novelwriter , 25

ADD vs. ADHD
-Diagnosed with ADD at age 9.
-Prescribed medication with strange side effects.
OCD vs. POCD
-Never official diagnosed.
-Symptops of both, mostly Pure-O.
DERMATILLOMANIA (CSP-COMPULSIVE SKIN PICKING)
-No official diagnosis.
-Began in junior year of high school. (As far as I remember.)
-No medications or cure that I'm aware of.
EMOTIONAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE
-Dating in high school.
-High pressure for sex.
-Taken for granted.
-Finally free...well, almost.
-Over It.

On Wednesday, my dad and I went to Discovery Cove to use the passes I had gotten for my birthday. We got up there around 9, but we had to wait almost an hour for Mark, an employee to show up and allow us the employee discount. We couldn't have afforded the day at Discovery Cove otherwise. (Mark is also the brother of my sister's boyfriend, thus how we know him.) We got our passes rather quickly once Mark arrived, and headed over to where they were serving breakfast. It was alright, I had an apple crisp and part of a stale cheese danish. I didn't finish it, for obvious reasons--who wants to eat stale food? But I had also eaten some toast before leaving the house so I was plenty fed.

After breakfast, we went and got swimming vests provided to us, along with snorkeling gear and towels. We walked over to the beach and watched a little bit of the morning dolphin swims (mine was scheduled for the afternoon, so we had plenty of time to kill) before heading over the blue bridge to where there three different pools. The first one we went into was the lagoon where we did some snorkeling. It took me a while to actually get into the pool since the water was COLD. Once I got used to the water, I swam around to see all the fish and stingray sitting on the bottom. It was very cool, a stingray actually swam right underneath me at one point. They also had an area where you could see some baracuda and nurse sharks behind glass windows. I was very happy that the sharks were behind glass windows--although I don't think I saw any of them. I did see some of the baracuda though.

Once we got tired of snorkeling in the lagoon, we headed over to where you're welcome to pet the stingrays. My dad 'pet' a few of them although I was rather prone to flinching everytime one came near my legs. (I wasn't the only one freaking out either, plenty of other visitors were shrieking too.) I did manage to brave touching one as we walked out of the pool and over to the heated pool. The heated pool only contained people and was very warm. It also had a section of what seemed to be a very slow lazy river through an aviary. We saw a few birds, as well as some cute lifeguards, although I couldn't give you names of the birds. I do know one was a spoonbill, but that's the only one I know for certain.

After doing the lazy river, my dad and I headed over to lunch. I got some chicken fingers while he got a hamburger. I didn't eat very much, I think I was too anxious and excited for my dolphin swim at that point. Or maybe I was just having too much fun....or all of the above. XD. After lunch, we still had about an hour to kill before my scheduled dolphin swim time. We sat on one of the dolphin beach under a shaded umbrella where my dad took a short nap while I watched the dolphin swims in progress.

At 2:30, I headed over to the Sand Dollar Cabana because it was finally my turn to get in the water with the dolphins!! Before we got wet though, we had to sign a one page waiver and then viewed a short three minute video about the dolphin encounter at Discovery Cove. We were then seperated into four different groups: A, B, C, and D. I was in Group B. Groups B and D were taken out onto the dolphin beach first and seperated into two groups, group B and group D. There was about eight people in each group, and the first thing we did once in the water was meet our dolphin. We had Tyler, and he was so cute. (I'd probably say that about any dolphin though..)

We learned a few different signs which led Tyler into a couple of different tricks he was trained to do then took turns going over and giving him kisses and hugs. Once we had all had our chance to do that, those that weren't afraid to tread water in the twelve foot deep water swam over and tread water while Tyler took them one by one back to the shallows. I stayed in the shallow water since I'm not a very strong swimmer, though I can swim. I just don't feel very confident in my swimming abilities. Once all the strong confident swimmers had been brought back to the shallows, it came down to me and one other little girl who was a little scared of Tyler. I went first, putting a had on his fin and his flipper and then riding a few feet over to where he'd taken each of the previous persons.

After everyone had had a turn 'swimming' with the dolphin, we learned a few more signs and led him into some more tricks while each dolphin took turns showing off to their group, doing a flip or two. Once everyone had shown off, they went and did some group jumps together. Then he came over and the trainer showed him another signal. He promptly swam over and splashed all of us. I think I got the most of that splash since he was right in front of me when he did that....but it was really cool all the same.

After the dolphin swim, my dad and I went over to the lagoon where I did a little bit more snorkeling while my dad took pictures. I didn't go too far since I was by myself in the lagoon, but I did see some more fish and stingray (obviously...they were all over the lagoon). I was pretty tired after all of the days activities at that point so I went and took a shower (my dad had already showered and changed during my dolphin swim). I then returned my gear to the proper places and we headed for home.

It was a very wonderful experience, swimming with the dolphin. I never wanted to leave the pool--of course I never do. At SeaWorld the only thing I do is stand by the dolphin tank. It's experiences like this where I wonder if I should study marine biology, but I really don't know. I've always, always, told people I wanted to be a fashion designer which I do and so that's what I've always aspired to and I don't really see my desire to study fashion design subsiding anytime soon. I really do love both. Of course with marine biology, it doesn't just cover studying dolphin behaviors but all marine wildlife..and some of it I just don't wanna know, you know?

I was finally able to finish and send my Statement of Purpose to O'More yesterday. That leaves me with requesting my high school and college transcripts, and completing my portfolio for review. My portfolio is almost completed, I just need to finish coloring in a few of the sketches. I've never really had my sketches reviewed before and I am nervous as heck because I've got my heart set on going to O'More. When I first applied, I told myself not to go and get my hopes up. It's too late for that now; I don't want to go anywhere else. I really hope they enjoy my designs since I'm doing the best I can with the skills I have.

1. Students are attracted to the field of design for a variety of reasons. Why do you wish to become a designer?

2. A focused vision of your future is what will set you apart as a successful designer. What is your vision for your design career?

3. Society is increasingly aware of the importance of design in making our world a better place to live. As a successful designer, what benefits would you hope to be able to provide to society, the environment, or humanity?

{Why do I want to become a designer?}

{What is my vision for my design career?}

{As a successful designer, what benefits would you hope to be able to provide to society, the environment, or humanity?}

I think my greatest joy in life is to draw and create pieces of art. I mainly stick to a few crafty projects like cross-stitching and fashion design, but I do enjoy just about every art form I've ever attempted: painting, sculpting, acting, dancing, singing, drawing, etc. The list could go on for quite awhile. I'm currently in the process of getting started at the Academy of Design and Technology here in Orlando where I will hopefully be majoring in fashion design. That something I've wanted to do since I was a young girl, and I imagine it will be a very fulfilling career for what I'd like to accomplish in my life.

My greatest sorrow is that I spent the majority of my life in solitude. I didn't have many friends in middle and high school, in fact there are very few people from high school I still talk to. I don't know where my middle school friends have ended up, but I hope it's where they want to be right now. I'm thankful that I have friends to lean on when I'm going through difficult situations now, but I would have loved to have had that growing up. I spent my adolescence in a great deal of depression, and I think a lot of the depression would have been more bearable had I friends to talk with about what was bothering me.

So what is your greatest joy and greatest sorrow?