My name is Amanda, like many who read and write in The Odyssey I am an individual trying to find a voice and make a difference. I would always read articles on the Odyssey but I never believed I would be able to step out of my shell enough to write for a website that everyone looks at. Like many people my childhood was rocky and consisted of many barriers that could have prevented me from getting to where I am now. Since this is my first paper to the Odyssey I would like to make it a bit personal in all honesty, I mean you will be hearing from me for the years to come so why not get to know me a bit. I grew up in a small town and was a huge introvert due to my rough young childhood. Went through the typical awkward middle school phase, braces, frizzy hair, borderline poverty family, the whole deal. High school came around and my braces were removed, the nightmare from my childhood had left and I was looking towards the future. The town I grew up in never fit my personality or where I wanted to be in life and after an incident of bullying I was moved to a brand new high school towards the very end of my sophomore year. This new school was just the beginning phase of who I was going to grow up to be. Here is where it gets interesting or as I like to call it, here is where it begins to sound like a fairytale. On the first day of my new school I walked into my math class and saw that there was one empty desk in the dead middle of all football players. Little did I know one of them would end up being my first love as well as first heartbreak. We became the typical high school couple, he was a football player and I was a cheerleader. Right before my senior year started we decided to split due to the fact I was going to college soon and he did not want to tie me down. That heartbreak was a life event that I now believe needed to happen. The emotional toll this separation took on me made me begin pushing myself as hard as I ever have and still continue to do so to this day. Ever since I was in third grade I knew I wanted to go to Rollins and throughout high school I was not sure college was meant for me. I disliked school greatly and seemed to lack drive to go above and beyond my potential. If it wasn’t for him and other obstacles within my childhood showing me how strong of a woman I can be and the support of my mother I would not be here writing this little autobiography to you guys. Honestly, besides letting you guys in on a bit of my background I also wanted to make it known that if you went through a hard time or are currently going through one, it does not stay like that forever. Things do get better and there is always a lesson, whether good or bad that can be taken away from an experience.