the rest of the stories

5. In seventh grade I had my first crush on a teacher. My history teacher was from Colorado and was 26. I usually bought little gifts for my teachers and I insisted that I buy him a teddy bear and some candy for Valentine's Day. So lame. (age 12)

6. This one time at my dad's house in St. Louis I saw a bunny hop across the front yard. I was determined to catch it so I ran outside. I instead found a group of baby bunnies near a tree and got even more excited. I managed to grab one of them and I was holding it so tightly I almost killed it. My dad came outside and told me to put the bunny down because I was squeezing it too much. It was so soft and fluffy that I just wanted to hold on to it. I have yet to catch another bunny. Though I did get close when I was at The Dallas Arboretum a few weeks ago. I found a rabbit that was hopping around by the wild flowers on the southside. I nearly stroked his back. I named him Oliver at the time.(age 6)

7. I remember going on my first Valentine's date in high school. This friend of mine had asked me out to dinner and my mom insisted that she escort us. He attended a private boys school in town and they were not allowed to drive. I was just 16. I remember being so mortified. We never hung out after that. (age 16)

8. This one winter my brother and I were walking our collie Chivas. It had been snowing and all the light poles were iced over. My brother some how tricked me into licking the light pole and my tongue got stuck. I tried to pull it away and it wouldn't come off. He ended up having to tear it off to get me away from the pole. (age 10)

9. I had this nylon nightgown that I would put over my pillow at night to sleep. It was an actual nightgown and parts of it were torn and so I would run around with it around my neck like a cape. We had stairs that opened into the living room. Sometimes I would jump over them and then fly over the couch. It always made my mom laugh. Especially this one time when the nightgown got caught on the staircase handle and I choked a little as I hit the floor. (age....surprisingly old)

10. I did a lot of acting when I was younger. By acting I mean "Duet Acting" and "Group Improvisation." This one year I was Alladin and got "Best Actress" in a regional acting competition. All of the groups who had placed were on the stage when they announced the best actor/actress. They mispronounced my name so I was up there looking around at who they were talking about. There was silence. Very awkward silence. I finally made eye contact with my mom who was sitting up front and she was pointing at me. I pointed to myself and said loud for everyone to hear with a confused expression, "ME?" My mom knodded her head with a silent chuckle. Everyone laughed and I went to the podium to get my trophy. (age 11)