She's always worried 'bout things like that.

You know, asking me to write a story about my life is probably the worst assignment I could have ever been given. No, really! It is! But not for the reasons you’re probably thinking. It’s not that I don’t want to do the project – oh no, quite the opposite – it’s that I’m not sure where to start, or how to condense it down into this blog that I’ve been asked to write. My autobiography for Coach Gray’s class was 17 pages, without being as descriptive as I could have been.

The writer in me sobs and begs, but my common sense is muffling it and saying “YOU CAN’T DO THAT AGAIN, JESSICA”, so I’ll do the condensed version, yeah? And tell a story or two.

I was born on one of the hottest days of June in the summer of 1992. It was the 28^th, and I was my mother’s first child. Her name, in case you were curious, is Crystal Hoppes. My dad’s name was Ralph Sroufe (I’ll probably focus more on him later). I was never given much of an opportunity to be an “only child”, since my sister was born a little over a year later. No, I’ve always been the big sister. I’ve heard some things say that the oldest sibling is supposed to be organized and efficient – well, that skipped me. I’m pretty unorganized and more than a little unorthodox with my behavior, particularly in comparison to most teenagers today. I abhor the idea of fitting into a stereotype, although I’m sure I do touch on some of them, and I really am a writer at heart. Literature is my driving passion – heck, I even like grammar! (I like grammar, not grammar worksheets.) I’m always amused beyond belief when people make the assumption that I’m “quiet”, because I’m actually quite far from it. In classes, if I don’t really know people, I tend to just sit back and watch, or confine myself to my desk area. I actually enjoy being around others and interacting quite a lot; anyone in my JROTC platoon will verify that.

So, where to begin? Well, I never went to preschool. I was, however, taught how to read, my ABCs, and my numbers before I started Kindergarten (the result of a young mother who wasn’t sure how much I needed to know). The school in question was Rutherfordton Elementary, although I would start Spindale in second grade, just for a change of pace. It would be in Kindergarten that I’d meet my first friend, an upset little girl on the first day of school. I demanded to know why she was upset, then proceeded to drag her away to play kitchen. Elementary wasn’t dramatically different from middle or high school, simply a younger curriculum. I did AIG in these years, participating in the Creativity section and the Battle of the Books for the first of five times. Once I moved on to middle school, I’d do BoB in 6^th and 8^th, and ICC Challenge in 7^th. And, of course, in 8^th grade, I met my best friend, a Miss Jessica Eberhart. Aside from a name, we both shared a love for reading and for the same television shows. To this day, we’re still tight as ever, and I’m sure her name will come up again.

So… That’s through 8^th grade, yeah? :D Awesome. For now, everyone, salut, ciao, sayanora, adios, au revoir, goodbye.