As a little kid me and family lived in Brooklyn, New York. It being my birth place , I still felt out of place by where we lived. We lived in a building that had multiple apartments on a street that was littered with trash from time to time. It was hard to sleep sometimes with neighbors who either liked partying until the morning or having their surround sound all the way up. By the time I had hit five years old me and family decided to move to Baltimore, Maryland, as our trip back to my mom's birthplace, Virginia. living in Baltimore was a lot better than Brooklyn, but was still a let down, since the people that we knew were only able to let us stay in their basement. The school I went to here was only across the street from the house. Once a few months went by we finally made it to Virginia and lived with one of my aunts until we found a place of our own. Through these transitions from house to house I kept asking myself when are we going to get a place to of our own.Finally when we found a place it was a unexpected choice, it was a white house that only had two rooms, a bathroom, kitchen, dining room and a living room. When I asked my mother why this place she told me its this or no house. After thinking for a while I realized no matter where we lived it was good to have a roof over our heads.

Me and my siblings aren't any different from the other pair of siblings within families around the world. Just like normal siblings we get in arguments with each other over dumb stuff. For example my sisters would argue over who stole my pair of pants or who's been using my perfume, which in the end for me is entertaining to watch since i'm the youngest out of the bunch. Another example would also be when my brother and I would argue about my grades or what college I should attend. Though we have our ups and downs with each other, we've learned to still love each other in the process. Our mother always told us that we would say we hate each other, but in the end we still love. This sibling feud in a sense doesn't even stop between me, brother and sisters, but also happens between my two nieces. I would constantly hear them arguing over the TV, their game console or who gets to use the computer. Like me and siblings these two make up and realize, though they argue out of hate they still must love each other no matter the odds. The thing about me and my siblings is we value each other through " love hate"relationship, which pretty much means we might show
signs of hatred towards each
other, but we actually love each other in the end.

Translated to Arabic, my name means master. My mother tells me the reason for the name was because of an actor she remembered who had the same first name. When my mom first told what my name stood for in Arabic, i started thinking " why did she give me a name that stood for master." After I asked, she finally told me that she felt that I can be a good leader whether its during school or on a team with other people. Sometimes when I was little I would talk to my friends about having a different name than the one I have now because of the meaning. I felt like having Dante or Tyler as my name instead of Malik, but since then, I grew to realize my name identifies who I am and was given to me for that purpose which is why I am happy my name is Malik. I am also happy it means master in Arabic, because it means I can be a master at certain things I do or i could be a great leader for any leadership positions I receive.

The best memories I have are the funny ones I have with my family and friends that make us all laugh. The laughter I share with my friends are different than the ones I share with my family, since the stuff me and my friends laugh about can only be understood between us, while the stuff me and my family laugh about are things we can understand as a family. For example When I hang out with my friends and say a joke that was inappropriate, my friends would most likely laugh at it more than my family would, but if it was something I did as a little kid my family would most likely laugh at it. One of the times I could remember where I laughed the a lot was this memorial weekend. During this Memorial weekend me and my friends pretty much made jokes about certain people and things like the attack on titan parody on Youtube, which had us rolling on the floor every single time we brought something from the video up.We Also brought up funny jokes that one of our close friends, who moved away a while back, brought up when we were all spent the night at my friend's house. Another time I could remember is when my sister was sharing funny videos from her with me and my nieces. The videos caused us all to laugh to the point where our stomachs began to hurt. It is things like this that show that laughter is the best thing, since almost everyone has a sense, which is why I love the friends I have and the family I am with cause for years we have shared so many laughs. Also it shows that our bond has grown stronger over the years with our laughs.

As a kid growing up, I was a handful at times for my mom and my older siblings. I would complain when I didn't get to watch TV or get something from the store, but when my mom got fed up I would face consequences that every loud kid would get.Things got worse when with my friends and my cousins, especially since all of us were near the same age. we would throw rocks at abandoned houses, play chicken in the middle of the street or go into the woods though our parents told us not to because of snakes. Unlike other parents who would just let their child be when they're throwing tantrums, my mom wasn't afraid to put me in my place or even my older siblings. Now that I've grown I look back at how I was as kid and the things I did alone and with my friends that would make any parent go mad as something to laugh at with my family, especially the things my mom didn't know I did as a kid, that are to far in the past to be dealt with now since i'm older than I was then.

Growing up, every school year I"ll have a new pair of shoes. They vary between brands such as Nike, Adidas, Jordans and many more. When it came to choosing a pair of shoes when I was young my mom would always tell me I had to either get something with black or white, which I didn't understand, until she told me that dirt can come out better when cleaned. As I got older and my feet got bigger, the price of the shoes I get got slightly higher, but not to high for my mom to have a heart attack over. Also since i'm older I've become more diverse with the types of shoes I get. For example never wore polo shoes as a kid, but now I do. Ever since I got older, I have been taking care of my shoes a lot better than when I was a kid by keeping them clean for a longer period of, instead of getting them covered in mud within in a week. Also with getting a new pair of shoes now that i'm older, I have too also worry about my shirt and pants fitting with my shoes. Though shoes are a style that will never give out for me, the best thing for me is getting compliments on how good my shoes are.

Every time a holiday came up my family would always cook on the grill,sit around and talk, while the kids ran around laughing and smiling. It was the celebration with family that I always remembered, especially during Christmas. Every Christmas my entire family would gather at my grandma's house with food and bags filled to the top with gifts for each other, which was the thing I was always excited about. My grandma's house would illuminate the whole backyard with bright red, blue, and green lights from the decorations that went around the whole roof top of the house. When we ate we all would get up grab each other's hands and bless the food before eating. After eating we would play music, dance and even head for second plates, but once that's over, we would all head into my grandmas house and start handing out gifts. During this moment is when the excitement of seeing the bright smiles on each other faces when we received our gifts. Every time we did this during Christmas I would always remember the thing that mattered the most, spending time with family and making memories.

I've been looking for a job ever since I turned sixteen. Though I looked hard, I haven't been able to find one just yet. The job I was closest to getting was a job at moviestop, but somebody already took the last spot open. Every time I bring up getting a job my mom tells me she's proud that I am trying to get a jod, but I don't feel proud of myself since I haven't found one yet.