't let others tell you what you can and can't do. It's your life. As long as you are making a good decision, you can do whatever you want. 

Also skipping class with your friends early on in grade school isn't such a good idea because that just gonna get you into bad habits. Once again, I've learned from past experiences. If you think that being a big mouth and being disrespectful is cool or makes you look cool, it doesn't. It doesn't make you look cool at all. It just ruins the way other people see you.

I've learned these things from my own mistakes, as well as the people I've known. I hope some of this advice helps you.   

I’m honestly a kind person - if the person I’m dealing with is also.  I always like helping old people at the store or when I see an old person struggling, I like helping them with carrying stuff and putting stuff in their car. I also like helping the homeless when they ask for money. I always give them 2 or 3 dollars. 

I have received kindness from my parents. When I'm struggling with something or when I want to buy something, they buy it for me. I honestly appreciate them for everything they have done for me. 

Some ways to show love to other people kindness is helping them with stuff, being respectful, and showing love to people.

I think that all the lessons I have had so far have been good. These lessons have helped me to  learn from my mistakes. I think this has been good for me because many things have made me stronger and more positive. 

I am grateful for my achievements, but one thing I would  like to change  in myself is the fear of speaking English . When I'm in front of other people that speak this language I think they are going to laugh at me because I don't say words right.

I have also learned to take bad things as good because every bad thing that happens leaves a lesson.

Some things I regret are not doing my work on time and all the bad things I ever did, like steal. I don’t know why I did it, but I did it.  Another thing would be smoking. The only thing I can say about why I did that was peer pressure.  One of my biggest regrets is being disrespectful to my parents by talking back to them. I regret that so much because my parents have done so much for me.

Some wishes I have are that I hope in the future I have a good enough job so I can get my parents a house and a car. That's been my biggest wish. My next wish would probably be to be able to buy a piece of land and build my own house.

I personally want my New Year's resolution to be to save more money . Last year I got a job but somehow I always found myself spending my whole check. The steps that I am going to take to reach my goal is to save at least 100 dollars from every check and not spend it. Hopefully I am able to do it ,  but I know it sounds easier than what it is. 

I wish I could have graduated already, like last year. Instead, I decided to slack off. I wish I could have a nice big house and a car and be healthy and wealthy at a young age. Another wish is that I was working in a full-time job that I  loved and enjoyed. 

The accomplishments I am proud of are almost being done with school and having a little family of pets. I accomplished a CNA(Certified Nurse Assistant) class when I was attending school. I earned 10 credits and passed the class.

 I don’t have any regrets so far. I can’t live without my family, they support me with everything and push me to do more.

I feel like the place where I have received the most kindness is in my foster home. I always receive kindness from my foster mom and dad, but I mostly feel it from my foster brothers. We always do things for one another and that makes me feel good. We are there for each other and I know I can count on them and they can count on me. 

From my foster mom and dad I receive kindness too. When they pick me up from work and they see me tired and hungry, they will go to a drive thru from whatever fast food restaurant and ask me what I want. I really appreciate that and it makes me feel special. These are just some acts of kindness that I receive.

I believe that when you help someone you get paid back. I personally feel bad when I see homeless people.  Most of the time, when I see one of them I try to help them with the little that I have. Sometimes I just can't give them $4 or $10,  but when I can I always help. I don’t do it to get rewarded, I just simply do it because of kindness.  Most people, when they see a homeless person. People don’t care because they think that the homeless are lazy or do  drugs so they don’t bother to help them.  But have those people asked themselves why  some people are homeless?  Every person has a different story. 

One time I met this person who was living on the streets.  I remember I went up to him and gave him some pizza. He looked at me smiling and I could see in his eyes that he was really thankful.  We started to have a small conversation and something that shocked me  was that he started to tell me that he had a good life, a good job, a nice house, and beautiful family. But, he said, everything went bad when his son committed suicide.  He said that when his little boy passed away he gave up on life because that boy  was the most important person he had in his life. He had something to keep him fighting for, but he lost it.   That made me really sad to hear  and   I won’t forget that story. This is just one story...but there are many.  Just remember, everyone deserves random acts of kindness.

I know you're going to be a grown man for sure. And just let me tell you something, when you're out there don’t look back!  Forget about the dark past you had. But remember all the things you've been through.  Forget the people who turned their backs on you when you needed them. I hope you have followed the things and the dreams you wanted.  I hope you find the better you and your better family. I hope you have the job that you dream of.  Finally, I hope you have your family and be the best that you can be for your kids. Don’t forget to give them the attention and love that you always wanted to have.

Something I would like to say to myself is GOOD JOB for becoming the person I am today because I used to be in a very dark place. I was very shy and wouldn't go anywhere.  I wouldn't even talk at all. But now I am a whole different person. I came a long way and am very happy with who I am now. I wouldn't change a thing.

One thing I wish I did differently when I was young was that we stayed back home in Oregon and never came to California. Then I would still have a mom. When we moved here she got sick, but when we were back home she was fine. I regret not telling her to stay and not bring us to California, but that isn't the point ,

Something I struggle with is not having a lot of support from my own family, the only family I have left. They are only supportive when they want to be. But I am strong so I can handle basically anything and everything that comes my way.  It's because of this that I love myself even more for being strong with everything I have been through,