Literary Analysis of Louise Erdrich's "The Red Convertible"

Written by Louise Erdrich, “The Red Convertible” is a short story about Native American brothers, Henry Junior and Lyman Lamartine. The story is told from Lyman’s point of view and explains to the reader how the brothers obtained a red convertible together, their adventures with the vehicle and their bond as brothers. Erdrich uses many literary devices like similes, imagery and foreshadowing to grab the reader’s attention and to mask the final outcome of the story until the very end. This analysis will examine the theme, setting, plot, point of view, characterization, irony and symbolism in Erdrich’s “The Red Convertible”.

Theme

A theme in “The Red Convertible” is “The Importance of Family”. The story begins with Lyman telling the reader that he owned and shared a “red Olds” with his brother Henry Junior until his brother had “bought out” his share. The story shares with the reader the events that led up to the brothers purchasing the convertible together, their summer adventures with it and their return home. During their adventures, the brothers bond, meet new friends and share many site seeing experiences together.

Lyman and Henry decide to take a ride up to Winnipeg and to their surprise; they see a beautiful red convertible car for sale. The brothers are awestruck by the car’s beauty and impulsively purchase the car, leaving them with just enough gas money to get home. Lyman tells the readers that some of their best times and memories together were in that car. They spent a whole summer road tripping, non-stop throughout Canada. They eventually meet a Native American girl by the name Susy and offer her a ride home. Lyman and Henry’s next adventure takes them to Susy’s hometown of Chicken, in Alaska and the brothers are welcome by her close knit family to stay with them for a while. Even though the brothers were complete strangers, the family took them in as if they were their own.

The brothers had made it home just in time before the summer season was over and when the Vietnam War was about to begin. Henry, being the oldest was signed up for the draft and called to leave. Before his departure he told Lyman that the beautiful car of their summer was now his to have and care for. Because of their strong bond, Lyman wanted to continue sharing it with his brother and once given the extra set of keys from Henry, Lyman responds “I’ll put it up in your drawer in case I need it”.

Even through the end of the story, the readers know that even with the sadness that now plagues Lyman, he still love his brother and will miss him dearly.

Setting

The setting of “The Red Convertible” takes place in a Chippewa tribe reservation during the 1970’s. The author, Louise Erdrich grew up near the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation and visited there often for a chance to embrace her Native American culture. Many of her other stories are written about life on the reservation. The brothers live with their mother and sister, Bonita, on the reservation in a close knit community.

The story’s mood starts out light, with Lyman telling the readers about his success with money, especially at an early age, but starts to dim and become dark once Henry is called to the war. It was the Vietnam War that had called Henry away from his family and into the Marines. Being on the reservation, resources were sometimes very limited. At one point in the story, Lyman tells the readers that there are no “Indian doctors” on the reservation.

Plot

The plot in “The Red Convertible” starts out as a “trip down memory lane” when Lyman begins the story while keeping the reason why he no longer owns the car a secret. The rising action begins when Lyman starts telling the readers about how he came into the money that helped him buy his share of the red convertible with Henry on a trip to Winnipeg. 

The first minor conflict is brought in when the brothers return home from their summer road trip only to find out that Henry has been called to the Vietnam War. Henry tells Lyman that the car is not solely his, but Lyman believe that the car belongs to both of them since they both paid for it. The summer road trip had strengthened their bond and to Lyman it just wouldn’t seem right not to share the convertible.

The second minor conflict occurs while Henry has been with the military for quite some time. Lyman states that his brother was never really that great of a writer in letters, but during his stay in the military, Henry sent two letters to his family about his stay and only came home once during Christmas time. It seems that the war might have started to change Henry and Lyman’s bond because the distance between them was so far. To try and keep their bond alive, Lyman wrote constant letters to Henry about the car and how well it was being taken care of.

The third minor conflict is revealed to the reader when Henry returns home from the war. Three years had gone by and Henry had returned as a completely different person, and not in a good way. He was distant from his family, especially from Lyman; he was no longer the adventurous, comedic older brother that was once full of spirit. He became zombie like and did nothing but watch TV for most of his days. The rest of the family didn’t take much thought to Henry’s new state of being, but Lyman did because of how close they were.

The major conflict of the story was Henry’s well-being and the family’s realization of it. The family culturally was against Americanized hospitals, stating that “They don’t fix them in those place, they just give them drugs” and there were not any Native American doctors on the reservation.  Lyman knew that Henry was a changed man after realizing that Henry never once looked at their red convertible when he returned home. As part of the major conflict, Lyman destroys the car so badly, hoping to get Henry to notice it. Henry suggests that they take their old car out for a spin, giving him to Lyman that his brother was returning to normal. They spent

The Climax of the story begins when Henry tells Lyman that the car is in horrible condition, and how it never deserved to be treated that way. This realization sparks an interest in Henry to restore the car to working condition. Henry spends every day and night working on the car, slowly becoming more in tune with his surrounding, enjoys his food and is not as jumpy as when he came home. Henry stops focusing on the TV, and spend his time searching for parts to fix that car, and by early spring it is completed.  

The falling action occurs when Lyman breaks down, shaking Henry and ask for him to wake up from his zombie like life. Henry insists that Lyman take the car and that he only fixed it to give it back while Lyman says he no longer wants it. This prompts the brothers to a physical fight that leaves them in laughter. Henry makes a sudden decision to jump into the river they initially drove the car out to. The tide is high and the current is rapid, and Lyman finally see Henry. Henry calmly stats that his boots are filling up with the water, and with a blink of an eye, Henry is gone and nowhere to be found. The resolution to the story and the reason why Lyman no longer owns his share of the car is when he turns on the car and lets it sink into the river, hoping it finds his brother, at peace.  

Point of View

The point of view is first person, as told by Lyman. Some examples are the opening sentence where Lyman says “I was the first one to drive a convertible on my reservation” and when he continues the story through his point of view; telling the readers of his luck with money and his success. The story uses the words “I”, “my”, “us’ and “me” throughout the story to imply that the point of view is first person. We also only ever know the true thoughts and feelings on Lyman, and only get an outsider’s view to how everyone else acts, especially Henry. When Lyman begins to describe his summer adventure with the readers, he describes it as if the readers can picture themselves with him.

Characterization of Lyman

Erdrich does an amazing job with the characterization for the main characters in the story. Lyman being the speaker of the story is an example of direct characterization. Lyman is the one describing the detail in the story he even tells us what Susy looks like and what she was wearing when he and Henry first met her. Lyman says “All her hair was in buns around her ears…That girl was short, so short her lumber shirt looked comical on her, like a nightgown”. Lyman goes on to describe her outfit in further detail by letting the readers know she was wearing jeans and “fancy moccasins and carried a little suitcase”.  Another example is when Lyman tells us what Henry looks like; he states Henry “had a nose big and sharp as a hatchet, like the nose on Red Tomahawk” and that “He was built like a brick outhouse.”

Lyman also describes himself as having a talent for making money. He was the luckiest on the reservation with it, which he states was unusual in a Chippewa. When he and Henry see the car for the very first time he describes the car as being “calm and gleaming” and how “alive” the car was. This description shows us how he feels about the car.

Other people in the story seem to treat Lyman as a very successful young boy; he owned the Joliet Cafe within a year of starting out as a dishwasher. He also states in the beginning of his success story that everyone on the reservation recognized that he was different than all the other Chippewa because he could always find a way to make money.

I would consider Lyman as being both a round character and a dynamic character. Lyman is all around good, but does posses some not so good qualities; He impulsively buys the red convertible without thinking it over and he doesn't give a second thought about the car before smashing it to get Henry's attention.  Lyman is also a dynamic character; he grows and learns as his brother is away on how to take car of the car and how to fix it up. He also ages three years while his brother is away, putting him around the age of 19. At the end of the story, Lyman changes into a depressed soul due to the death of his brother, and describes how hard it is to look at the last photo they ever took together. 

Irony

In this story, there is an example of situational irony. This is shown by the fact that Lyman and Henry were only able to purchase the convertible with money that Lyman received for the destruction of his restaurant and the last two paychecks Henry received from his job that just recently laid him off. Usually most people in this type of situation would save the money, work on opening the business back up or invest it in something of valuable return. Lyman and Henry instead make an impulsive decision to buy the car before checking if they would have money left for gas, which they did but just barely.  Another example of situational irony is found when the brothers offer Susy a ride home; they assume she must live somewhere nearby when offering to take her home, and when she tells them that she lives in Alaska, the brother willingly agree to take her there with no hesitation. Many people would not drive this far to take someone home.

This story does have one example of verbal irony as well. Upon restoring the convertible after Lyman destroys it, Henry suggests that they “take that old shitbox for a spin.” This is ironic because Henry just spent many days and cold night restoring the car to its original condition of when they purchased it.

Symbolism

The symbolism in this story was the red convertible. It symbolized a strengthened bond between the brothers and also changed alongside the relationship of the brothers as well. The car started out as this beautiful piece of art, and continued to uphold itself through the brothers’ summer road trip. It was a little banged up

after the many miles from their trip but it gave the car character and symbolized the bond between Lyman and Henry. The car takes a change for the worse though, when Lyman decided to destroy it to get Henry’s attention, beating up pretty badly. I felt that the condition of the car symbolized the brother’s currently relationship and also Henry’s state of mind. The symbolization comes full circle when Henry jumps into the river and dies. Lyman then makes the decision to let the car go, to be with Henry where ever he may be in the river, thus becoming the ultimate reason why “Lyman walks everywhere he goes” and how Henry “bought out” Lyman’s share of the car. This symbolized the end of their living bond.

Final Thoughts

I very much enjoyed this story. The detail and description of the story, setting and places Lyman and Henry went keep me very intrigued. Also the opening paragraph reeled me in when Lyman says he no longer owned that car that allowed him to be the first to drive a convertible on the reservation. I had to find out how and why his brother bought out his share. Anyone who likes vivid imagery, detailed descriptions and mild suspense would like this story.

 There were two weaknesses I found within the story. The first being that I had no idea where exactly the story took place, as far as country or state, because I am not familiar with Chippewa history. The second one was that the minor characters like Susy and Bonita did not play much of a part in the story. Their time in the story was very short lived and I felt that the author could’ve expanded a bit more on what these characters were like. After reading this story, I look forward to reading another one of Louise Erdrich’s stories. 

Louise Erdrich

Restaurant Review - Los Tres Amigos - Livonia, MI

Los Tres Amigos - Livonia, MI

A Restaurant Review

Saturday Date Night!

After driving past this new restaurant for over a month, My Fiancé and I decided to give it a try! We love Mexican food and while my favorite Mexican restaurant is a bit a ways away, I thought it'd be nice to try it out and have a little date night! I was very excited when I saw the initial building of this location a few months ago. While we lived in Canton, we visited a Los Tres Amigos but we were not pleased with it. It was very cramped and the music was completely muffled by the sound of every other couple's and family's conversations.

More recently I had also visited the Plymouth location with a friend and enjoyed that one much better. They had a very nice outdoor patio area to eat and awesome drink specials! While that location wasn't too far away, the traffic of getting there was awful.

Location, Opening & Building Appearance

This location of Tres Los Amigos is located in Livonia, MI on Middlebelt Rd at Five Mile Rd. It took us about ten minuets to reach the restaurant from our house. Since we went for a date night, it was quite dark but it was very easy to locate the restaurant due to it's brightly lit sign & patio area!

The Livonia location recently opened this past September and has been quite busy since. Although the current reviews on google were mixed, we still wanted to give it a try. Because this location is also located in a strip mall type area, there was plenty of parking and we even scored front row parking!

Upon entering the restaurant, we were promptly greeted by a friendly hostess who took our name and gave us a buzzer to notify us when we could be seated.  We took a seat at a very comfy bench that had cute tigers for arm rests, and only waited about ten minuets before we were able to be seated.

There were mostly booths along the walls and centers of the restaurant until we reached out table. The first thing I noticed was that this particular area was very cramped and seated large groups of people. It ultimately made it hard for the servers to get through all the tables with out bumping into ours. Also our table was the only round table in the area; all others were long rectangular tables. I think a small square would have been a much better option, not only for the atmosphere of that area but it also would have made it easier to walk through the area. Our table was also very wobbly and moved around so much while we tried to eat our meals. Putting our arms on the table made it lopsided, and I was very tempted to ask to be moved to a different eating area, but I didn't.

Google Image of the area we sat in; the round table is located right at the arrows

After eight minuets we were finally greeted by our sever. He was very friendly, happy and always had a smile on his face. He took our drink order and gave us time to look over the menu.

Very cool lighting around this stone design. It set the mood and was a nice authentic touch to native Aztec/Mexican culture  Very cool lighting around this stone design. It set the mood and was a nice authentic touch to native Aztec/Mexican culture

Super cool lighting behind the decor

Menu, Specials & Pricing

Daily Happy Hour! Drink Specials!

It was a nice surprise to see that the restaurant offers a daily Happy Hour special that runs from 3PM to close. They're website states that happy hour is from 3PM - 6PM and then again from 8PM - Close. We had arrived at 7:18PM so based on the website information we did not think we would make it until the next happy hour. I ordered the 18oz house margarita, frozen with a salt rim. It was a very generous size and  although I had contemplated on ordering the 38oz, I'm glad I didnt. This drink was delicious, refreshing but also had a nice punch of alcohol, unlike other places where the margaritas are mostly drink mixer and a "splash" of alcohol. So I definitely feel like we got our money's worth.  They also offered complimentary chips and salsa! The chips were nice and hot, and very fragrant! There salsa was okay; I'll admit that I'm spoiled because my mother, who is Mexican, makes the best salsa, so no others have ever came into comparison with hers (She won second place at the Dearborn Homecoming a few years back for her salsa!)

Traditional house margarita, salt rim & frozen with Chips & Salsa!

While looking there the menu, we noticed that there were a lot of items to choose from, each page was filled with many different creations and combinations; from chicken, seafood, beef and pork based meals, to vegetarian options as well. It definitely took us time to look over everything even though we viewed the menu prior to arriving. I ended up ordering the Fajitas Amigos. This meal came with sauteed peppers, onions tomatoes and a mix of chicken, steak and shrimp grilled meats. In addition to the meal, it also came with guacamole salad, sour cream, pico de gallo, flour tortillas (3) and small sides of beans and rice. It was very tasty, and while I had more shrimp (6) that I had previous got at many other places, I had about 4 pieces of steak and 5 small strips of chicken and an overload of the peppers. Although it was very tasty, I did not feel like I had got our money's worth with my dish.

My dish: The Fajitas Amigos: Steak, Chicken & Shrimp
Side of rice, beans, pico de gallo, sour cream
 and guacamole salad

My Fiancé ordered the Super Platter. His meal came with grilled shrimp, chicken and steak as well, but also had four cheese quesadillas plated around his dish, but no beans, rice or guacamole salad. He enjoyed his dish very much and was overall pleased with the quality of it.

My Fiancé's meal: The Super Platter: Grilled Shrimp,
Chicken, Steak & Cheese Quesadillas

After finishing our meals, we sat and talked for a bit until our server came back to check on us. We decided to look at their dessert menu and see if there was anything we'd like to try. We decided on the Churroitos with Ice Cream. It was very colorful, with chocolate and strawberry syrup drizzled over the dish, sprinkles, warm mini churros, whipped cream and a very generous serving of vanilla ice cream for us to share. This was my favorite dish. The churros were nice & warm, and eatable. Many of the past churros I've order from other places have been scalding hot with no warning, and the ice cream with this dish was a perfect, mellow compliment to them! It was definitely a treat since we normally limit our sugar consumption with our ketogenic/low carb lifestyles. 

Dessert: Churroitos with Ice Cream

Final Thoughts

For this date night meal, we spent a little over $50 with two drinks, one diet coke, both of our entrees and dessert. We also chose this place for date night because we had received coupons in the mail for three different offers. We were able to use a coupon for 15% off our total bill which brought the final total down to around $42 & change. We really enjoyed the service from our service and made sure to leave a nice tip! Overall it was a nice experience, and when we do go back I think I'll try something different due to their huge selection! On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give this restaurant 4 stars out of 5. Better seating arrangements, and more protein and less peppers in my dish would have given this a 5 star review.  

Additional Information

Address: 29441 Five Mile Road, Livonia, MI 48154

Phone: (734) 466-5281

Hours: Monday - Sunday 11:00AM - 10:00PM

Website: lostresamigosonline.com

Happy Hour: Daily from 3PM to Close

Cuisine: Mexican-American

Payment Types Accepted: Cash, Credit Card

Dress Code: Casual, Semi-Formal (Date Night)

3 Influential People in my Life

I wouldn’t be where I am in my life today without three important people. These three people have shaped my world & life through different stages and helped be to grow. They are compassionate, skillful and loving individuals. From each, I’ve learned something that helped my life in one way or another.

            The first and most influential person in my life is a man who has shaped not only my world, but the world of many others around him, a man who accomplished the first of many things in his family; a man who served his country, traveled the world and continues every day to provide for his family. A man who constantly helps those around him, and who continues to teach me something new each day, the first man I ever loved, my father.

My Father with my Grandmother

            Born Johnnie Amedeo Apolloni, he is a first generation Italian-American who decided he was ready to enter this world while my grandparents were crossing the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel from Canada. Because my grandparents held Canadian citizenship at the time, my father was the first natural born American in our family. As the eldest child of his family, my father was the first to graduate from Fordson High School in 1978. Being the first to graduate set an example for his younger siblings; no matter what hardships their family faced, graduating was indeed possible. In 1983, he joined the armed forces. During this time he completed 52 airborne jumps and became parachute qualified, started his travelling and became Sargent in just 22 months. My father travelled to Korea, Germany, Turkey, Panama, England and Italy. During his time in Italy, he climbed the Dolomite Mountains and was a part of the first airborne unit stationed in Europe. After five years of service, he was honorably discharged and returned home to his family.

Old Photo of my Father Skating on a Pond

            On August 24, 1991, my father married the love of his life, my mother, and soon began his next journey in life by starting a family. Alongside my mother my father raised not just one but three daughters and a son. He always encouraged us to reach for our dreams and taught us that anything was possible. My father sparked an interest in reading to all of his children and to this day, when I’m searching for strength, I can still hear my father’s encouraging voice saying “Reading is Knowledge and Knowledge is Power.” In the early years of our family, my father became self-taught in drywall application, carpentry and even rewired the electrical by himself in our first home. One of my favorite accomplishments looking up to my father was the play room he built for my siblings and me to play in. We spent many winters building snowmen and skating, and made countless memories in the summer cooling off in our little plastic kid’s pool even though my dad just barely fit in it. My father wanted his family to have the best life that he could provide and did so by working two jobs in order to move his family out of the polluted suburb of Detroit known as Delray.

My Father's Birthday 2017

My father has taught me so many things in life; to be kind and humble, to continue to learn and work towards my goals and most of all to enjoy life. Being a hard worker is something else that I also learned from my father. To this day he has put 26 years of hard work and service in at the United States Postal Service. My father has always been there when I needed him the most; every time I had fallen, he helped me rise up again. Through every unsuccessful attempt at a project and every heart break I ever experienced, he was always there with open arms and the right advice to make things better. I cannot help but to smile every time I think about how my father made time to take us on school field trips, to take us to the movies, or all of the winters where he would build us an ice pond in the backyard to skate on. I am so thankful for my father and truly believe that without him, I would not be where I am today.

           

            The next influential person in my life is actually watching over me in heaven. She is one of my guardian angels, the glue that held my maternal family together and one of the strongest women I know, my Abuela, Evelyn Anaya.

Photo of my wela at 14 years old

            Known as “Wela”, my maternal grandmother was always my biggest fan. Looking back at the things she accomplished in her life amazes me. My abuela was always helping those in need at all times in her life, even when she had nothing to give. My maternal side of family had a rough life, but with nine children my abuela had so much love and always did her best to provide for them. My abuela was one of the greatest cooks in our family; I still remember the smells of her Mexican rice and tamales on Christmas Eve and her delicious menudo soup she would work on all morning. She has been my inspiration, alongside my mother, when it comes to my passion of cooking.

One of my first Christmas Eve's with my Wela
(Second from the left)

            My abuela believed in all of her children and grandchildren and always cheered us on to continue to be good people, to love each other and to live life happily. Reflecting back on the time my abuela was alive makes me wish I had more time with her. I would have loved to learn her oh-so tasty recipe for tamales and to learn more about her life growing up. But our time was cut short, and my abuela fell ill with cancer. I remember when she stayed at our home with us for a few months in the fall, I remember seeing how the cancer was taking a toll on her body but I also remember that she tried as hard as she could to live out the rest of her life as best as she could.

            Sometimes I get scared that I’ll eventually forget her voice, her infectious laugh, her spooky Mexican stories that she would tell my siblings and I to set us straight when we would act up and how her big bear hugs felt. A few weeks before my abuela left our house, I had a conversation with her about how I thought I would never find love (something that a 13 year old should not be worrying about). My abuela said “Mija, don’t worry you will find someone when the time is right. He’ll be someone who lives close by, a nice young man who will treat you right and love you unconditionally. For now enjoy life.” Sure enough, five years later I found him. I absolutely believe I found him by faith, and my abuela made sure to see it through.

Another Christmas Eve Photo with my sisters and siblings

           The last influential person in my life is that same man by abuela told me I would meet one day, my fiancé Daniel. Although he is the most recent influential person in my life, he has also helped me grow into the person I am today.

            Daniel and I met while working at Best Buy, one of my first jobs ever. Although we went to the same high school, we never really crossed paths. (Also another reason why I believe my abuela’s “fortune,” the time just wasn’t right then.) Upon meeting Daniel for the first time, I was instantly head over heels for him. Blonde hair, blue eyes and into computers, he was definitely my kind of guy. It took a while before we became friends but when we did, I had felt as if he was the missing piece to my happiness. I had never before met someone who made me laugh or smile so much in one conversation.

            Throughout our relationship, Daniel has made such an impact on my life. Being my first for many things in life, if it was not for him I would be missing out on so much. My first time at Buffalo Wild Wings was with him; my first time playing putt-putt golf and my first time traveling over 8 hours away from my family on a trip to Marquette was with him as well. So many classic movies I had never heard of before were seen with him too. Daniel has also helped me become more social in life. I had always been a quiet and reserved person, but when I met Daniel, I was introduced to so many new friends and to my surprise a big wonderful family, filled with aunts, uncles, cousins and second and third cousins as well.

            Over the last couple of years in our relationship, Daniel has been one of my biggest supporters and fan. He listens to all my thoughts, worries, stories and dreams. When I was officially diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) Daniel made it his mission to help me with this lifelong battle. He encouraged me to live a better lifestyle and took the time to read up on help to deal with this condition as a significant other. On my bad days, he made sure to always let me know how he thought the world of me and that he was in this in the long run. I cannot imagine spending my life with anyone else; I would be lost without him and know that my life would be so different if it were not for him.

Bucket List - 8 Items from Bucket List

When asked “What would you like to do before you die?” my mind sometimes comes to a blank. I have never really sat down and thought about making a bucket list before. I don’t usually like to think about death or dying, it’s not something I handle well, especially after the loss of my grandmother and aunt who were very important women in my life. However, reflecting back on some of the things I wanted to do in my childhood and goals I’d like to accomplish in my adult life, I have started a small list of things I’d like to do.

Seeing the late Mexican-American singer Selena’s memorial is something I’ve had on my mind before I even knew what a bucket list was. Growing up I idolized Selena; I wanted to be a singer just like her, to sing in Spanish and dance in beautiful costumes. One year I got a collectable Selena Barbie for my birthday and even though I was told many times not to open it, I eventually did because all I wanted to do was play out all her concert scenes with my other Barbies. I still have her to this day. Selena’s memorial is called the Mirador de la Flor (Lookout of the Flower) located in Corpus Christi Texas.

Culinary school is top priority on my bucket list. I have always had a talent at cooking. I remember being in the kitchen whenever I could to help my mom or grandma cook. I love seeing the reactions on my friends and family’s faces when they try my dishes! I feel like it’s something that helps me connect with them, especially when things may be rocky between us. Going to culinary school would help me learn new techniques, styles of cooking and dishes that I can add to my resume! I also believe that it would help me when I decide to open my own restaurant or catering business one day which is also another thing on my bucket list!

These next two bucket list goals kind of go together. First, I would ultimately like to reach my goal of 90 pounds lost. As I child I was always the bigger kid; grew like a weed and during my fourth grade year, I got asked if I was a high school-er. 

As the years went on, the weight piled on; I tried to stay active, eat healthier and cut portion sizes but nothing would help continuously, I would always gain the weight back.

In 2016 I was diagnosed with Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS); I matched almost all of the symptoms associated and learned that one of the main factors in determining PCOS was weight gain. My doctor explained to me that loosing just 10 percent of my highest weight (at the time of my diagnosis) would greatly help reduce my other symptoms. My doctor also explained to me that women with PCOS will have a difficult time getting pregnant.

So for my next bucket list goal, I would love to have children one day. With the information I have now about my condition, I know it will not be easy, but my doctor has given me hope that it is possible with the right treatment and a healthy lifestyle. I come from a decent sized family; two sisters and a younger brother, so I’ve always wanted to have a medium sized family as well.

Low Carb/Keto Dinner made with spaghetti squash!

Another Item on my bucket list is to grow my own garden. With my new lifestyle eating healthy is very important and having healthy foods on hand makes it so much easier. A lot of my meals consist of leafy green veggies, zucchini squash and cauliflower. These items are not always available at my local market or sometimes they’re very expensive. Having my own garden would allow me to have lots of healthy options for my meals at low costs! Having my own garden also fuels my passion for cooking! 

My Instagram Account where I post my delicious meals & PCOS/Keto progress!

As a kid, I always dreamed about going to Disney World. I remember watching the previews before Disney movies and pointing and showing them to my parents. I would beg and beg and beg them to take me. Although it did not happen in my childhood, I would still like to go at least twice; once before I have kids, and a second time with them. This may also be my first vacation as an adult! To this day, I’ve only ever been to Cedar Point and Water Parks in Ohio, so I am really looking forward to checking it off my list!

Me as Belle from Beauty & the Beast -3 years old

Last but not least, I would love to travel to Italy. Being half Italian and hearing the stories about my father’s childhood summers in Italy had encouraged me to pursue this travel destination before I die. Both of my paternal grandparents are from Italy; my grandmother is from a small town in southern Italy called San Giovanni in Fiore and my grandfather is from a little town in northern Italy called Carre. I think it would be such an adventure to travel to these different towns and others along the way. It would also be nice to meet my extended families from that side too!

My Grandmother traveled back to her hometown last summer!

Me by the Numbers

Me by the Numbers

Numbers have always been my thing. I started counting as soon as I could speak, learned how to count in two other languages and have always had a passion for math. Numbers will also be a part of my future career as I am currently working towards a degree in Accounting. The following are numbers that are meaningful to me.

One of my many baby photos my parents took of me

I’d like to start off with the number 19. It holds a lot of significance in my life. First of all, it’s my birthday. I was born on February 19, 1992 at 3:19 in the morning at Henry Ford Hospital in Wyandotte, Michigan. I was also 19 inches long when I was born, giving the number even more of a special meaning. 

The Hospital I was born at

With that being said, the number 19 has always been my number one choice in usernames, emails and jersey numbers. Growing up, I was a big hockey fan, mostly due to my father always watching the games and dressing me and my siblings up in Red Wings attire. My dad even built us a mini ice rink in our backyard in the winter to get us on the ice to shoot around hockey pucks. For that reason, the number 19 also belongs to my favorite former Red Wings player Steve Yzerman.

2014 Red Wings Game I went to for my birthday! Great seats

Steve Yzerman #19

Alexis, my mom, Alyssa and Me - 2012

Another number that is of importance to me is the number two. Not only is it a part of my birthday and birth month, it also represents my two sisters. My sisters, Alyssa and Alexis are both younger than me and we’re all two years apart in age with each other; Me being born in ’92, Alyssa being born in ’94 and Alexis being born in ’96.

Daniel and I - June 2012

The number two also holds the number of times my heart was broken before I finally met the love of my life. I met my boyfriend Daniel back in 2010 and two years later (there’s that number two again) we started dating. Unfortunately, nothing is always rainbows and sunshine. The two number is also the number of times we have broken up. Although it was never more than a week apart, I still remember them. 2012 was by far one of the most significant years in my life and with the number two having a lot of significance elsewhere, it seemed right that my most impressionable year for me would start and end with that number.

Our First picture together - 2012

The number 27 is the last number of true meaning in my life. It is a part of not only my anniversary with Daniel, but my parents as well. Mine and Daniel’s anniversary is May 27 and my parents’ anniversary is August 27. 

My Mom & I - July 2017

Another reason why the number 27 holds importance in my life is because it was the age that my mother was when she had me. I look up to my mother for being such a strong, kind and caring woman. She has helped shaped me into the person I am today.

Mother's Day 2015

 Seeing these numbers in my life and looking back on their importance makes me smile. I hope that these same numbers continue to bring more importance and memories as I continue to go on in life.