Tag, I'm It

I've been tagged by Kari Elizabeth...

10 years ago: I was at the frail age of 11 years old. Ah yes, after counting back to my 11th year, I have learned that I had just finished fifth grade. Fifth grade was my first year at Larson Academy of Mathematics and Science (preppy, I know. I actually made it sound better than it really is.), and I was preparing for my sixth-grade year of total domination over the school. This was probably the summer when my mom went out of town during my cheerleading tryouts, so Keesha Holbrook did my hair all curly, neatly topped with a huge bow. I believe it was that year of tryouts that I forgot the cheer and started to cry. I also landed on my head when I did my back handspring, but then again I always did that during tryouts because I was so nervous. The judges had such sympathetic looks on their faces when I couldn’t remember the moves, and they even started to do the motions for me to follow. Somehow I still made the squad, and I’ve been a cheerleader ever since!

5 years ago I was, well, two seconds ago I lied about being a cheerleader ever since. My cheering days ended in sixth grade. Now, five years ago I was a fresh 16-year-old with the sole purpose of dating and driving in mind. Ah ha, now that’s a joke if I ever heard one. I did not want to have anything to do with driving. In fact, every time I was forced to drive, I would say a quick prayer that I wouldn’t die. Now, other cars on the road are praying when they see me coming. I had just finished my sophomore year in high school, and I believe if we’re talking about 5 years ago exactly to date, I would be in summer school right now. I would have been taking world history at this time, if my mind serves me correctly. I was the geek who took summer school so that I would have an open class period during the regular school year to add an additional class to my schedule. What can I say? I was just a violin-playing, homework-loving athlete who didn’t have enough time! Nothing’s really changed since then.

5 months ago it was January 17, and I had just started my favorite semester at school. Two of my roommates had just moved out, and I was really bummed to see them go—we had lived together for a year and a half and were neighbors the year before that. Like always, I got two new wonderful roommates—they had just gotten off their missions two months prior to moving in. I’m 21 and have already had 17 roommates: Carrie, Karen, Shannon, Karissa, Andelyn, Patricia, Stacy, Heather, Kelli, Lizzie, Allison, Ashlee, Berkeley, Kathleen, Becki, Corey, and Jennie. Plus, I’m getting two new ones this semester!

5 things on my to-do list: (1) read many of the classics (I have a long list); (2) write letters to friends in Brazil and Australia; (3) keep sweet-talking my hair to grow faster; (4) do undercover work for my internship and get really fat and poor in the process (top secret—sorry I can’t reveal more); (5) study for a special test (also can’t share at this time)

5 snacks: (1) peanut-butter crackers, (2) blackberries, (3) Special K bars, (4) Slim Fast (takes me back to my high school days) knock-offs, (5) chocolate-chip cookies or muffins that are just sitting around on the counter

5 billionaire things: (1) take the whole family on a 2-week cruise; (2) buy a houses in both Texas and Colorado to be by my siblings; (3) travel around all the continents for entire summers at a time; (4) have a permanent private jet and pilot so that I can fly anywhere at any time; (5) tuck most of it away for charity and retirement

5 places I have lived . . . : (1) Texas, (2) Utah, (3) Puerto Rico, . . . or intend to live: (4) California, (5) another city in Texas

5 things you might not know: (1) I am deathly allergic to cats and some dogs; (2) I am terrified of dogs (but not Harley and all those dogs out there that are my pals); (3) I had braces for about 7 years, got my wisdom teeth out when I was in 8th grade, had 11 teeth pulled at the oral surgeon, had my gums cut so that teeth would come through, and have been dubbed one of the hardest patients Dr. Ellis has ever worked on; (4) my eyes start watering when I have to make eye contact with someone for a period of time (usually when I’m nervous or feel like I can’t look away), which makes any type of interview very embarrassing for me because I usually have to resort to explaining that I have very sensitive, dry eyes yadda yadda (literally a sob story); (5) I do impersonations a lot and am rather good at it, if I say so myself. Some of my most famous impersonations include my Beijing tour guide’s accent (Tracy), Kip from Napoleon Dynamite, and the British boy from the YouTube video “Charlie bit my finger!” Now that I think of it, I really do get regular requests for these. My parents and siblings are the only ones who know the Tracy accent, so sometimes they ring up an order. My best friends from high school ask for the Kip impersonation—I remember Annie always asking for it on bad days in calculus. And my college friends ask for the Charlie accent. In fact, my friend begged me to do this one in front of his really handsome roommate, and my cheeks probably turned more than a little rosy.

5 people I tag: Jordan, Cali, Karissa, Kelli, Ali B.