Where I’m at

Where I’m at has been influenced by where I have been. I also believe that where I’m at just doesn’t relate to location, but also to where I’ve been emotionally, and the people who have influenced me throughout my life.

I’ve been with my family for fifteen years and three hundred and forty two days. I grew up acting as an only child. My brothers are ten and twelve years older than me and left the house while I still was young. I had an easy home life and was as happy as can be. I played sports with most of my free time and would have play dates with my friends whenever possible. My family never seizes to be there to look out for me, and I have seen nothing but continued support from them in anything that I aspire to do.

I’ve been at AHS, the place I not only called school for eleven years, but what I also called “home”. Everything I was revolved around AHS. My friend group stopped at the maximum of forty-two kids (the number of kids I graduated with). I learned values there that I would take out from AHA to use in high school, and I developed the typical parochial school kid social ability. I come from a school where everyone knew the business of everyone, and everyone’s brother. AHS tried to teach me to be myself; even though that is the last place where I would even try to be anything close to that. You were what your friends made you.

I’ve been at OPRF, where I really grew a sense of self awareness. I realized that the friends I made at AHS were not the kind of people that I would like to affiliate myself with, mainly because they expected this altered “Annie” that I just couldn’t be for them anymore. OPRF really brought out who I really am. I have grown in confidence and have friends that like me for who I truly am. OPRF gave me a chance to meet my wonderful boyfriend, who admires me for who I am, and knows me better then I may even know myself. OPRF gave me a chance to open up as the leader that I really am. It gave me a chance to play on two sports teams and be able to influence people not only on the court, but also in a regular school day.

I’ve been at my youth group (TEAM), where I have developed several amazing bonds with several amazing people. TEAM gives me the chance to express my emotions in a positive way and learn to not only cope with my own problems, but also help others cope with their problems in a healthy way. TEAM has given me a better sense of self awareness in knowing who I really am, and being able to understand why I act the way I do. Team has made me an outgoing person, where coming from Ascension I was afraid to act the way I wanted to act.

I’ve been at ASP (Appalachian Service Project), where I’ve learned to take the focus off of myself and learn how to care about others. I went to not only help build and restore a house for another family, but also grow in trust and build a relationship with that family. ASP helped me realize how lucky I am in life, and that I have so much more to offer to others then I give myself credit for.

I’m at a point in my life now where I am constantly making decisions for myself. Both at the same time I could be wondering what I want for dinner and also where I want to go to college. Where I’m at is trying to figure out where I fit in, in this huge world. I know that I have many talents and that I just need to find where my abilities will best be suited for. This is where I was, where I’m at, and where I will be. Just me.