Hey there, you! You have stumbled upon my first Odyssey post! As per the norm, I am writing my mini-biography post first. THEN, if you decide to hang around, we'll get to the good, feel-y, and occasionally funny stuff. 

Without further ado, let's get this party started. 

1. My name is Marissa Merve. No, Merve is not my last name, but it is my middle name. I thought it would be a tad more professional as well as providing me a hint of anonymity.

2. I am currently a college student looking to go back to high school. Yes, you read that right. No, I am not insane! Well, maybe a little. I am actually a Secondary Social Studies Education major at Charleston Southern University and I am looking forward to graduating in the Spring of 2019! I am exceptionally passionate about education and its many facets, I could talk about education ALLLL DAYYYY LONGGG. I love History and the many Social Sciences that come with my degree, it really is a passion of mine, it is a nerdy passion.

3. I love puns. I am punny. My posts will have puns, play on words, allegories, references, the whole sha-bang. It's the simple things that make life worth living. 

4. No, I am not single. I will likely chronicle parts of my relationship throughout, especially in regards to our adventures and such. His name is Auzzie (not providing a last name, nice try). He has been a friend of mine for 10+ years, it's actually insane. He cute though. 

5. I have the best fur baby in the history of fur babies. Her name is Luna (or Luna baby, or Princess-baby-of-all-of-the-babies, or Satan). She is my first dog ever actually, so the first love is there. She is a Siberian Husky on the outside and mini human on the inside. I love her so much. Don't let my baby talk confuse you; she is turning 5 in August (insert cringe here).

6. I bring diversity to the table as a teacher, student, writer, and reader. I am a Turkish-Mexican-Hungarian-German-American (and that is just what we know by ear). The Turkish mix is from my mom, who is amazing, and will likely be in several posts (if I can keep it together). The rest is from my birth dad. He will be noted in at least one eventual post. Just not this one. The point of all this is to say that I bring diversity, with that, alternative perspectives, lives, and experiences. I hope to supply this for you. 

7. My writing style will be different. I have always been an avid writer, but I wrote poetry for so long that my writing style is poetic (as in allegory, metaphor, unnecessary commas for effect, that sort of thing). I will try my best to get better at this, of course. I also kind of pull a "stream of consciousness" in regards to writing, so again, bear with me. 

8. Why am I writing, you ask? That is a good question! I have always loved writing, especially poetry. I have always seen it as an outlet for me, an escape if you will. Writing was something that I could get lost in. As an art student in high school, creativity always took you an extra mile, and if you could rustle up some creativity, you are a quarter of the way there. I am hoping that the same thing would apply here too. 

9. I have my fair share of demons. It's another reason I am here. We all have demons, I know that. Some people have more than others, but we all have them. Those thoughts and memories that keep us awake at night, willing or not. The little man on our shoulders. That weight of the world that like Atlas, you cannot drop. Which is another reason that I am writing here; a therapeutic vent. I feel that it is helpful to get the words out, even if no one reads them. You read them. You read every letter, every syllable, every word and sentence. You read them as you type down the line. For me, just that is enough. 

So welcome, reader! That is just a little bit about me. I hope it wasn't TOO painful, I tried to keep it short. Of course, this is not everything about me. That would take too much time. It is a little snippet, just enough "to wet the tongue" as my little brother used to tell me. (I have a little brother, by the way). 

Thank you for reading this, my friend. We will talk again soon. 

Marissa Merve.