I am... trying to start this post good, but I am really confused. So I'll just write without stopping, and see what comes out (let's hope it's not too bad)... I am Elizabeth. My friends call me Liz, but all my family calls me Elizabeth. I use my full name for school and for my music life. For the past few years, I have spent a lot of time on stage. I am a musician, and my job is to practice, rehearse with the orchestra, and perform for the audience. My full name feels more real for the world than a nickname... It's hard to explain, so I hope you're getting my drift. Therefore when I'm on stage with my cello, I want to seem professional, so I use my full name. One of my best friends even uses her middle name as well! So that's just a little something about me, and I even slipped in what I enjoy the most and spend my extra time doing: playing music.

I am not entirely made of music. Yes, it's a huge part of my life, but it's not everything about me. So I'd like to reveal something to you. That is that I actually have never really told anyone of my dream for when I grow up. My dream is to leave America and go to Europe, where I really belong. I feel so much at home there when we visit my family in England, Ireland, and Italy a few times every year. I don't know why I prefer it over there-- It may be because everyone over there is as pale as me (haha), but one of the biggest reasons I love visiting my family members in England is that they all live next to fields where cows and sheep graze. I feel so peaceful when I drive by those fields. Of those fields I'll always have a lasting impression in my mind. But probably the main reason I want to go to Europe is because that is where my parents worked for years, and that is where they met. There's something nice knowing that the family that lives in my house originated from there.

I am always inspired by my parents. I feel like I have to tell the world what they have done because their choices in life have led them to living happy. My dad was in the Peace Corps, 3 years as a trainee and 1 year as a trainer. He even wrote a book on how to train people in the Peace Corps. When I was little, he used to tell stories of his adventures in Cameroon, Africa every night at the dinner table. When I was young, it was my dream to follow in my father's footsteps. I still feel that dream now, ten years later. But my ideas of who I am and will I become are so mixed up. I want to do so much in life; I want to write books, I want to play music, I want to help poor countries... I want to have the whole world at my fingertips for eternity so I can fulfill every dream I've ever had. But that isn't possible. I wonder every day who I will be in 5 years, where I will be, and what I will be doing. I wish there was a time machine that could show me what I will choose for my whole life's passion, just so I can get a head start now. But that isn't possible because I can be anything I want to be in the world of today. If I work hard and believe in myself, then I know I will succeed at anything, but the problem is knowing what path is best to take in this dark forest we call time. My mum is my drive; She is always pushing for me to do my best so I can have the best in life. I love the dreams my parents have instilled in me, but there is only so much they can do to push me to my goals. I know that the work's not halfway done, and I have the rest of my life to climb the ladder to achieve whatever I will become... I just wish I knew what.

I am looking out my kitchen window right now, and I see that there are two tomatoes sitting on my windowsill. To others it is odd, but I have seen them there for the past week. On the kitchen floor are bowls of eaten catfood, which I will clean up later. My phone is buzzing with texts from friends, wondering what to do for this assignment. I have homework piled neatly (a first for me at the beginning of the school year) on the side of the table. The lights are dim, and the AC is making annoying noise in the other room. This is my life. I appreciate it everyday. When I watch Television shows and see people die, I continue the next day with a brighter approach to life. However normal or crazy my life may be, this is it. I have to make the best of it, and love it like every minute is my last moment. The sun has set already, and the chicken is cooking in the oven. Maybe tonight at dinner, I'll talk to my family about my plans for the future, and tell them again how much I love them. I have come this far, and I am proud of where I stand. I see people in the hallways at school and I smile because I know that all of you are just where I am... and heading to where we all want to be in life, even if it is confusing now... I know we will all make it through.