You Have To Start Somewhere...

I've always been told that you have to start somewhere.

    Naturally, an introduction is in order. My name is Angela Romeo, and I'm just like every other human being in the world--I have my share of bad days, and there are moments where I laugh or cry for no reason. This also means something else: I'm just as complicated and complex as every other person worldwide. So where can we start? The beginning. 

    I'm a child of back roads and woods. I spent my childhood in a microscopic town outside of Carrollton, Ohio, called New Harrisburg. Growing up in a small town meant that you had to be in touch with your creative side. This meant pretending you were a Pokémon trainer and searching in the trees for Bigfoot, but when you're a kid, your reality is found inside of your imagination. 

    Unfortunately, there arrives a moment in time when society demands us to grow up. This happened to me the summer between sixth and seventh grade. Around the age of twelve, my parents decided it would be best for our family to pack up our belongings and move towns. Like every other twelve year old, I was melodramatic about the issue and thought that my entire world was being flipped around. Little did I know that I wouldn't be moving very far, and that I was about to start my journey to becoming the person I am today. 

    I went on for the next three years, trying to be the person that media and society wanted me to be. I had a schedule full of being focused on my academics and trying to stay as mature as possible. Now that I look back on it, those were the most miserable years of my life. Although I was stuck in a routine that pushed me further and further away from who I was, I eventually managed to break the cycle. Sometime during that third year, I woke up one morning and realized that I had lost touch with who I was and that was why I felt so horrible. I desperately needed to find myself. 

    I went on what I call an "early life crisis". I had to find out who I was inside, not what others wanted me to be. In the beginning of my sophomore year, I found myself. Or rather, four guys who soon became my best friends found me. They had helped me to rediscover a passion that I had. They had helped me to remember that I loved singing. We formed a band (We went by Look Both Ways, inspired by our drummer who didn't look both ways once...) around December of 2009, and in May we won our school's talent show. 

    That was the first step, I think, in becoming who I am today. Look Both Ways had turned into my backbone, and ultimately helped me to tell society that I was sick of being shoved into its definition.  If my parents never would have decided to move to Leavittsville--an even smaller town than New Harrisburg--I never would have met those guys. I would have never met the people who helped to bring back who I was. 

 So, that brings us to the question: Who exactly am I?

     

     You already know my name and the beginning of my story. So that leads us to the present day.... 

     

     Currently, I'm a freshman at the University of Mount Union, here in Alliance, Ohio, studying Writing and Music Performance. I'm a graduate of a school that I guarantee you've never heard of, Conotton Valley. I'm the middle child of five in an Italian-American family. But none of that exactly tells you much of who I am, so let's go a little deeper.

     Family is the top priority for me, and they come before everyone else. After them, I like to focus on myself, because no one else can truly make you happy. I'm in love with music, musicians, and the adrenaline one gets during a performance. I like to think I'm fearless when it comes to my voice--I've gained so much confidence that I've even auditioned for American Idol! I have big city dreams, and hope to be living in either NYC or LA after I'm done with college.

     On the weekends, I enjoy serenading random people in Walmart. Emma Stone is my favorite actress, and there are too many movies that I adore for me to list off. I judge nearly every decision I make off what a fortune teller told me this summer. On clear nights and cloud speckled days, I enjoy looking up at the sky. Stars are the reason why I am no longer afraid to die, because they made me realize that even after we pass away, the things we accomplish in our lifetimes can still burn brightly for thousands of years. Paramore is my favorite band, and their lead singer is my biggest role model/musical influence. My friends and I made a few YouTube videos, and we're hoping that there will be a lot more in the future. 

     Honestly, I could probably go on for hours more about who I am and where I see myself in the future. But, the truth is, there's still so much about myself that I have yet to find out. I'm only eighteen. I have a whole life ahead of me, or at least that's what the fortune teller told me. That's the beauty about life and about being human. We're mortal, we make mistakes... We're full of flaws... In being imperfect, we find ourselves. I'm only a few chapters into my story right now, but when I finish it, I'm sure I'll be happy with the outcome. So, until then, this is all I can tell you. This is who I am.