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Constant Stress, Prenatal
While my mother was pregnant with me, she was always very stressed about many things, mostly concerning how she would be as a mother and how I would grow up. She actually locked herself in the bathroom one day during pregnancy and was crying because she thought I would grow up to be a heroin addict, get arrested, maybe even murdered, and other things. -
Tacos All the Time, Prenatal
My mother, while she was pregnant with me, loved tacos. She had them all the time. It was actually a running joke at my dads work because almost every day he would bring to work, as his lunch, taco salad (leftovers from tacos the night before). I think because she was so obsessed with them while she was pregnant with me, I have actually grown to love them. Tacos are a food I will never turn down. -
Fathers Care, until 2 weeks old
My mother, after 36 hours of labor, had to have an emergency Caesarean section. Because of that, she was bed ridden for two weeks after my birth. During those two weeks, my father was my primary care taker. That was when a lot of the initial bonding happened between me and him. -
First Steps, 11 months
At 11 months old, an average age, I took my first steps. I remember talking about this to my dad and he said that both he and my mom starting crying when I started walking because they were so excited. As their first born, they'd never experienced it before so it was a big step in all three of our lives. -
Enrolled in Daycare, Age 2
When both of my parents started working again, they needed someone to watch over me during the day. Rather than higher a babysitter every week day, they decided to enroll me in daycare. It was here where I had my first memory. I was in line waiting to get orange juice before recess. It was my turn to get juice and she said I couldn't have any because I had juice on my upper lip. I tried explaining to her that I had juice with breakfast, but she still refused to give it to me. -
Bladder Trained, Age 2
At the age of three, one day I came up to my parents, looked at them and said, "I don't want to wear Pull-Ups anymore. I want big boy underwear." After that, I never had an accident again. Never even wet the bed. -
First House, Age 3
This was abigger step for my parents than myself. Through the help of my grandparents, my mom and dad were able to purchase their first actual house. I do actually have many memories in that house, though. We lived in that house when my sister was born. -
ADHD Diagnosis, Age 7
In 2002 I was diagnosed with ADHD. I had to undergoe many tests and evaluations, but thanks to my teacher at the time, this was noticed very early. I was put on medication almost immideately: Adderall to be specific. This really halped me to focus in school a lot more and actually helped me bring my grades up (not that it mattered much in elementary school). -
Stopped going to Church, Age 10
When my family and I moved to Colorado in 2005, we stopped going to church mainly because we believed that the church had much different views than my parents did. Other small reasons, but I believe that was the big one. I think that has greatly impacted who I am today. I've formulated my own opinions about most things, when I'm not sure if that would have happened if we had continued to go to church. -
ADHD Medication Changed, Age 11
At the age of 11, my parents and teachers were noticing that my productivitiy levels were going down and that it was getting harder for me to concentrate in school. So we went to the doctor to see what was wrong and he simply said that we needed to changed the medication and dosage. So I was moved to Adderall XR and bumped up on my dosage. This ended up resolving all of my problems. -
First Pair of Glasses, Age 13
For a little while I had been noticing that I was having some difficulty seeing things on the white board. Because of this, I asked to be seated at the front of the classroom, but that didn't change much. I told my parents about it and it turned out that I was near sighted and needed glasses or contacts to help me see better. Because I didn't like the idea of sticking my finger in my eye I decided to go with glasses and I still wear glasses sometimes, but I've changed to primarily using contacts -
First Play, Age 14
This was an event that changed my life completely. After I had finished opening night, I came out to the lobby, went over to my parents and I had the biggest goofiest smile on my face. It was int that moment that I knew I would continue to do act for a very long time. And today, six years later, I am working on completing an Acting Major. -
First Year of Wrestling, Age 14
This was a very important year for me. I learned a lot about dedication and hard work during this wrestling season. However, I wouldn't continue with it after that year because I found theatre, had I not discovered theatre, I would have continued to wrestle through most if not all of high school. -
Mr. Hazen's Death, Age 15
This was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through. Mr. Hazen was my 7th grade social studies teacher and he was the greatest man I had ever met. He was funny, laid back, very easy to talk to, and he always had my back when it came to bullies. He passed away November 19, 2010 from brain cancer. Until the day of his death, he was so strong and always the same funny guy I met in 7th grade. He taught me more than words can ever say. -
ADHD Medication Changed again, Age 16
Just like what had happened to me the last time five years ago, I was starting to struggle more in school, but this time I recognized it and said I need a higher doseage again (which happened many other times before). This time when we went to the doctor, he said that my dosage was actually so high that I couldn't go any higher, so we changed brands. This time to Vyvanse. This was one of the better changes in medication. It stabilzed my appetite a lot more and was beneficial in many other ways. -
High School Graduation, Age 17
This was definitely one of the bigger points of my life. I believe it was when I took my first step into adulthood. For a while, I wasn't sure if I would be able to graduate because my grades weren't very good. But moving my tassle during graduation gave me chills. That was one of the biggest accomplishments of my life to that point and I know it has changed me forever.