Who Am I?

               A question that always gets asked, yet is difficult to respond to. The question is only three insignificant words, yet the answer is so much more. The answer tells a story; not just any story, but a story about someone’s life. What are their likes and dislikes, what do they do with their free time, what makes them…them? My name is Shelby and I live in a house. I drive (and proudly own) my very own truck. I have one brother and one dog (so two animals). But lots of people are named Shelby. Lots of people live in houses and drive trucks and have brothers and dogs. So what makes me Me?

                I am a hardworking student who is actively involved in speech and multiple AP classes.

                I am the only human I know who messes up Mac and Cheese nearly every time I make it.

                I am fearless, unless it involves spiders, snakes, creepy crawlers, horror movies, horror stories, looking in mirrors in the middle of the night, clowns…

                I am a best friend, and probably an enemy (I wouldn’t know…I assume if I have enemies they don’t talk to me…)

                I am a huge Josh Hutcherson fan. Not gunna lie, I’m obsessed. It’s a problem; only to everyone else though, I am totally okay with being obsessed with someone I will probably never ever in my entire life meet.

                I am trying to drag this out and make it 400 words.

                I am honest. If you don’t believe me, reread the last two paragraphs.

                I am in love with fried pickles. They are little slices of deep fried bliss dipped in creamy ranch dressing.

                I am the next American Idol. Just kidding, I only sing in the shower or in my car when I’m alone; if you are ever in hearing distance and I happen to be singing, I recommend ear plugs.

                I am the next Dancing with the Stars champion. Again, I’m kidding. I have two left feet. My idea of dancing is jumping up and down and laughing at myself.

                I am a person who balls her eyes out during movies. Dear John, The Last Song, and Marley and Me make me choke up every single time I watch them.

                So see? There are so many things that make me who I am. I am not just one small tiny thing. I am many things put together to make one awesome, incredible, spectacular me. Most of the things listed above could pertain to countless other people as well, but all together these are the things that make me, and only me, who I am.

(442 words)

His Life with Asperger's

            Once upon a time, in the magical world called Wisconsin, there lived a young boy named Julian. He was a fearless boy, full of imagination and wonder, and the energy to go on and bring the figments of his imagination to life. It wasn’t as easy as he thought though, and part of this was due to the fact that Julian was born with Asperger’s Syndrome.

            Asperger Syndrome is a form of autism, which affects how an individual communicates and socializes with others. Julian has trouble talking to others and asking for help. When I was younger, I would express my imagination with others, building things and creating another world where we made the rules and no one could tell us what to do. It wasn’t just me who was building this new nation; it was a few people all contributing their ideas to form one big idea. The way Julian’s mind works, he would rather work independently rather than in a group. If he didn’t know how to make something work, he would try to figure it out on his own rather than ask for help.

            Julian is quick. Not as in the “I-can-run-faster-than-you-way”, but in the “my-brain-fires-quicker-than-yours-way.” You ask him a question and almost instantly he will give you an answer. If you’re like me, you sit there and think about the question, hesitate before you give an answer. Julian isn’t like that- his reaction time is quicker. Sometimes I wish I was as fast answering homework questions as he is…things would get done a lot quicker, that’s for sure!

            I’ve known Julian for as long as he’s been alive: he is my cousin. I’ve been given the chance to witness how he has grown as an individual, and to learn that having a disorder isn’t the end of the world. Julian is eight years old and has already made more progress towards overcoming his asperger’s than any of us ever thought was possible. He is now a social individual who loves to learn and try to new things- at one point all we could do was dream that this would become reality. And now that it has, I’ve realized something: you don’t need to be perfect for people to care about you and to be able to do what you really want to do. If you set your mind to it, anything is possible- just ask Julian.

(400 words)