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It’s almost been a week… I miss everybody back at home!  There are my siblings, Mo’a, my mother, my step-dad, and my friends.  My family is very tough on me and that makes me strong.  Being without them, I feel, is something they prepare me for.  They want me to become an independent woman and I thank them for that.  My Mo’a, or grandma, is strict yet kind with a tang of sweetness.  There are many times she has helped me when I was feeling depressed or distressed.  She always is full of the right words and knows when to say them at the appropriate moments.  I always am ready to input any thoughts she has to say.  She is very wise and I compare my mentor to her, because in a way, Miahuatl is as kind and caring as her.  My mother is one of the toughest women I’ve ever met.  She sets my boundaries yet considers things as acceptable.  If I were to accidentally be late to come home on time, she’d forgive me.  Of course she has an idea of a discipline such as confiscating my kindle from me but that just betters me.  I wish I’d learn sooner that I should respect her instead of forgetting to do my chores.  She helps me with me in the present and in the future.  I know she obtains that knowledge way better than me and I should listen to her more often.  My siblings… I can describe them with one word.  Annoying! They are very irritating yet that just keeps my memories of them even stronger.  There is at least one brother that hasn’t caught what to do to get on my nerves.  The youngest, Joel, is always playful and ready to learn.  He has taught me patience and tolerance without even meaning to.  He could be aggressive since he is only two years and a half, but he is sweet and funny.  There are many personalities that he has even though he is still arrogant of the future.  Sometimes, I act like him since I too don’t know what the future contains.  There is also Ethan.  He isn’t as much as annoying but he can be demanding.  He is the oldest of our sibling group yet I think he has a childish side to him.  Underneath all his bossiness and calmness, there is always that little child inside of him that wants to express itself.  Don’t get the wrong idea that I’m saying he is pregnant. Ha, if that’s even possible.  Anyways, my last brother who is in the middle of the siblings just like me but younger, James.  He has an outgoing personality that keeps his listeners interested.  He still acts as though he is ignorant of what he says but we all have that type of thing that influence us to do things.  Sometimes it’s for the better.  My step-dad has taught me many things about his own culture.  I wouldn’t have known “Espanol” without him.  He teaches me that hard-work does pay off.  He inspires all of us while he works behind a kitchen all day with all that hot and humid air.  I think he could’ve been a professional in a professional kitchen at a professional restaurant and professional, professional.  He could have done many things but he chose to be with us.  That is what’s so compelling into showing what he has encouraged me to do when I go to college and get the perfect career.  Now my friends are a small pack which is constantly growing whenever I go somewhere new.  There is Karlina, Isabel, Rosalie, Julie, and Sawyer.

Being away from home is pretty sad.  I miss many different friends and family members yet I am having fun with this new experience with new people.  There are many opportunities I that open for me while at this pipeline.  Not that I don’t miss home, but I would rather make such sacrifices to get a better education and an opportunity to be more familiar with this kind of college work.  There are still things I need to learn and I think that being on this pipeline may help me find all the open doors to whatever job or studies I choose.  Maybe even by the end of this program, I will have a better understanding in myself.  Sure it sounds strange but I’d want to be open minded on this sort of stuff especially when it has to do with my future.  Not only does this pipeline help me connect to myself, but it helps me be more open to my friends.  I made new friends too! It’s not like you have a variety of friends from where I live.  It’s important for friends to be friends in a little town since it’s like a way of surviving.  If u have enemies then you should watch your back.  I got to meet people with my interests, style and even personality.  There are even some people I can trust with my future like the staff and mentors.

Throughout this entire day, I felt (and to be honest) tired and sluggish.  I couldn’t wake up from my sleep and I felt like a zombie.  I wish I could’ve went back in time and lecture myself to sleep.  It was only when our “crew” went to Mount Baldy.  Sorta an interesting name, eh?  I woke up with a surge of energy because we got to hike a little ways and we had a ceremony. The ceremony felt ecstatic!  We danced like pros…. well, maybe not literally.  But we all did great! Congrats everyone who participated… which I think was everyone. Oh well, GOOD JOB!!!!

Home is where the heart sets it to be. My people are my home. When I am surrounded by my relatives, I feel the warmth of my mother’s womb. In the 9 months that I was nurtured in the security of the restricting interior, I felt the same feeling I feel gyrating with my brethren.

One thing I miss about home is having clean clothes all the time. I also miss how my little siblings ask me to help them with things for example help cleaning up their mess. The thing that makes it hard being away from home is always wondering if my family is okay. Another reason why it’s hard being away from home because I’m a leader there and here I’m like in my own world by myself. One thing I like about being away from home is people don’t look at me like as if I’m a big mistake. Today was kind of challenging because it was the most I ever missed home and it made me realize how much to appreciate my parents and what I have.

1) I miss my Family, my dogs, my bed, the weather, the lakes, basketball training, the green, surrounded by trees, the ocean in the washington area, my home, and my people.

2) Knowing that i have a summer job and i’m missing it right now.. LOL

3) I get to learn about other Native peoples culture, and I get to meet new Native American youth.

4) The “hike” was amazing. Learning about the wild life and the plant life was very nice. I felt more spiritual when we danced. Everyone stood up and let go of the past, and it just made me feel connected with everyone.

1) I miss the giant cedar trees and seeing the water, and seeing people pulling canoe.

2) One thing that makes it hard about being away from home is that I am not hagning out with my family and I miss my family a lot.

3) one thing that is great about being away from home is that it is good to travel, and to realize that there are more places than just my rez.

4) my day was jawesome :))))

The things that I miss from home are my dogs and my bed. One thing that makes it hard from being away from home is not being able to sleep in and one thing that is great about being away from home is not seeing my annoying sisters. My day today was actually good especially when we went to Mount Baldy because we went off campus which I like instead of being stuck in class all day. The hike up there was tiring but it was pretty too. One thing I wished we did was go to the waterfall.

1. The thing I miss most from home is definitely my family. I miss being able to talk to my mom, my dad, and my brother especially. Although I keep in contact with them everyday, it is not the same. I miss cracking jokes with my dad, we usually spent a lot of time together. What is quite surprising to me is that I miss my brother. Usually this would be the time to take a break from him but I actually miss playing soccer with him. And lastly, I miss my mom’s stupendous cooking.

2. My biggest difficulty for me staying away from home has always been food. My mom is the type of mom that cooks everyday and I hardly ever eat outside of home. She has always been strict on me on eating up to four times a day. But, the thing that makes it really difficult is the meal hours. Im usually never hungry when it is breakfast time because I would usually eat breakfast at around 9 or 10.

3. I think the great thing from being away from home is taking a break from all problems you have back at home. Here you are able to forget about everything and just have a good time.

4. Mount Baldy was definitely the highlight of the day. I had a spectacular time hearing the songs of the elders. It was really fun dancing the songs of the elder today. It was a really great environment and it was really touching.

I miss my comfortable bed. Not being able to sleep as long as i wish to ( till 1). The absolutely best thing about being away from home is being away from my annoying sisters. Today was a very productive day because i got up early and got to class on time and got to hear that a idem was getting sent back to its people from the museum.         Also i liked being at Mount Baldy because I like the nature walk and hearing the elders and Lummi girls singing their songs.