Rikki+B

Hi! I am Rikki, and I was born on February 14, 1994. Three months after my birth, my family – my parents and three elder sisters and I -- moved to Sydney, Australia, to the down under. My grandparents lived in Sydney, and my grandmother had become terribly ill with cancer, and my grandfather had just undergone a triple bypass surgery. My parents decided my family needed to be there for them. I don’t remember the move because I was too young, but as I got older, my family shared with me the details of our lives in Australia. I do remember that we stayed in Sydney, and when I was around six, I started school in Sydney Elementary. On my sixth birthday, my parents bought me a baby kangaroo. My grandparents both recovered over time, and life in Sydney went well. My dad was a businessman, and my mom gave surfing lessons. Life in Sydney had its advantages; my family and I had the chance to see beautiful coral reefs and go to the beach, and, of course, I had my adorable pet kangaroo. When I was around twelve years old, my parents decided to take my family on a vacation. We went to Aruba, a 23-hour plane ride that felt like forever, but once we got to our destination, we had so much fun. The most amazing part of Aruba was going horseback riding on the beach, an amazing experience. Once we got back we found out our entire house had been ransacked and robbed, and my kangaroo had been kidnapped. Everything was missing from furniture to food; my family and I were devastated, and the worst part of the experience was that the intruders had left a note that read, “We are watching you”. My parents became extremely frightened and realized Sydney wasn’t safe anymore, so we left. The only place we could think of to move was New Jersey, where we had previously lived. Two months after the robbery, we were off to New Jersey. That plane ride back felt like two weeks of torture; I was so upset to be leaving my childhood and my grandparents, but my parents felt that the move was the best thing for our family. When I arrived in New Jersey, I felt that everyone spoke strangely, and whenever I would speak, people said, “Wow, that’s awesome! How do you do that?” Life in New Jersey was very different from what it had been in Australia. I couldn’t go swimming all the time, and when I told people I’d had a pet kangaroo, they looked at me like I was from Mars. Finding work for my mom was very hard because it turns out people from New Jersey aren’t interested in surfing. My mom took a job in a similar field she found interesting, architecture. (I never really understood how surfing and architecture are similar, but she says they are, and I believe her!). I’ve now grown accustomed to New Jersey and have actually begun to like it. Crime has gotten worse in Sydney, so my grandparents have moved to New Jersey as well. Today I am a sophomore at The Frisch School, where I spend my days. At night, I go home to my parents, siblings, and grandfather (unfortunately, my grandmother passed away last year). During the summer, we go on vacation to Sydney, where I get to see my old friends and revisit my childhood! My previous profile was false, though I always wished the story would happen to me. In the story, however, are some true facts about me, such as the fact that I was born on February 14, 1994 at New York University hospital. I have three older siblings, and when I was in the fifth grade, my family went on a vacation to Aruba. In Aruba we went horseback riding on the beach, one of the best experiences in my life. I have also wished to visit Sydney, Australia, and hopefully one day I will. My life is very uneventful on a daily basis, but this past summer my brother got married. Being part of the wedding party and attending the wedding were really fun experiences. My hobbies include playing guitar and soccer, and during the summer, I go to Camp Moshava. I’ve been attending Moshava for the past seven years, and this year I am going to Israel for the summer on Mach Hach. I’m really looking forward to attending the program and being in Israel for six weeks!