I was born at Douglas General Hospital in Douglasville, GA on June 4, 1984. My family lived in Georgia until I was 8 1/2 years old, at which point we moved to Texas because of Dad's job. Let me tell you, I was not a happy camper at having to leave my home, my family, and my friends to go to some weird place where I didn't know anyone. But what can an 8 yaer old do besides pout and have a bad attitude? Nothing, really, but that's what I did for seveal years until I finally got used to Texas and started liking it. Now I wouldn't trade Texas for any state in the world, I think it's the best there is, and there's no way I'd want to move back to Georgia... the traffic gets my blood pressure too high.



  I have two pets: Susanna and Walter. Walter is the easiest one to describe, because he's a fish. He's a Betta and he has a very nice garden apartment that he likes to swim around in.

Susanna is my baby. She's 12 years old in human years and is one of the sweetest dogs you could ever hope to meet. She's a German Shepherd/Husky/Border Collie/Golden Retriever/Lab/Chow/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix and it's entirely possible that there are other breeds in there that we just haven't figured out yet. She hsa a very sweet disposition and even temperament.



I was homeschooled through 10th grade, at which point I started taking some classes at Hilltop Christian Academy (Algebra 1 and Biology). I also played basketball there. I played basketball my sophomore, junior, and senior years in high school. I was also the manager for the guy's basketball team and played volleyball my senior year. I greatly enjoyed my time playing sports even though I wasn't really that good.  During high school, I also participated in the Leander 4-H club. I was elected to several offocer positions during my years there and learned a lot through the Clothing and Textiles project, as well as Foods and Nutrition, and the monthly club meetings were usually very informative as well.


(not our entire class)

The HCA Seniors '02 was a pretty small class. We had 11 people graduate... 4 boys and 7 girls. Having such a small class made for some very interesting times. I personally preferred to hang out with the guys in my class as most of the other girls were pretty snotty and liked causing me trouble. We had some good times though, like when we went to Orlando, FL for our Senior Trip.



In August 2002 I went to what is lovingly known as the armpit of civilization, the booming metropolis of Garden Valley, TX. I was there to spend a year as an undergraduate intern in a one-year internship called the Honor Academy. That was definately one of the best years of my life. We attended classes such as World View, Leadership Lab, Global Perspectives, Character Development, and Chapel. We were also assigned to a core, or a group of 2 - 3 rooms of students (same gender, of course) with 4 - 6 people in a room (we had three-high bunks). We had weekly room meetings and core meetings and occasional functions with our sister core and brother core. The people in those 3 cores became my family and I remain close friends with some of them to this day.

During the year, we were required to participate in Intramural Sports. I played flag football, soccer, basketball, and ultimate frisbee, in addition to refereeing basketball and volleyball. It was a lot of fun with plenty of friendly competition.

The hardest part of the year came in the end of July, 2003. One of my close friends, co-workers, and fellow undergrads, Michael Tackett, was involved in a car wreck that left him in a coma for several days before he passed away. That was really hard to deal with, especially coming a week before he would have graduated with the rest of us. I still remember and miss him often.



After graduating the Honor Academy, I got a job at Chick-fil-A. That, however, would prove to be short-lived. On February 4, 2004 I left Round Rock, enlisted in the US Army, and went to Basic Training at Ft. Jackson, SC. THere I was assigned to 3rd PLT (Bushmasters!!!), A Co. 2/60th INF REGT, 1st BCT BDE, USATC&FJ. I spent 9 weeks in Basic and after graduation went on to Ft. Sam Houston, TX. There, I was assigned to 2nd PLT, B Co. 232nd MED BN, 32nd MED BDE. I spent 16 weeks there in training as a 91W (Combat Medic). After completing all my academic requirements, I was sent to G Co. as a holdover until I could take my PT test (due to bronchitis and pneumonia, the doctors wouldn't let me do any exercise the whole time I was in training). However, I injured my leg (quad splints left mid femur, tendonitis left femoral neck, and a severe muscle strain also on the left) and after 6 months in G Co. and 1 year in the Army, I was MedBoarded out (an honorable medical discharge) and went home once more.



One would think that perhaps after leaving the Army, I would have had some time at home to recuperate and unpack my year's worth of stuff that had accumulated and get reacquainted with life as a civilian, but God had other plans...


This is my grandmother (paternal), Billie Jean Manning O'Neal. The week I came home from the Army, my parents got word that her lung cancer was very bad and she wasn't expected to live past the end of the summer. Mom, Dad, and I packed up and drove out to Aiken, SC to visit her. We were there for a week and then returned to Texas. The day we got back Grandma took a turn for the worse and a few days later she passed away. We picked up my brother at Ft. Hood and drove back to Aiken again, this time for the funeral. After the funeral, my parents and Josiah headed back to Texas and I stayed on in Atlanta visiting family for a few weeks.
 
Grandma was an incredible person. She was in the Air Force when she was young and that's actually where she met Grandpa. She has always remained full of spit, fire, and vinegar. One of my favorite memories of her is from when we took her out to eat one night, I believe it was for her birthday. I had driven the car last and had a Toby Keith cd in the cd player. Dad went to turn it off but Grandma said "No, leave it on, I like this music." and starting singing. When it came to the song "I Wanna Talk About Me" she was belting it out with all her strength. I'll never forget that. Every time I hear that song now I remember Grandma and I think of how lucky I was to know her and to get to see her again before she died. I'll always be glad we made that last trip to visit her when we did instead of putting it off until it was too late. I hope when I go back into the Army to make her proud.

Grandma was survived by her dog Chili, 2 sons, 3 daughters, 1 granddaughter(me), 5 grandsons, and numerous other relatives.



When I finally returned from Georgia I resumed my job at Chick-fil-A. I'm just a lowly Team Member but it's a job. I won't say I love all of it but I enjoy parts of it, such as halloween this year when we ladies on the day crew dressed up as women from the Bible. I enjoy working with my crew on the day; it's like having 8 mothers (including Mom) and 2 pesky older brothers (one who just tries to annoy me and one whom I adore). I don't really get away with anything, between all of those eagle eyes.

I also tutor math at the recruiting station for people who need help passing their ASVAB to get into the Army, volunteer once a week at Agape PRC, and have recently started volunteering at a local fire department. I just started at the FD though so I don'treally know much at all yet. Actually, I'd say I know next to nothing, but that will all come with time.

Well, that's pretty much it for my story. I'm still alive so it's not finished yet, but that's it for now. More to come with time.