Texas, the lone star state, is a massive place of cultural diversity from across the nation. The state is full of life changing opportunities, that can either make or break a person. Where I’m from, when looking around on the horizon, I see country side features such as hills, forests, crops, and maybe if I’m lucky, a town. In every direction I turn, a skyline can be seen only in the distance. The difference between the state of Ohio and the state of Texas is drastic. The many languages spoken, the accents of the people, the buildings, the size of the cities, and even the grass is different. The flaming yellow sun burns so much hotter than it does in Ohio. The feeling of the air is different, making Texas is a special place to me. Even though I live far away, I still feel very close.
I have not been there many times, but I will remember it for a lifetime. The first stop on the way to the bottom of the state is Fort Worth, which is a beautiful city with really nice sharp paved roads, sidewalks, palm trees, magnificent houses, and green grass. This city is so big that it needs a highway to get into the actual city. My aunt told us, “Hey now, don’t go outside from noon to five.” The sun burns so hot in these parts, so it’s unsafe to be outside for a certain amount of time; however, cousins who don’t see each other for years at a time could care less about the sun.
After a few days, we go lower in the state to the city of San Antonio, which is another big eventful city. Just beyond that city there is a river. My other aunt told my mom, “ Hey, we’re going to it. You have to see this river.” She said it was a really nice spot to be to have lunch and spend the day. We followed her to this trail that went off into the forest. We came to a massive, crowded parking lot. We jumped out of our cars in amazement, and there was a huge cliffside. The scene was a mixture of rocky browns and some trees here and there with a river about three feet deep with perfect water, clear as day. This water is so clear that is makes our water look bad. It was a truly amazing sight. The water felt so good because it was not cold at all; however , it wasn’t an uncomfortable warm either.

After spending a week in San Antonio, we headed off to our main destination even lower the Rio Grande Valley, which is where my grandfather used to live before he passed away two years ago. Donna was the name of the town, unlike the other towns we past. It was more rural ,but we loved it. Palm trees were the most common tree, and they were as tall as some of our buildings here. If there was grass, it was hard grass, which had to be genetically made so it could survive in the harsh temperatures that it reaches during the normal day.

In Weslaco, a town five minutes away from Donna, there was a flea market; everyone in the town goes to buy and sell goods. Many different people go. It was crazy cheap too; a CD could be bought for five dollars! They also sell Mexican candy, which is the best candy ever. Some of the candy is really spicy, while others are the sweetest. This candy is undeniably good.

The rest of the time, were at my aunt’s house, which is my grandfather’s old house, that doesn’t have the best terrain. The landscape has dry grass, snakes, spiders, coyotes and some “bad” people wandering around. My mom didn’t like it when I was outside alone. It’s nice to remember my times with my grandfather. I remember all the stories and jokes we shared--all the funny moments and times. The great state of Texas is a very special place to me, and I can’t wait until I go back.