After living in Saint Augustine, we moved to the New Orleans area, in a city called Slidell.  It was neat living in a real state with real heritage, something I never had.

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I started off in a Catholic school in 7th grade, age 12 years old.  I wanted to be in choir, but there wasn't any.  I dreamed away the days on e-mail with people I knew elsewhere and listening to pop, soft rock, and musical theater.

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I went to a public high school, and things became even more real, almost as good as and in some ways better than Saint Augustine.  It was so free.  I was known for being in the most activities and became Junior Class Representative.  I did cross country my 1st 2 of 3 years there, tried to get into soccer 2 years, and was able to do softball my 1st year.

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I started being more conscious of things like my diet when I was almost 16.  By the time I was in college in New Orleans, at Loyola University New Orleans, I was very healthy.  I also exercised.  I did have to go home my 3rd year of college and only had 1 successful year there, but it was one of the best times of my life, too.  I was going for Music Performance and Vocal and Instrumental Music Education.  I took piano, organ, and singing.