Lucy Drinkwater

September 26, 2016

CNS 120
1. Tell three of your earliest recollections from when you were 3-6 years old.
Use as much detail as you can but keep the recollection brief. Limit yourself
to the most vivid and important details. Use no more than 500 words per
story. Print a copy of these stories and either underline or highlight the
descriptor words or phrases.

I have a very strong memory of when my family and I went to go pick

out my puppy, Poppy. We already had a puppy, Raisin, who was from
the same breeder, but my parents wanted to give Raisin a friend.
Poppy was the smallest one in the litter. She was also the calmest one.
All she wanted to do was snuggle up in our laps and be loved. This was
a trait that stuck with her for her entire life. My sisters and I decide we
wanted this puppy who would soon be named Poppy. As my parents
were finalizing details with the breeder, my two older sisters and I piled
back into our car. Our goal was to choose the perfect name before my
parents returned. I, being the creative three-year-old I was, decided
Rose would be the perfect name for our new black lab puppy. At that
point in my life, I believed everything should be named rose because,
like a rose, everything was beautiful. My sisters immediately shut me
down. They said Rose was not a good name for a lab. They were
suggesting things such as Dixie and Carly. They wanted this puppy to
have a persons name. Little did we know, but my parents already
chose a name out. They decided to name our new little puppy Poppy
Seed. Our other puppy was named by my oldest sister, Emily. She
named her Cinnamon Raisin after her favorite bagel. We called her
Raisin for short. My parents thought it would be a fun idea to keep up
these bagel names. They believed Poppy Seed, Poppy for short, would
be the perfect name because, as a puppy, she was so small and round
and her fur was black just like a little Poppy seed. Poppy, from the day
we brought her home to the day she left this world, was my best
friend. She always knew when I was down and was able to cheer me
up.

I always had the most vivid imagination and my family never forgets to
remind me through their specific memories or photographs. I
remember every day I would pretend to be something different:
anything from a pirate, to a princess, or even an artist. I would dress us
as what I was going to be that day. My favorite memory is my days of
being an artist. To this day I am still very artistic, but I would wear my
painting clothing, get all of my art supplies out, and for the entire day I
would be an artist. Not only did I dress up as an artist, but I would also
make sure to learn everything about whatever artist I was
impersonating that day. At the time I didnt realize why my family
would get such a kick out of it, but now I understand when you see a 5year-old dressing up as Van Gogh with toilet paper wrapped around her

ear you cant help but to laugh. I have always suffered with anxiety,
OCD, and ADHD, so art was my outlet from these difficulties. Art would
calm me down whenever I was overwhelmed. I guess that this outlet
carried with me to this day because, art still is my outlet.

My mom had breast cancer when I was 5. Although I was very young, I
still have some vivid memories from this experience. The first one is
visiting her in hospital. My best friend Megs mom was her nurse, so
she brought my sisters and me to visit her at Morristown Memorial
Hospital. The room was really bright because it was still early fall. The
brightness of the sun made the bare, white room shimmer. Although I
cant remember my conversations with my mom, I remember Megs
mom getting us the little bottles of soda. I had never seen the small
soda bottles, so I was so excited seeing them. The other memory
associated with my moms battle with cancer was after she finished
chemo and radiation. She was in a breast cancer fashion show in the
Short Hills Mall. Here she was wearing a beautiful dress and spoke
about her battle. My dad, two older sisters, and I were sitting in the
front row. It was so amazing seeing my mom model after her battle and
also hear her talk about her experience. Here I also met her doctor, Dr.
Adler. I owe everything to Dr. Adler. Although I didnt realize it at the
time, but he is truly the reason that my mom is still with us today. I am
so thankful for his care and experience. I am so happy that my mom is
still with us today. I honestly couldnt imagine my life without her.

2. Write about any themes or patterns you notice.

Many of my experiences are either associated with my grand

imagination throughout my childhood and my creativity, or the beauty
I saw in the world and how thankful I am for the world I live in. I was a
very imaginative and creative child and always saw the best in things,
people, and experiences.

3. Who did you admire most growing up? Describe this person and the actions
or accomplishments that inspired your admiration.

Like every young girl, I admired my mom when I was growing up. She
is honestly the strongest woman I know. She battled cancer not once,
but twice. One of those battles with cancer was during her second
pregnancy with my sister Katie. I remember her telling me that one
hour after giving birth to Katie, she was admitted into the cancer ward
of the hospital to start her tests to see what stage of Hodgkins Disease
she had. My mom also moved to the US when she was 24 after not
going to college. This was a new place for my parents and they knew
no one, had no money, and were about to have a child. She wrote a

book about moving to New Jersey from England, she worked, and she
was always there for my sisters and me no matter what. I love my
mom more than anything, and as I grow up I understand all of the
hardships she had to go through to give my sisters and me the
amazing life we live. I hope one day that I can be as successful as my
dad. Often her accomplishments go unnoticed, but she truly is an
inspiration. Now that my sisters and I are out of the house, I feel bad
that she is often left alone because my dad travels a lot. She works so
hard in her job as a real estate agent. People dont understand that a
real estate agent never has off time. People are constantly calling them
and scheduling meetings, but my mom never complains one bit.

4. Which magazines or TV shows do you watch regularly? What is it that draws

you to these magazines or programs?

I am a big fan of Friends, How I Met Your Mother, Parks and Recs,
Bloodline, White Collar, and Criminal Minds. Half of these shows I can
mindlessly watch. They are a good way to de-stress after a long day or
watch if I am exhausted. On the other hand, I really enjoy shows about
crime solving. They are really intellectually stimulating and I like to see
if I am able to solve the crime with the actors.

5. Tell me the story of your favorite book or movie in two paragraphs.

My favorite movie is Miracle. This movie is about the US Olympic Hockey team in
the 1980 Winter Olympic Game. This game was during the heart of the Cold War
and, unlike most Olympic hockey teams, the US hockey team was made up on
college players rather than professionals. They were not favored to win, let alone
get to the semifinals or beyond. Two weeks earlier the Soviet Union crushed the US
hockey team 10-3, but this didnt let the US team give up.
Herb Brooks, the coach at the time, was supposed to be on the 1960 Olympic
hockey team, but he was the last player cut. For Brooks, this team was the chance
for him to win an Olympic gold medal. Although it was extremely unlikely that they
would make it to the finals and beat the favored team, the Soviets, Herb Brooks
worked his guys to the bone. He believed that they had the ability to win gold. This
movie is the story of the struggles that the US Olympic team endured to grasp the
Olympic Gold Medal in the 1980 games.

6. What is your favorite saying or motto?

We should be dreaming. We grew up as kids having dreams, but now we're too

sophisticated as adults, as a nation. We stopped dreaming. We should always have

dreams.
-Herb Brooks