The document describes the author's experiences with asthma over many years, noting that it makes breathing difficult and has required frequent use of an inhaler as well as hospital visits. The author expresses a hope that the asthma will eventually stop affecting them. It is mentioned that the author's mother and brother also have asthma, suggesting it may be hereditary.

2. Asthma
Ever since the second or third
grade, I have had to take an inhaler with me
due to asthma. It has made life a bit harder
running out of breath whenever I do anything.
At one point I had to use a nebulizer at nights
because I couldn’t breathe while I was
sleeping. In the winter it becomes easier to
control and I don’t have to use the inhaler.
Asthma has been a huge letdown, and I have
had to go to the hospital because I wasn’t
breathing. Asthma has been a horrible part of
my life that will hopefully just stop affecting
me eventually and I will just forget about it by
then. My brother and my mom have asthma,
so I think it’s just hereditary. I hope I don’t
have to deal with It in the future and I hope it
just goes away, just a forgotten memory.

3. Brothers
In my family I have two older
brothers, John and Danny. They are 22 and 21, with
John being the oldest. I believe that they influence a
lot of my choices, which may or may not be the best
for me, but that’s just the way I am. Danny lives in
Westford and John is looking for an apartment in
Boston. I only see Danny occasionally, but I'm used to
that. I see John daily, so it will be different when he
moves out. I don’t think that I idolize them, they just
influence my decisions. I grew up mostly without
Danny, because he lives with his father (not my
father, they are pretty much half brothers). John lived
with my mom, so I know him the best. John is a bit
lazy, but he is really nice and usually generous. Both
of my brothers work at the same factory, and I hope
that they will stay around for a while.

4. Cousins
Marcus is the only cousin that I actually
see anymore. My other cousins don’t live around
here and we aren’t very close to them. Marcus is
only a few years older than me, so we are close Sarah and Marcus
to each other. My brothers and Marcus get along
too, although they are 4 or 5 years apart. He is
always getting into trouble , and he is just really
fun to hang out with. We hang out over the
summer, but he lives in New Jersey, so he only
comes down when it is summer vacation. Marcus
does get in trouble a lot, and probably isn’t a
good influence, but he is still fun to hang out
with and I think we are good friends, although he
might think differently. Hopefully he will come
down this summer, because last summer he
wasn’t able to go to Leominster for much of
summer.

5. Dogs
In the last 10 years, I have had many
dogs. My mom’s boyfriend had two, George
and Luther, but they just grew old over they
years and had to get put down. The dogs that
are still alive are Lola and Molly. Molly is a
little shiatsu, and she is growing old. She is
around 11 years old and she is starting to Molly
show her age. Molly lives with my
grandmother right now. Lola is a black lab and
she is the dog that I currently own . Luther is
a German Shepard and died from old age
about 2 years ago. George was a cocker
spaniel, and he had to be put down because
he was sick and miserable. All of these dogs
were amazing and although I didn’t see
George or Luther as they were puppies, I still
loved them and felt bad for them as they
were put down.

6. Ethan
Ethan is one of my best friends that
I have. I have known him since I was in 1st
grade and we have been friends since. Both
of us have been through a lot with each
other, from just having fun to getting into
trouble/danger. He lives up the street from
me and we hang out almost every day, and
he is probably the first real friend that I have.
Although we get into minor fights
occasionally we are good enough friends ,
and we won’t hate each other from just a
fight. I hope we don’t end up hating each
other by the time we grow up, but I doubt
that we will because we like almost the same
things and same bands and such.

7. Father
I grew up not knowing my father. My
mom is my only parent. I haven’t known my father
since I was around five years old. I think it’s easier
to not have known him than to have known him
then to have him leave. I wish I could have had a
father, but I wouldn’t accept him back even if he
tried. My mom has a boyfriend that she has seen
for a while now, and I think of him as a father
figure. I don’t think that will ever replace having a
father, but it’s not hard to bear because I didn’t
really know him well enough to actually miss him.

8. Grand Parents
My grandparents are the closest My grandma at my Great
Grandmas birthday party
relatives in my family. They live very close to us,
and we see them all the time. Now they are
both retired, so they are here for us when we
need them. I don’t know what I’d do without
them, because I need them in my life. They are
the kindest people that I know, and they take
care of us. I usually spend summers at their
house and we usually have a lot of fun their. My
cousin Marcus is their in the summer too, so
that is one of the only other time I see him. I
love my grandma and grandpa, so I wish them
the best of luck.

9. High school
Next year I am going to Leominster High school. I
haven’t decided if I wanted to participate in CTE but it seems like
it could help me in the future. I don’t know if it will be any better
than this school, but it seems like we will have more
independence (like being able to travel without someone
supervising us). Culinary seems cool because we can buy food
from their little restaurant in the high school. I don’t know exactly
what classes I want to sign up for, but I don’t like too many of
them. I hope that my friends will be in some of the classes that I
choose, or just some of the classes that I am assigned. I don’t
really know what I’m going in to next year, but I hope LHS is good,
even though it will be harder. My brother went to the school
several years ago and said it wasn’t that great, but he was a lazy
person so I need to see for myself.

10. Internet
For Christmas 5 years ago, my mom got me a
laptop. When I got a laptop, I used it all the time. I would
play mostly games and have fun on the computer, but I
would mostly chat with my friends online. I used a chat
service called AIM and we used to chat and play online
games. At one point it was the only way I could talk to
some friends that turned out to be really close. My type of laptop
Eventually, my brothers and I took apart my laptop with a
screwdriver and other tools. It was really fun for the hour
or two that we took it apart. The internet takes away a lot
of time, and I wish that I never saw it (at one point my
brother wouldn’t let me use it and I didn’t care). Now that
I have played it, I never want to stop.

11. Jason
Jason is my friend that I knew since fifth grade. My teacher decided to
move us next to each other, and we ended up being pretty good friends. Although
we are pretty different, we like doing the same stuff (some times, not always).
Although Jason is a lot different than me, we both get along and it’s fun hanging
out after school occasionally. We don’t usually fight, I don’t think that we really
have, only just disagreed and maybe argue at each other. Both of us enjoy shooting
at thing s with a pellet gun too, so when he came over my house, we shot a lot and
broke a few things, but that’s just what happens when people shoot at things.

12. Kayleigh
Kayleigh is my only sister. She is my twin and
is only 24 minutes younger than I am. Both of us agree
on many things, probably by the way we were raised,
or just because we are twins. Rarely we fight to the
point of physical, which hasn't happened in easily 3
years, but we do argue and disagree about simple
things like music and such. I know we aren’t the best
of friends, but we are sibling and I know that life
would be a lot different without her. When my mom is
unfair, she realizes it when both of us point it out.
Both of us are pretty much shy, and at some points
just talk to each other at like family parties that we
don’t know anyone, and we know things no one else
knows about each other.

13. Lola
Lola is my 2 year old black lab that is a
great companion. She is very wild and likes to play
all the time. She is trained to do tricks and knows to
ring a bell if she has to use the bathroom. I love Lola
because she is fun and cute. Although she is fun
and cute, she does eat almost anything that is small
and available. If I leave my wallet on the ground, I
will find chewed up gift cards and money shredded
all over the ground. I hope Lola will live for a very
long time and will eventually calm down. For
now, she will be our little crazy puppy that eats
whatever she finds.

14. Memorial Paul Revere’s grave
Last year my family walked the freedom
trail in Boston. The freedom trail is the path in
which Paul Revere rode to warn the British
(I believe). After walking for a while, we found
some grave stones with important people and
soldiers. The trail is cool and it shows some historic
buildings on the way too. Although we didn’t get
any souvenirs on the way, we did get some good
photos and I remember a lot from it. It took a
long time to walk through it because we stopped
at almost every stop to read or just look around. It
was definitely a unique place to see, and it was fun
to see all the fascinating attractions.

15. New Years
For the past three years, my friend Ethan and I have been hanging out
at my house for New Years. My mom always goes out to party with her friends,
and Ethan’s parents do too. Usually we just order pizza and hang out waiting
until the ball drops. This year was a bit dull, because we didn’t have any new
games to play, so It got boring very fast. I think that I prefer New Years this way,
because I don’t like going to big parties . 2012 was a bad year for me, so I’m
happy that it’s over. I think many people have a large party, but I just like to
watch TV and enjoy the last seconds of the year.
New Years 2012
New Years 2011

16. Our Babysitter
As my sister and I were growing up, our babysitter we called Auntie took care of us.
She helped us through hard times, good times, and she just always took good care of us. Other
people went their too, and we became really good friends with them. Auntie eventually had a
really bad medical condition, and we had to help her out a bit. Although she wasn’t in the best
shape, she still invited us back and we tried to help her as much as we could. Auntie helped
us, took us on hikes, and always was kind to us, and always had something for us to do. Around
December 2008 I believe, she died. All of us went to her funeral, and she will be remembered in
our hearts forever. It was hard to think about the whole thing, and it makes my eyes tear as I
think about her.

17. Paper clip
I remember a few years ago I stuck a green
paper clip up my nose. My sister saw me do it, and I
don’t know why but I was happy that I did it. I told
my mom that it was in my nose and it couldn’t get
out, so she brought me to get x-rays . The doctors
claim that I never stuck a paper clip up my
nose, because their was no clip in my x-rays. I know I
stuck that paper clip up my nose, but it was never
seen again. My mom doesn’t believe that I did
either, but even ask my sister, I stuck a paper clip up
my nose in front of my neighbor’s house. It may
have fell out, it may have just not showed up, but I
know I had a paperclip in my nose. I got a teddy bear
for showing up and it probably cost a lot more than
that just to get scanned.

18. Quilt
My grandma spent all summer
making 6 quilts by hand. She had to knitrf
them by hand, and she had to hide it from us
all summer while we went to her house. I
think that this gift is really nice, and it will
help me remember her. The quilt feels nice in
the summer, and works really well with a
heater in the winter. I sleep with the quilt
almost all the time, and I appreciate that she
spent a while making it. I hope to keep the
quilt as I grow up, and have it when I am
older. I will pass it down to my children if it
isn’t ruined (I try to take good care of it). This
gift will remind me of my childhood when I
am older, and keep me warm all year long.

19. Rabbits
After my babysitter died, the one
that I grew up with since I was one, she had
bunnies that she had. Both me and my sister
took maybe 2 each, and eventually they made
a bunny family. At most, we had around 14
rabbits at a time, but it was hard for them in
the winter due to the harsh and cold weather.
Eventually, we had to give them away to
people who would take much better care for
them. When we had them, we let them roam
around the lawn and cared for each and ever
one of them. I loved them, and they made me
remember my babysitter, and I will remember
her and the bunnies until the time I die.

20. Sarah
Sarah is my other cousin that is 3 years
old since this December. She lives in New
Jersey, and she is the cutest baby ever. She loves to
play with her toys, and loves to dance and sing…
Lola, my dog, plays with her every time she comes
to visit Leominster, but when Sarah tries to ride
her, things turn ugly. Sarah is very nice, although
she is only 3 and it could change as she gets older.
Sarah is adopted, but is adopted by my aunt from
my uncle’s daughter, so she is still technically
related. Sarah knew my name maybe 5th, after her
closer family’s name. I hope that she grows up to be
a kind and caring person, and I hope that she gets
to see Lola again when she is a bit more grown up.

21. Through Boston
Last year my whole family went to walk
through Boston. For a while we went on the
freedom trail, but after that we went looking
around. I saw many large buildings and beautiful
areas to see. It was very different than
Leominster, and I didn’t think that it was going to be
this big, because I didn’t imagine a city being this
large. I don’t think this city is a planned city, like
New York, but it is still cool. Walking through Boston
is really confusing when we are looking for a certain
store (Mike’s bakery I believe) and we have no idea
where it is other than somewhat close to the Boston
aquarium. The city has some fascinating history and
it would be cool to live here. I just don’t like living in
large cities, I prefer smaller ones like Leominster, but
It is still fun to check out larger cities and explore.

22. Uncle Dave
Our uncle, Dave, married my aunt almost 4
years ago. Dave is a really cool person, and is nice. He
works for the air force, so he is able to drive through
the base and such when we are in the car. Dave and
my aunt Jessie adopted a baby which was Dave’s
daughter’s baby. Her name is Sarah, and she’s
described in another slide. I don’t see him very much,
but he is nice to us and kind. His family is from
England, so when they came to America to see Sarah’s
first birthday party, it was weird. Dave doesn’t have an
accent like them though, so he sounds normal. I think
that we should know his side of the family a little
better, since it has been over four years, but I
understand that they don’t go to America too much,
and I find it cool that Dave has relatives that don’t live
around here.

23. View Street
For almost all of my life, I have lived
on View Street. After we moved out of our
apartment when I was little, we lived in this
house since. I have met friends that will stay
with me forever, had some great times (and
some bad), and just grew up around here. I
live right next to LHS (Leominster high
school) and going through the woods around
it shooting at targets and cans is what I like to
do when I'm bored. I met my friend Ethan
there when I was only in first grade, and we
have been friends since, even though I am
two years older than him. I know eventually I
will have to move out of this house, but I love
it here, and I wish that I could stay here with
my friends for a long time.

24. Water
When I was in Boston, we went to the
Aquarium. The fish were really cool, and I got some
amazing pictures of them. My friend Ethan and I
went, and it was interesting . The feeders could go
into the tank with the sharks and animals that would
just usually eat them, just to feed them individually. I
saw some underwater fish that I didn’t know existed,
or just fish that I never saw before. The lion seals (or
something like that) were playing with a toy ball, but
my iPod died before I could get a picture of it. The
car ride was horrible, but going into big cities is
always fun, especially when you go to dessert bars
right after.

25. X Rays
I find it weird that my back has minor scoliosis. My
back has to be x rayed almost every time I get it checked to see
if my back has worsened. My spine has a minor curve in it, but
the doctor claims that it is so little that it doesn’t need to be
bothered with. I remember having to go to the nurses office
every time we get our back checked in gym. Obviously people
can notice that my spine is slightly curved, so I don’t see how it
is minor if it is noticed almost every year. I remember people
pointing out that my back isn’t straight, but at least I don’t have
to wear anything like a back brace or something similar. I don’t
know if having slightly curved backs are more common than
having full scoliosis, but I am thankful for having only a minor
curve.

26. Yellow bucket
Many years ago, we were preparing for a
fourth of July party, which was going to be huge. My
mom wanted me to get a yellow bucket from the attic,
so she could fill it with ice and put soda into it. After
about 10-15 minutes of looking, I finally found it. I was
bored and tired, so when I went downstairs in the
bucket. My stairs are old wooden turning stairs, so
when I went down the stairs in the bucket, I flew out
of it and I cut my eye brow on the corner of the stairs.
If it was a little lower I would have lost my eye. I had
to get stiches in my eyebrow and stiches on it, so we
had to leave the party and go to the hospital. It hurt,
but eventually they sewed my eyebrow back and
eventually the stiches had to be removed and my
eyebrow was healed.

27. Zoo
A few years ago, while I was visiting my
aunt in New Jersey, she wanted to show us the Six
Flags Safari. When we went there, the animals were
in cages, but we got to drive through their habitats.
The black bears were roaming around in their open
area, the monkeys were climbing around, and all the
animals looked as they were in a normal habitat.
The lion’s cage was made so you couldn’t put any
hands or fingers through, but you still could see
them. Once we were leaving, we just watched the
monkeys fight and swing around the branches. It
was entertaining and a fun time, although we
couldn’t get out of the car very often.