Come on, get real . .  .

    My reality is whatever I am engulfed in at the moment. It's the people I see, the places I go, and how it all affects me. It's my own slice of heaven, if you will. When I was a little girl, my reality, probably described now as distorted, was that the world was full of good people like in the Disney movies. I thought that everyone got married and they were a nobody unless they had kids (and kids that were around my age of course). I remember thinking that every day was a day for playing, watching Barney, and having snuggle time with my mom in the early afternoon. As I grew older, my reality, like my body, changed.
     As a young girl I lived through my imagination. I would make up imagination friends as well as whole scenarios for my Barbies, Polly Pockets, and cabbage patch kids. I used to hang out a good bit with friends as well, however, as I was the only one home when my sisters went to school during the day, I thoroughly enjoyed just exploring my house. I thought my house was this vast mansion that had to be discovered (kind of like the Indiana Jones movie . . . ). When it was finally time for me to go to school, I told my mom to "get over it and invite a friend over because I have to see what this school thing is all about." Little did I know, my reality changed yet again.
     As a school girl, every day was filled with lots of other kids. I learned that there was a whole world outside of my house. I discovered reading, writing, but, my favorite, math. I would try to count everything. I became obsessed with numbers and never could read enough. My mom would literally have to pry the books from my hands at night. My mind was so inquisitive and just wanted to learn more.
       Throughout the rest of my childhood and preteen years, my reality changed again, but some things remained constant. I remained engulfed in my family, in the catholic church, and my schoolwork. Those three things alone were the most important to me. I would focus on it every day.
    Now, my reality as a college student, is trying to keep scholarships and work every day towards my dream of becoming a pediatrician. I try to surround myself with good people and fill my time with things that will make me succeed in life (good friends, reading, doing research, etc). Every day, I wake up, look at my English homework online, eat some cereal, and attempt to do it accurately. Then, I'll usually watch whatever show I'm addicted to on Netflix (right now it's How I met your Mother). Next, I'll usually run some errands, go to lunch, read the news, and finally work out. Oh, and sometime during the day I call my mother before going to work at 5pm. Yup, that's who I am right now. I live in the moment, do spontaneous things. For instance, last night I just randomly decided to go on an adventure exploring Clemson at midnight with two girlfriends of mine. Right now, being 19, I feel like I should do everything possible to experience everything I can; when my friends ask me to go on a hike, I almost always say yes; I jumped off a 20 foot rock a few weeks ago into the water just because I could; I flew an airplane; I went to my first blacklight party. I feel like in this time of my life, it's important to find out who I am and plan for the future. So, I guess my reality is living for the now and experiencing everything college has to offer me.