Biography: A Second Chance

Being diagnosed with cancer is probably one of the most terrifying, and common, diseases that faces our society today. Relay for Life is an amazing cause fighting for further research and finding a cure for this disease that impacts millions. My grandma was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2001, when I was only two years old. I don't remember anything from that time, but my mom vividly remembers. I hear stories about all the treatments and visits to the hospital. Almost everyone knows someone who has cancer, and people need to do more to find a cure. Relay for Life is one of the most accessible ways we as OU students can do this. The relay is hosted every year on campus and it is an amazing event.

Note: I just wanted to talk about a charity cause close to my heart and my families. I also wanted to encourage my readers to sign up for this event, as every person counts.

(Relay for Life: by me)

Biography: Venezia

Venice, Italy. A gorgeous city full of life and love. I fell in love with the simplicity of the city and the vast historical beauty. From streaming canals every corner to hole in the wall restaurants that are to die for, Venice is the city of love. It is also the city of wine and pasta, the most delicious pasta I have ever had and probably ever will. I found this beautiful flower laying alongside the canal one day and found the color breathtaking. People don't stop and look at the beautiful simplicity of our world and how beautiful mother nature is. Stop and smell the roses every once an a while.

Note: I wanted to share a moment I had in Venice with my reader and how beautiful I found the city and everything that made the city what it is.

(Venice: by me)

Biography: From Beginning to End

It was a rainy afternoon in Houston, around the middle of July. My friends and I were home for the summer from college, where we had all gone completely different directions. Morgan, on the left, decided to go to Winthrop University in South Carolina, while Kat, in the middle, went to Texas A&M. I decided to go to University of Oklahoma so we rarely saw each other. Summer was basically our time together for the year. We were driving around, with no plan in sight, when we had the idea to go to a museum for no reason other than it was raining and it was an indoor activity. The Contemporary Art Museum was the one for us. After hours of exploring every square footage of the museum, we went to dinner at our favorite ramen bar, Jinya. It was the perfect day of pure happiness.

Note: I talked about my college best friends last story lab, so I wanted to talk about my best friends from high school. These girls have been in my life since I was 12 years old and they are still a big part of my life. I love them both so I wanted to share a specific memory of them.

(My friends and I: by me)

Biography: My Best Friends

Every body needs friends. My friends are the people who are my family away from home. I am a student at OU and spend most of my time up in Norman. I rarely see my immediate family, as they live 6 hours away in Houston, Texas. So these girls are my support system. Freshman year was my hardest year, and I can say that the only reason I made it through everything was because of my best friends. From family life to just the every day pressures of college, they were my rocks. I live together now with four of these girls, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Note: My favorite type of story lab is biographies. I like writing about my life, it comes easy and I get to share a part of myself with the readers. For this story, I wanted people to get to know my friends I have made in college. Rather than speak about each of them individually, I wanted to speak of more how they are my support system and how they have helped me get through college.

(My Friends: by me)

Biography: My Best Friend

My little sister, Emma, has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. She's 19, I'm 21, so we are very close in age. Through every thing in life, she has always been by my side. Every mile stone we have hit, we were there for each other. My freshman year of college started off a little rough, and I remember face timing her almost every day for advice or to just have someone to talk to. Emma is the reason I could to the point I am at. We have dreams one day of moving into a loft together in some big city whenever we graduate college. I love her more than anything else and she'll always be my best friend.

Note: I didn't really want to talk about specific experiences with my sister, but focus more on why she is so important to me. Rather than be specific, I wanted to give an abstract painted picture of my sister.

(my sister and me: by me)

Biography: An Italian Paradise

Italy is the country I fell in love with, and it only took two weeks when I was only eighteen years old. I had only ever been out of the country twice, to go to Mexico, so to say the least I had never been so excited. I could have lived without the flight that seemed to last forever, but it was worth it. The trip that inspired me to study their language for two years in college, and the country that drove my passion for culture, food, and fashion. From traveling to Venice, Rome, and cities throughout Tuscany, there isn't a day I don't wish I was back there. The beautiful thing about Italy is that everyone can name multiple cities they have heard of. It is a country of rich history and nature that enamor the tourist that get the opportunity to visit. To the cities I haven't been able to travel to yet in Italy, Florence, Milan, Naples, Sicily, Capri, and many more, I will come back to my home away from home.

Note: I wanted to write my story in the first person point of view so the reader could experience my vacation in a more indulgent manor. But rather the vacation itself, I want the reader to experience the love I developed for Italy from that trip alone. I want the story to come alive and the best way I know how to is to speak to my reader, as if it is written just for them.

(Italian Vineyard by me)

Biography: My Greatest Love Story

(My siblings: a photo from me)

Those three, seemingly normal kids are my absolute world. From left to right, you have Emma, Paul, Ella and then me, Anna. Yes, I am the oldest of four kids and I wouldn't change a single thing about that. We are all seemingly close in age, everyone is about two years apart from the other. I don't think I will ever love anyone as much as I do my siblings. Emma is the strongest person I have ever met in my lifetime and I think I ever will. Paul has the absolute heart of a lion and cares more for anyone than he'll let on. And Ella, she's the one that can put a smile on absolutely anyone's face. I could never write a biography about my life without including these three people. I grew up with them, they were the first people I ever loved other than my parents. They made me into the person I am now and I aspire every day to be more like them. It's hard to explain my bond with them, because I can go days and even weeks without talking to them. They make me laugh harder and louder than I ever thought possible. They are the people I want to be like when I grow up, even though they are younger than me. Every single one of them has their own unique strengths and I am so impressed by their determination daily. There are so many stories I could write or tales I could tell about how strong every single one of them is in their own way. These three humans will be my best friends until I take my last breath and I will love them as long as the stars are burning. 

Author's Note: Instead of telling a typical story from our childhood, I decided to write about my love for my siblings instead. I wanted to take a different approach when telling my story in the hope's that the reader would feel the love I have for them instead of simply reading about it.