All About My Family! Isabella Chow

Dear Roommate:

I was born to a family of six children – three older adopted siblings, me, my younger brother, and my younger sister. Living in a house full of people, I've never known what it's like not to have a roommate. When I was five, I shared a bed with my brother, who, crying from nightmares, often woke up the whole family. My brain eventually adjusted. Even today, whenever noise interrupts my sleep, I simply roll over and continue sleeping. Unfortunately, sometimes that noise is my alarm clock!

Several years ago, my family moved onto a five-acre farm in Gilroy, California. Here, our family grew larger...with the addition of two dogs, thirty chickens, twenty African guinea fowl, several beehives, and two containers full of composting worms. Like most teenagers, I'm responsible for household chores like vacuuming and washing dishes, but I also help around our land; some of my duties on the farm include harvesting vegetables, driving the lawn tractor, collecting eggs, and (hold your nose!) shoveling manure. My least favorite chore involves culling old chickens for meat. After slaughtering our first batch of chickens, my family was downcast for several days. Today, though, we've come to accept this unpleasant necessity as...