Only five years ago, I did not expect to be where I am today; nor did I envision becoming the confident, positive, self-reliant individual who feels the potential to accomplish anything. I was born in Arizona and lived there until I was eleven years old. I went to an alternative elementary school that was founded upon Woldorf teachings. These teachings promote creativity, connection to nature and individuality. The teachers related to us as unique, intelligent and equal beings and encouraged diversity on many levels. As a result, I can now see that the foundation of my personality is non-judgmental, gentle, supportive, trusting and loving. At age eleven, my family and I moved to Texas. It was the first time I had to enter into the public school system and I did not have a pleasant experience whatsoever. I felt extremely unsafe and judged. Even the teachers were condescending in how they communicated with us students. Throughout these three years in public schools I was constantly teased by my so called friends who labeled me as dumb. I attended a local high school for my last year of public schooling. During this school year I was bullied by my classmates. They gave me derogatory nick-names, threatened to physically harm me and proceeded to humiliate and shame me on Facebook. This was extremely traumatizing for me and some sort of drastic and immediate change was needed. Thankfully, in a nearby town, there was a charter based high school geared towards the arts, individual expression and social equality. I was desperate for something new and different and decided to give this school a try, even though I was terrified of the unknown. During this transition I faced a lot of fear and I ultimately built a foundation that would carry me through the next big stage in my life; going to college. Changing high schools had a big impact on me. It heavily influenced who I have become today, but another important influence in my life is the u