BIRTH DATE AND PLACE
On October the fourth of 1994 at
Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, I was born, two weeks early and scrawny. I lived
in a neighborhood in Lakeside filled with families just like mine – or so I
thought.
FAMILY MEMBERS
When I was two years old, my life
changed. Court was the only place I saw my parents together. My two older
brothers Bryan and Jason tried to hide me from the fighting , keep me from the
pain, and protect me from the life that was about to be mine. My mom and dad,
a.k.a. Debbie and Bill, seemed to be happily married. My dad coached a t-ball
team on the weekends when he wasn’t bidding air conditioning units for his
company. My mom was working at a semiconductor business that designed the
graphics card for the original Xbox. When I was 16 months old, my mom started
having an affair with my dad co-coach for t-ball.
When my dad figured out what was
going on, he confronted my mom leaving me with the only memory I have of my
parents together. My mom is standing back against the front door and my dad is
so close to her face it almost looks like they are one. My mom starts crying
and yelling at my dad to leave her alone, that it was all a huge mistake. When
the moment became too tough to handle, she started hitting herself on the head.
Like a reflex, my dad grabbed her by the wrists and pinned her against the
door. Bryan then picked me up off the living room floor and took me to the play
set in our backyard. That night when my dad came outside to get the boys and me
for dinner, my mom was gone. It was Memorial Day weekend of 1996.
CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL LIFE
The divorce didn’t affect me like
it affected my brother. Bryan had weekly counseling to help him cope with the
pain. He saw everything, clear as day, while I was too young to even know that
this life wasn’t normal. At the age of four, I was kicked out of preschool. The
teachers said I was “too much to handle” and even my parents had trouble
controlling me. I was crazy kid with nothing but a broken heart and broken
home.
After the divorce was finalized
in court, my mom moved in with Brett. My brother recalls telling me that he
never quite understood how his t-ball coach had become his “replacement dad.”
My mom married for the second time to Brett when I was just seven years old.
From that day forward, I wasn’t the youngest of three anymore, I had become the
youngest of six. Brett had three children: Janelle, Eric, and Katrina. Janelle,
the oldest – with an eleven year gap between her and I - , did not like me to
say the least. I got on her nerves more than you can imagine. She and Katrina
eventually moved into their mom’s house full time because they couldn’t stand
having to share a room with me.
In second grade, we had a
spelling test every Friday. My mom had just started going to night school at
Grossmont College so when the teacher asked each of the parents to study the
spelling words with their child, I suddenly had no one to practice with – Eric
had basketball, Bryan was struggling with school and life, and Jason was
focused on soccer. I attempted to study the words and spell them out, but I
could not remember them whatsoever. One Friday in late October I decided that
the only way to pass the spelling test was to cheat. I got caught on the word
lettuce. To me, this was the most difficult word in the entire world to spell.
I swore that I would never cheat again after the soreness in my arm stayed for
days because of my terrible punishment. I had to write “I will NOT cheat on my
spelling tests” 1,000 times.
HOBBIES, INTERESTS, ACTIVITIES
 |
| Me, Jason, Bryan, Savannah (Bryan's better half) |
In seventh grade I started
attending the youth group at my church. I am Southern Baptist and have been
since I was 5. Because my parents were always strict with my brothers and I,
this was the only activity I could partake in at the time. I learned to love it
and it did become my life. I loved the friends I made and wished that the group
had not fallen apart, leaving me and one other person to attend. My sophomore
year was the last year the church had a youth group. In January of my junior
year, I started up a small group with my mentor and four other girls. Although
the group did not last more than 6 months, I still meet with my mentor every
week to discuss my spiritual and teenage life.
When I started working at the age
of 16, I fell in love with shopping. It was not only a hobby but an addiction.
I love clothes, shoes, makeup, accessories, etc. Every paycheck I received was
either spent on gas, food, or “stuff.” The “stuff” I speak of was normally
unnecessary, or never used/worn. I would see a style I liked and buy a t shirt,
but never wear it. At nearly 18 years old, I gave up shopping - I was broke and
had bills to pay. I currently use a weekly planned budget in order to spend and
save my money wisely.
ANECDOTES
One day after 2nd grade Bryan walked me
home; he was in 8th grade at the time. When we got there, we found a shopping
cart in the driveway. My house was under construction at the time and a six
foot tall dirt pile sat in the middle of the driveway. Eric dared Bryan to get
in the cart and go down the hill. When he successfully sped down the mound
without getting hurt, Eric hopped in and they took turns. They chased me around
after they were done having fun; they wanted to scare me by putting me in the cart
and sending me down the pile. I ran around and around before they caught me and
sent me down. I was screaming and yelling, but the adrenaline made it all
worthwhile.
On my trip home from Minnesota in
7th grade, my family and I went to Mount Rushmore. I hadn’t learned all of the
presidents yet, so I had no idea who was on the mountain. I knew that George
Washington and Abraham Lincoln were on there. When my step dad asked me who was
carved into Mount Rushmore, my answer was George Washington, Abraham Lincoln,
Thomas Jefferson, and Bill Clinton. I have never felt more embarrassed or
stupid in my entire life!
Later that year, we went to the
desert for Thanksgiving. We didn’t have any toys, but I enjoyed hiking the
rocky mountains around us. On afternoon, my step dad, my mom, and I went for a
drive in the truck. We explore caves and drove on the dirt paths created my
dune buggies and trailers. When we were about a half mile from the motor home,
my step dad told me to get in the driver seat. I freaked out! I was 13 and I
didn’t know how to drive. As I drove us back to our campsite, I continuously
used both feet; one on the gas, one on the brake. The ride was extremely jerky
and when we got back to the site, Brett told me to pull the truck up to the
side of the motor home. When I finally stopped the truck, I less than 6 inches
away from hitting it.
CAREER
The summer before my junior year
of high school, I started working at Entropic Communications, a semiconductor
business that specializes in home networking systems for cable boxes. Being in
a business setting and having my own desk was the best thing that I could have
asked for. I enjoyed having the flexibility and not having to work on the
weekends. During the summers, I was able to put in 40 hours a week and still
have time for friends and fun. In January of my senior year, I started working
concerts at the San Diego Sports Arena and big events at Qualcomm Stadium for
extra cash. In March, I started another job working at Allstate as a
receptionist and scanner. I enjoy working in non-food or retail related
businesses. I still work all three of these jobs, but I do not plan on this
forever. When I graduate from high school, I would love to attend college for a
bachelor of Business Arts. Following college, I would like to start my own
business or find a job at a corporation.
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