Once upon a time, a little girl was born on March 29,1986; in Fairfax, Virginia, to her parents Parul and Ambarish Pathak. After much deliberation this child’s name was chosen to be Tulsi Ambarish Pathak. (me)

The name Tulsi means, “sacred basil.” It is a special plant in India, that is offered to God. In many cases, it was and still is used as a medication. Ambarish, is my middle name. In many countries, a father or husband’s name, becomes the child’s middle name, in order for people to associate each other in the past because mothers often stayed at home while fathers were the only ones known in the community.

Growing up with two unique cultures my entire life was at times a bit confusing, for example, with language. The first language I learned to speak was Gujarati, which is one of the many languages spoken in India. With the kids in my family continuously speaking to me in English, over time, I picked it up also, and began only speaking Gujarati to the adults. My parents only read to me in English because they knew it would be the primary language I would be using for the rest of my life. It was not until preschool when I finally understood the distinction between the two; learning the alphabet, and learning how to write my name were involved.

Learning the alphabet through repitition was the most exciting thing that happened to me when I was four years old. I would run home from school and sing the alphabet song over and over to my parents. Now that I look back, it must have been pretty annoying for them. Learning how to write my name was a little more difficult for me. I had no control of my pencil, and trouble spelling, but over time I got better and better.

My best memories consist of my family members. They always seemed to be around when I was a child. The sounds of laughter, crying, yelling, playing, and smell of spices from my moms cooking still come to mind, when I reminisce about the past. I have so many unforgettable memories from my childhood, both good and bad. One that comes to mind is learning how to read. It was so difficult for me at the time. I would spend hours with my mom and dad as they read me a Dick and Jane book over and over again because they wanted me to read an entire book before they bought another because money was a little tight at that time. Eventually, I memorized it and tried to fake them out, but they caught on and were extremely angry with me. This was probably due to the fact that when they were growing up the only books they got to read were for school because books were a luxury. As they grew up, they developed a passion for books because reading material became cheaper, but when it came time to move to the United States they had to leave the few books they owned behind because with all of the luggage there was no room.

Reading seemed so impossible to me at the time. When I went into first grade, I found books that were easier to read, learned to recognize words that were used more often, sound out words, and reading became easier for me. Although, I still was not as good as the other children in my class, in fifth grade my teacher, Mrs. Rome, helped me out. She would ask me to eat lunch with her in the classroom, and we would read many books together, and she would help me with everything I had trouble on. Even though I don't remember any of the books we read together, Mrs. Rome became a very good friend after I left elementary school, and taught be many tricks to reading.

In high school, I did extremely well in English class, but I hated it. It took me forever to do a paper or read a book. In 10th grade, I began writing poetry to describe my emotions because my dad had a heart attack, and it was a difficult time for myself. Poetry really helped me overcome my emotions, move on, and discover who I was as a person. My teacher would give my class free writes, and we were to keep them in a journal and turn them into her every so often. They would be on prompts, poems, artwork, and anything that described how you felt. I wrote this poem about a raindrop, and it was probably the first piece of writing of my own, that I actually liked. To me it was not just about a raindrop, it could have had other interpretations also.

At the end of high school, my English class really connected with me. It was probably the easiest, yet most challenging class I have taken, that I have actually enjoyed. My teacher, Mr. Jones, gave the class an assignment to write a novel, at first I was very apprehensive. What would I write about? Would the finished product be ok? With those thoughts in my head I sat down to begin my novel. We were not going to write an entire novel but clips, that connected with on another. He gave us topics to incorporate into our stories, such as a dream, an animal, 5 SAT words, and my favorite, describing all 5 senses in order to add imagery. I loved writing this story because it was almost like I was writing a fairy tale.

During senior year, one of my best friends asked me to read this book called Kushiels Dart, by Jacqueline Carry. I loved this book because it was so exotic. The heroine, Phedre, is a young women whom is sold into indentured slavery, at a time described to be like medieval Europe, all because of a freckle in her eye, which they refer to as a “flaw.” The man in which she works for is in very much into political games and corruption, and leads Phedre into doing remarkable things you would never imagine. Phedre holds great power, being able to endure pain like no other, and actually find pleasure in it. The author created an entire religion, which seemed to be a combination of a lot of today’s religions. By taking the European continent, she also created new names for the provinces, and stories behind each place. In a way it made me realize how similar cultures and beliefs are today.

Now as a college student I continue to grow as a writer, develop new ideas, and become a better reader. I have found that everyone has a unique style of writing; mine describes who I am. At times it is only writing that helps me release my built up emotions, and keep my sanity through the crazy events that occur. Reading has taken me to places I have never been before, and gives me a chance to live as someone else, and experience new things. In the past I have struggled quite a bit, although I continue to struggle, I am finding myself learning more everyday.