Diana Davis in the entirety

Everyone has certain things that make them who they are. The “stuff” that makes up that person’s personality, appearance, and actions all depends on their past, and mindset about the future they long for. “How did you get here? What do you expect comes next? What are your hopes for the future?” Those three simple questions will explain who a person is and what that person wishes to become.

“How did you get here?” Growing up with a sailor and a southern bell as parents is only part of the reason of how I turned out as I did. My dad being a captain of a boat, family business is the Capt Stacy and being raised by a sailor himself, has made him a brittle, proud, protective, old fashioned, hardened man. My mom being from Tennessee, was born and bred in the country, is a very protective, worried (paranoid), and southern woman. Both of my parents having bad tempers has not made my gene pool all too sweet. Being a daddy’s little girl, I was always a tom-boy. My mom tried to dress me in dresses and bows, but it wasn’t too long before I was picking out my own clothes and wearing what I chose too. I have a younger brother, we looked like twins when we were little, that I spent most of my childhood with. We grew apart for a while and didn’t get along so well. But now we are closer than ever and he is the only person who understands me, and I can go to with all my problems. When grade school started, being a very outgoing kid, I became one of the “cool” kids. Not understanding what “groups” and “clicks” were I slowly fell into many different ones. Having a variety of friends, being raised to not judge, gave me a pretty well-rounded personality. I got along with all of the kids I went to school with. I sat back and slowly learned how every person acted. How some of my friends would talk about my other friends to me, but would act like they liked them. This backstabbing, lying and fake faces started at a pretty early age. I started to understand how people really were. I was always an independent child, not meaning to be just to be different. But the fact that I refused to change has become a very well known trait of mine. My hard-hardheadedness caught up with me when I started high school. Voicing my opinion has always been a problem with certain people who can not accept the truth, or a mere opinion. Not giving into trends that come and go, I have often been pointed to as the problem maker. I don’t get along well with girls because I hate how they are so concerned with what is “in” and what people think about them. I don’t let people get close to me, I don’t trust easily, I can be very cruel hearted, and I don’t take much from people. My freshman year I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function. Different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through, the symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They can result in abuse of alcohol/drugs, damaged relationships, nymphomania, poor job or school performance, and suicide. Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings—from overly "high" and/or irritable to sad and hopeless, and then back again, often with periods of normal mood in between. Severe changes in energy and behavior go along with these changes in mood. The periods of highs and lows are called episodes of mania and depression. A lot of instances and problems that I have been through in my life up to this point are really what have made me who I am. But I guess the fact that I am diagnosed as crazy is really what makes me, me.

“What do you expect comes next?” I expect that I will graduate high school, and get my license in cosmetology. I doubt that my personality will ever change, except the fact that I will get older. My true friends will probably stay the same, although I might make new ones. My interest in art, everything to do with art, will always be a huge part of me. I know that I wish to attend college and graduate with a business degree, and a degree in art. I don’t know for certain if I am going to wait a year before I go or just get the hell(sorry) out of this town. I love the location of my hometown, but I hate the population.

“What are your hopes for the future?” I hope to become a very skilled artist. I want to have a job that I enjoy doing, not have to do because I need the money. I want to make enough money to where I’m not to the point where all I think about is if I can afford something. I hope to have kids after I am happily married and can afford them without struggling. I want to raise smart and deviant kids filled with integrity and pride. My main hope for my future is to do something memorable. To do something that helps me or others later on in life. Something honorable that will make the life I lived something to remember and be proud of. I hope that I can change someone’s life for the better, along with my own. I also hope to overcome the fact that I’m bipolar and to not let it cripple me in relationships with other people, such as friends, family, and boyfriends.
All in all, a person is judged on how they act and look. No one ever really gets to know somebody before they categorize them in their mind. If people took the time to know the “why” behind certain things that a person does or says, they would probably understand a little better. “How did you get here? What do you expect comes next? What are your hopes for the future?” If everyone had to answer those three questions, we’d probably be surprised as to what made them how they are, and how ignorant we are to judge so quickly.