Birth
I was born May 10th, 1995 at Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, CA.
Family Members
I've lived with my
parents, Lisa and David, my whole life. My mom works for American Specialty
Health, an insurance company and my dad works at Caltrans as a surveyor. On my
mom's side of the family, I am closest to my grandparents Betty and Bob who we
see very often. My grandparents on my dad's side, Dan and Mary, live further
away so we don't see them as often, but we are still very close. My dad's mom
lives in Tennessee with all of my aunts, uncles and cousins. I don't see them
often at all, but due to social media, we are all very close. If I could see
them every weekend, I would. My whole family has made an impact on me. With so
many people in the family, it is easy to learn by example even though it's
sometimes what not to do.
Childhood and School Life
I started school at Canyon Rim pre-school. When I turned 5,
I went to Benchley Weinberger for elementary school. These two schools were my
most favorite schools I ever went to. In 6th grade, I went to Pershing Middle
School which was probably the worst three years of my life. The summer after
7th grade, my family and I moved into our new house but I was lucky enough to
finish 8th grade with my friends at Pershing. I begged my parents to let me
stay in the same school district and go to Patrick Henry with my best friend,
but so many things were against me; it was too far away, it was out of the way
for my parents to get to work, there were people at Henry that had problems
with me in middle school, and I just had no legit reason to go there according
to the Grossmont Union High School District. So I started freshman year at West
Hills High School and have been there ever since. I’ve always felt like I should
be somewhere else, like I never fit in at West Hills, at least not until
partway through senior year. I was lucky enough to have Cassie Dotta and Hannah
Beal in 3 out of 5 of my classes. They have become my best friends and the only
people from school that I’ve ever hung out with outside of school. In the end,
the move to GUHSD was a good one and a smart one.
Hobbies, Interests and Activities
I had a lot of hobbies, interests and activities as a kid. I
enjoyed being outside, catching Rollie Pollies and making habitats for them, riding
my skateboard, roller blades and scooter down the street, as well as playing
with the neighborhood kids. I also did gymnastics from ages 3 to 9 until the
new YMCA gym opened in Santee. Once I stopped
doing gymnastics, I started playing recreational soccer and have played ever
since then. In the middle of that, I also earned my red belt in Tae Kwon Do
which is two belts away from a black belt. I progressed very fast, but I started
into high school and didn’t have time to do it anymore. I got into Field Hockey
before freshman year, but my school didn’t have a team so I couldn’t play. One
team they did have was soccer. I tried out twice during high school, but I didn’t
make it either time due to the competitiveness of girl’s soccer at my school. The
girl’s team usually wins league championships which is really competitive. So I
just continued to play outside of school and got into playing indoor soccer which
I also really enjoy.
I also started volunteering in high school. The summer of
2010, I volunteered for the City of Santee as a Jr. Leader for their day camp
program. I got to work with young kids as well as people my age and older. It
was a good teaching and learning experience. Two years later, I started
volunteering in May at Sharp Grossmont Hospital as an aide in the
Rehabilitation Center. I now volunteer in the Women’s Center where I get to see
new born babies and brand new moms. I plan to finish my one year commitment
here doing the same thing.
Anecdotes
In 2011, my
life changed in amazing ways. I met someone who knew I needed a friend, a
friend to take care of me and help guide me down the right path; he became that
friend. Joseph McDonald was the best thing I never knew I needed. I met him for
the first time in March, 2011 at his Airbands competition. Although we had been
talking on Facebook, texting and Skypeing, this was our first time meeting in
person and I still remember it like it was yesterday. After he performed, he
texted me and told me to meet him outside. I spotted him and awkwardly waved as
he didn’t see me because he was scanning the sea of people to find me. Finally,
I caught his eye and he came over to me. He was all hot and sweaty from just
getting off stage, but I gave him a huge hug anyways because I was so proud of
him and because he was quickly becoming my best friend. “Enchanted” by Taylor
Swift will forever be my anthem for that night because even though we were
technically just friends, there was no denying the crush I was starting to have
on him. We continued becoming better friends and the night before the 4th
of July, 2011, I knew we were at least meant to be in each other’s lives forever
whether it was just as friends or if we were more. That night, he called me of
all his friends to vent to me about his girlfriend. He was so upset and lost,
and as much as I didn’t want to hear about the girlfriend, I listened to his
feelings and helped him to the best of my ability because that’s what best
friends do. That night, he realized that she wasn’t the girl for him and the
next day, we spent all day together. He came to my friend’s house where I was
staying that day and we swam all day, barbequed, him and his friend left to
change and we all met back up at the lake to watch fireworks that night. That day
solidified any unspoken feelings that either of us had. Our connection was
undeniable and neither of us could imagine being without the other. It only
took a few more months of us taking things slow and becoming even closer
friends for him to ask me to be his girlfriend.
On August 27th, 2011, while we were sitting in the movie
theatre about to watch Columbiana with his mom and sister (who were in the
bathroom) he grabbed my hand, looked at me, and asked me right there to be his
girlfriend. It was spontaneous and silly and adorable and romantic all at the
same time. I never knew so many butterflies lived in my stomach. To this day, those
butterflies flutter every time I see him. We’ve stuck together through thick
and thin and plan to stick together for many more years to come. We are
completely opposite yet exactly identical at the same time. He is my prince
charming and I am his princess. 
7 years
ago, I got my very first dog, Dozer. He is a Newfoundland/St. Bernard mix and
he is the cutest thing in the whole world. He’s 145 lbs and over 6 feet tall
when he stands on his back legs, but he will forever be my puppy. My parents
told me that they wanted to get a puppy for my 11th birthday but I wasn’t
sure what I wanted so they did some research and my mom decided she wanted a
big dog. Behind my back, they met with a breeder and the parents of the puppy
litter. They set up a date, after the puppies were 8 weeks old, to meet up at a
Vet office so that I could come look at them all and hopefully pick the one I wanted
to take home. When my mom and I walked into the puppy filled room, one walked
up to us right away, but it turned around and gave up on us so we knew it wasn’t
the one. After I sat on the ground, one came up to me and climbed all over me
and right then, I knew it was coming home with us. We found out he was a boy
and went through many different names like The King, Samson, and Stone, but nothing
seemed to fit until we called him Dozer. This was an obvious choice because he
slept all day! And of course, he would become the size of a bull dozer. He still
spends most of the day sleeping and yes, he is very huge. But he is a gentle
giant and is very smart. He has brought so much joy to our family, he is like
another person. We love our Dozer.
Career
I aspire to
work with ocean animals, be a makeup artist, work with kids, and work in the
medical field at some point; I am quite undecided. I love sea life and working
with kids, but I also love doing makeup and could see myself in the medical
field. I’d love to be a marine biologist or an ocean animal trainer. On the
other hand, I want to be a makeup artist for fancy events and maybe be able to
travel to places to do makeup for photo shoots and whatnot. I would also love
to style hair and be a nail artist. At some point, I see myself going to
cosmetology school, but I know I shouldn’t make this my plan A. If I don’t go
the ocean animal route, I will focus on getting a medical degree. I love
volunteering because I get to be around all the new moms and babies so I could
see myself being an ultrasound technician or even a nurse. I may also be
interested in being a pharmacist; anything in the medical field would be
beneficial. I just want to do something to help people or the earth which I can
do by being a marine biologist or by getting a medical degree. I have to decide
soon though; I’m starting college in the fall.
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