Cultivate My Garden

By Sarah Reynolds

Dedication page
1. Deedee (mom)
2. Ed (dad)
3. Paige Reynolds
4. Brooklyn Reynolds
5. Catherine Ligioso
6. My Grandmother
7. Christensen family
8. Kylie Carpenter
9. Emily McDavitt
10. Kalin & Myles
11. The Pitkin family
12. The Ribeiro family
13. Aunt Michelle & the boys
14. Aunt Cindy & the girls

15. Elijah Birdsong

16. Justin Bieber
17. Arbia
18. Uncle Mark, Cory, Ryan & Rayna
19. Kailina Teodoro
20. Isabella Nemati
21. Lowis Lowry
22. J.K. Rowling
23. Nicole Perry
24. Grandfather & Grandma
25. Curtis Holzer

Table of Contents
Contents
Cultivate Garden Essay......................................................................................................1
Chapter 1 My Career.......................................................................................................1
Law School; what & why............................................................................................1
Build up through high school......................................................................................1
Best colleges................................................................................................................1
Overall costs and expenses..........................................................................................2
Chapter 2 Home and Family Life...................................................................................2
Home Life (College)....................................................................................................2
Home Life (Outside College)......................................................................................2
Spouse.........................................................................................................................1
Kids............................................................................................................................. 1
Chapter 3 Hobbies..........................................................................................................1
During high school......................................................................................................1
During law school (college)........................................................................................2
When I become a lawyer.............................................................................................2
After I settle down.......................................................................................................2
Chapter 4 Travel.............................................................................................................2
Where and why............................................................................................................ 2
Paris, France................................................................................................................1
Italy............................................................................................................................. 1
Greece......................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 5 Religion..........................................................................................................1
Overall view on religion..............................................................................................1
Myself......................................................................................................................... 1
Spouse.........................................................................................................................1
My kids........................................................................................................................ 1

Chapter 1
My Career
Law School; what & why

After high school, I plan to attend

Solano Community College for two years to
become economical. Then, transfer to UC
Berkeley and get my bachelors degree and
Juris Doctor degree in law, studying
specifically criminal prosecution. While in
college, I plan on spending a year interning
at law school receiving professional law
experience to eventually become a corporate
lawyer and build my way to pursue a job in
a top law firm in New York. A lawyer has
two main duties; to uphold the law while
also protecting a clients rights, and to carry
out these duties, a lawyer should understand
the law and be an effective communicator.

Most lawyers normally spend more time in

an office than in a courtroom. The practice
of law most often involves researching legal
developments, investigating facts, writing
and preparing legal documents, giving
advice, and settling disputes. At UC
Berkeley, they offer a well recommended
law firm. I think a big reason I aspired to
study law was inspiration from my oldest
sister who is currently studying at UC
Berkeley to become a lawyer. Since her
freshman year to now, in her senior year, she
has filled me with excitement of what they
learn on a daily basis, and the programs they
offer.

Build up through high school

Preparing for college doesnt always
have to be done last minute, or as a senior.
There are things I can do throughout high
school to better ready me for a successful
future in my career. For example, I want to
study law and eventually become a lawyer.
At UC Berkeley, they offer a wide variety of
internships, and as a plus they give 3-5
college credits for the hours. These

internships provide prior information about

studying law which will support me with
prior knowledge of my career. Also, I could
join a debate team and practice my
communication skills, as well as my ability
to state facts and follow up with evidence
and examples for each statement. To have
this experience is key to becoming a lawyer,
as there are many requirements.

Best colleges
Some of the highest ranking colleges
for law include Harvard University,
University of Oxford, University of
Cambridge, Yale University, and being the
closest college to my current location, UC
Berkeley. Although Ive always wanted to
go to college out of state, even country, I
decided to go to the most convenient college
for me, UC Berkeley. Also, UC Berkeley is
currently ranked number 9 of the top law

schools in the nation. Berkeley Law is wellknown for the depth and breadth of its
curriculum and the caliber of its faculty and
students. Berkeley was as well the first U.S.
law school to offer M.A. and Ph.D. degrees
in Jurisprudence and Social Policy. Their
curriculum offers a rich variety of courses
for students aiming at corporate litigation,
public interest law, criminal prosecution,
international law, or any one of a dozen

other fields and finally, Berkeley offers firstyear J.D. students the
opportunity to choose
electives during their second
semestera chance to begin
customizing their legal
education early on which
provides practice and
preparation for the future.
Along with all of the
previously stated options,
students have the option of participating in

Overall costs and expenses

One of the most common setbacks
for college students is costs. At Berkeley, the
average total for tuition, (formerly
educational fee), in fall 2014 - spring 2015
is $11,220.00 and $35,164.00 for a
Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition.
Another expense is student supplies and
books with an average cost of $1,496.00.
Overall, these are the only expenses I would
have to put into play. Since I live within 30
minutes of the Berkeley, I wouldnt have to
worry about living expenses, and could

one or more of their

legal clinics, legal
journals, research
centers, student
organizations,
public interest
fellowships, or field
placements.

easily get a job on campus to provide for gas

money and other necessary needs. As for the
tuition and supplies, I currently have a
college fund going for myself which is
constantly increasing in value since my
parent/grandparents add money monthly.
The fund should cover all the supplies and
half of the tuition, (formerly educational
fee). As for the rest of the total expenses, I
plan on applying for scholarships and earn
the money through hard work and
dedication.

Chapter 2
Home and Family Life
Home Life (College)
amount of money, I plan
to stay in the Gaia
apartments in Berkeley,
while still going to
college for my final 4
years. After college, I
plan to continue to pursue
my career and move to
New York to become a
lawyer of a top law firm.
While in New York, I
would again stay in an
apartment nearby my job.

While in
my first year or two
year of college, I
plan to stay at home
since commuting
would be
inexpensive as well
as I could take that
time to work and
save up to
eventually move
into an apartment.
Once I save a fair
(Gaia Apartments ^)

Home Life (Outside College)

After college and living in New
York, I do plan on settling down and having
a family. When I get married I dont expect
to necessarily buy a home right away, in fact
Id actually prefer to live in an apartment up
until I decide to have a family with kids.
Once I have kids I want to move into a
house big enough not only for our family but

extra room for guests and more kids to

come. Once I have kids, I still want to
continue to be a lawyer, however, I want to
make it possible to settle down and be able
to spend as much time possible with my
family. As a solution, I would cut down my
work hours and figure out a schedule with
my work.

Spouse
Who knows when we will meet the
one who we marry? The answer is no one.
However, although I don't know when I will
meet the one I marry, I do know that before I
wed I want to have my "ducks in a row". By
that I mean I want to marry after college, not
any time before or during. I want to be
settled, and be making good money to

provide for myself and my spouse. As well

as, I want to full-fill my own goals, dreams,
and aspirations before I marry so I can have
time to myself, and get to know the world on
my own. As for my spouse, I'd want them to
be in the same range as me, successful wise.
I want them to have a steady job and be able
to provide for themselves as well as me.

Kids
First and foremost, I want to have
kids when I am married, and completely

settled; not having to stress about costs,

expenses, and having to putting that on my

kids. I never want to have to worry about

struggling to pay bills and not having the
money for things, knowing that in the future
my kids will cause huge expenses in my life.
Also, I want to have time alone with my
spouse so we have the opportunity to travel,

explore and see the world with the privacy

of the two of us. I don't want any more than
3 kids maximum and only want to start a
family when I know that I am 100% ready,
as well as my spouse.

Chapter 3
Hobbies
During high school

During high school, not only can I

pursue hobbies relating to law school and
help build up skills and knowledge for my
future career, being a lawyer, but I can also
enjoy hobbies outside of law. Outside of
law, I enjoy cooking/baking, learning about
other cultures, fashion, and art. In high
school, all of these interests are electives I
could take for the year. For cooking I could
take culinary arts and even learn about

different foods from around the world. For

learning about different cultures, I could
take AP euro history and learn new
languages, and ways of life, from all
different cultures. As for fashion, I could
taking sewing classes and learn to sew, make
my own clothing, etc. If I were to take
electives for law school, though, I could
always join a debate team and practice my
communicating skills.

During law school (college)

During law school, I will be
occupied with work, as well as school so I
won't have the considerable amount of time
for hobbies. However, on weekends or
breaks, I still want to be true to myself, and
have enjoyment to do extracurricular

activities such as taking an art, or cooking

class, or even interning, as I planned to.
Interning would be the most convenient as I
could do it at UC Berkeley, and gain
professional law experience.

When I become a lawyer

Once I get my Juris Doctor degree
and am able to start my journey building my
career, experience, and eventually moving to
New York to work in a top law firm, I still
want to be able to have hobbies not only
involving law, but outside of that world. As
for law a hobby of mine could include

something as simple as reading books about

law, to qualifying to be part of the jury to a
court case for experience. Aside from work,
I could still take art, sewing, or cooking
classes like I had been interested in
throughout high school.

After I settle down

After I adjudicate to settle down, I
want to lessen the time I spend on my timeconsuming career, to be with my family.
Although I will slowly conclude my career
as a lawyer, I still want to have a career.
Since I've been young I've been interested in
doing hair, makeup, & nails. So as my more

"settled down" career, I want to attend Paul

Mitchell's cosmetology school for the 11
month process and earn my cosmetology
license. After I receive my license, I'll apply
for a job at local salons and have my career
there. Since it is not so time-consuming I'll
be able to balance out family with work.

Chapter 4

Travel
Where and why

As I talked
about in the previous
chapter, hobbies, Im
very interested with
the learning of other
cultures, lifestyles,
and traveling around
the world seeing,
hearing, and tasting
And want to visit
always caught my
studying it throughout
being full of color and
it beautiful, old, but
Paris, France
Ive always been the most intrigued
with Paris. Previously, I've studied Paris,
got a map of different cities, and even took a
French language class over summer. Also,
my oldest sister speaks fluent French, and
has been to Paris numerous times only to
come back and rave about how beautiful the
city is. If I traveled to Paris I'd want to spend
my time sight-seeing, trying new foods, and

new things. After high school,

I want to spend either my last
summer before college, or even
when I get married, traveling
the world. Particularly to Paris,
France, Italy, and Greece.
Since the time my oldest sister
took her first trip to Paris and
Italy to her last, Ive been
overwhelmed with ambition
Europe. As for Greece, It
attention, especially while
past history classes, and I see it
amusement. As for Italy, I find
full of character.

overall adapting to their different ways of

life. To begin with I'd make time for seeing
the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, (which
contains the original Mona Lisa), Notre
Dame de Paris, Arc De Triomphe, the
French Riviera, and so much more! Just
thinking about Paris gives me a magical,
indescribable feeling which only makes me
want to go more.

Italy
As for Italy, I'm happy simply for the
fact it's in Europe which is my dream
country to travel. Along with that, though,
my oldest sister spent a summer studying in
Venice, Italy and was infatuated with the
sights, everything there in fact. And having
prior knowledge of the cities inside, views,

different foods, and people there, I couldn't

wait to experience and take it all on for
myself. While in Italy I would go from
strolling through the beautiful stone streets
lined with the sweet smell of flowers to
floating down the Grand Canal with
beautiful, vibrant buildings lining our path.

As well as seeing some of Italy's biggest

Greece
My final dream destination lies in
Greece. From the first time I ever saw a
movie which took place in Greece, I haven't
had my mind set on a more unique city. The
water is beautiful, the colors vibrant, and the
culture is the most intriguing to me.
Customs and traditions in Greece and the
Greek Islands are an important aspect of the
Greek culture. They are either of a religious
character or coming from paganism. In
Greece, they have a mass amount of
traditions including the well-known plate
breaking for weddings. They as well have
Carnival which in Greece is called

points of interest, including the famous

Leaning Tower of Pisa, or the Colosseum.

"Apokries". The festival consists of two

weeks of feast, beginning from the Sunday
of Meat Fare and ends with the first day of
the Lent, called Clean Monday. Everyone is
costumed and parties take place in the
streets and bars, throwing colored confetti to
each other. The most famous Carnival
Parade takes place in the city of Patra. In
many towns around Greece and in the
islands, local customs revive. The Carnival
is believed to come from paganism, and
more precisely from the old festivities
worshiping Dionysus, the god of wine and
feast.

Chapter 5
Religion
Overall view on religion

Personally, I think religion is a

huge part of society today and is a very
controversial topic. Many people are
judgmental to other religions and biased to
their own. This can cause a mass amount of
also a huge part of culture as well. It can be
the reason for
celebrations, rituals, or traditions. Religion
can be practiced in homes, chapels,
churches, temples, with family, friends, or
even complete strangers. I also think if two

dispute and conflict between people.

However, I'm not one to judge whether
someone is of my same religion, to if they
don't believe in God. Everybody has a right
to their own opinion and beliefs. Religion is

or more people are strong believers of their

religion, it can be an extremely common and
healthy reason to bond over.

Myself
I myself am currently and have been
raised into Christianity. Growing up,
religion was never something forced onto
me, in fact it was natural since my family is
strong believers and always has been. My
dad always read us the bible and my whole
family went to church on Sundays for as
long as it can remember. Getting older, we

switched churches two more times until we

settled in a very friendly, strong built
church. Currently, I go to youth group
Wednesday nights with my sisters. I think
religion is healthy to have. Speaking in
Christianity terms, it's a peaceful, relieving,
hopeful feeling being able to look to God for
guidance.

Spouse
As I previously stated, I don't judge
people on their religion nor am I biased
towards someone with the same religion as
me. However, when it comes to marriage, I
would prefer my spouse to be of the same
religion I am. Not only so we don't have
separate beliefs, traditions, etc., but also so
our children can grow up in a one religion

environment and not feel pressured to

choose between one or the other. Also, it
would be convenient to both be Christian as
we would go to the same church together,
read from the bible, and praise God as one,
rather than practicing different rituals and
having different opinions which could even
lead to conflict in the marriage.

My kids
When I decide it is time for my child
or children to be at the maturity level to
learn and be taught religion/ go to church
with a more serious mindset, I will get them

started in becoming faithful to Christianity.

Just like I never felt pressured, though, I will
not pressure my kids or force them to learn
something they either don't believe in or

don't want to when they're old enough to

make that choice when they're young,
however, I do expect to go to church as

often as possible and to cherish our religion

and what comes with it as a family.

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