This past December 1st, to mark the beginning of the Christmas season, my boyfriend bought me probably the best gift I could have ever received-- MY VERY OWN CAT. 

Though I’ve lived with cats since I was a small child, they’ve always been the family pets. And in our family, we usually never just had one cat. Even though my dad was (and still is) allergic, my mother’s love for the feisty felines overshadowed it. Lucky for me (and my mother), we always got to have multiple cats anyway. 

          My mom’s logic behind always having more than one cat, was that it made her depressed to think of the poor cat being all alone while everyone was gone during the day at school or work. So, if we had one cat, it just had to have a playmate. 

The one thing my mother loved more than cats, was kittens. She loved it when our cats had kittens. Now, looking back, older and wiser,  we definitely should not have been letting our cats breed kittens upon kittens. Especially with the pet overpopulation being as out of control as it is. 

          According to The Human Society, Four million cats and dogs—about one every eight seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year.But, my mother wanted my sister and I to experience the same childhood joy she did, when her and her siblings raised kittens. So, we always had kittens in the house. 

          By the time I was in elementary school, word eventually got around that we were a family of cat lovers, and every time one of our friends found a stray kitten or cat, they would drop them off at our house. And obviously we weren’t just going to put them back out on the street to fend for themselves, so we always took them in. 

          Although raising kittens was a delight, I find that one of the biggest joys is owning your own cat. I look back now, and don’t know how we managed to care for that many animals, because I sure as hell have my hands full with just my one Maine Coon, Lincoln. 
          That's what I had planned to write about initially-- how I obtained my cat Lincoln. My boyfriend Nickolas told me that he was going to surprise me, but I had no inclination as to what the surprise would even be. He made me where a blindfold, as he drove me to an animal shelter in Santa Rosa, so I literally had no idea where we were going. When we got to the animal shelter, I thought he had set up a playdate of some sort, where I would get to play with all the kittens... I was beyond excited. We were led into this small room and asked to wait. In less than five minutes, a woman came back in holding three large carriers full of kittens! And this is where I think I may have blacked out for a few minutes because I was so ecstatic to be in the presence of that many kittens, that I literally thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest when Nickolas told me to pick out my favorite one so we could take it home!

It didn't take me long to realize which one I wanted-- the big gray, fluffy one. He was the most relaxed and calm, and so so so so so SOFT, I couldn't even stand it. 

I am so happy to say that this was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and Lincoln and I make a happy couple!

The Art of Speaking "Meow"

     "As a resident of Southern California, a widely diverse and multi-cultural area, I am proud to be bilingual. I consider it one of my most important personal qualities, on the basis that my second language partly defines who I am.

     Growing up in a predominantly Caucasian region, my first language was English. My second language, however, had nothing to do with race, location or how I was raised.

     It is a rare tongue that only a fortunate handful have been exposed to. When heard spoken aloud, it has not only attracted looks of confusion and bewilderment from ignorant bystanders unfamiliar with the dialect, but it's also caused laughter and ridicule to those brave souls who dare to speak it. One either accepts the idiom with a warm welcome and ultimately becomes a practicing follower, or rejects it with patronizing ridicule. 

     Despite the hardships and mockery I have consistently faced speaking my language of choice, I am proud to be fluent in "Meow."

     Meow is a contextual language my current boyfriend and I created our freshman year of high school. Beginning only as a simple pet name, a term of endearment such as "baby" or "sweetheart," it quickly expanded into something bigger than just some affectionate nickname. It stealthily slipped into our everyday conversations, replacing other common words. 

     Though it may sound perplexing at first, speaking Meow is quite simple; All one has to do is substitute "meow" for any given word or words in a sentence. For instance: "What are you meowing?" translates into the common English phrase "What are you doing?"                  

    Because implementing the word meow can be ambiguous at times, there is an alternative solution to remedy what could potentially be an extremely confusing conversation. Instead of replacing meow with a single syllable word, the speaker can incorporate it into a two or three syllable word (i.e.: bycimeow=bicycle). Utilizing two and three syllable words helps to elucidate the meaning of what one is trying to convey.

     Serving as one of my most insightful teachers, this unique tongue has molded me into a strong and confident young woman. Through other's mockery, it instilled in me a sense of humor; The sheer ridiculousness of the comical idiom, has taught me how to laugh at myself. Instead of finding their jests offensive, I find them funny. This unique tongue, that started off as a joke, has strengthened my individuality and aided me on the road to personal discovery. Meow is more than just some idiotic slang created by teenagers-- it's a way of life."


I wrote this when I was 17 years old, and submitted it to three UC schools and three private universities with the hopes of receiving letters of admission. Surprisingly, with this essay, I got into everywhere I applied except for UCSB.

I provided my college admissions essay to provide you with a little more clarity and insight pertaining to my cat fascination and the language behind it.

You're probably wondering wtf CMH means. In Meow, to be called a CMH is an extremely high and prestigious honor. Only a privileged few have experienced this distinguished title...I'm not sure if I'm ready to reveal what it means quite yet, since it is so extremely precious and sacred to me.

Till then, I'll leave you with this fun fact: