Fifteen years in the making

This is Liz Hien, spring of 2007. I was an awkward child still going through the transition from kid to teenager. I didn't have any interests besides my rock 'n roll music and violin. I was still trying to figure out life, my path on it. This was the worst year of my life. This was the year that I was still trying to get used to the class schedual. This was the year that I found out school isn't as easy as elementary made it, my grades dropped. This was the year that teen angst started to over come me. This was the year I figured out who my true friends were and who my backstabbers were. This was the year that the divorce was coming through- coming through the pits of hell that is.


>>FF to a year later- Liz Hien by winter 2008
I've become less awkward. I started hanging out with a group of friends who were the same as I was. Together, we became the loudest, craziest, most out going group at school during lunch, when we were united as a group. I wore brighter clothes. (I mean, seriously bright clothes - colored jeans in every color possible) I had more confidence and more of an opinion towards everything. I got better(ish) grades and my teachers liked me more (kinda, towards the end of the year) I was happier than last year.


This is Liz Hien-April 2009.
I am brighter, more lady-like, and damn, a lot happier. I no longer hang out with my friends from eight grade because we all split when we went to high school. I still keep in touch with them and we're still friends. I've changed my clothing preference. I wear alot more dresses and skirts with button up shirts and blouses and an occasional brightly colored band shirt rather than black band shirts. I've learned to control my language and I'm less angry all the time. I have more self control and I've learned to manage the ratio of work/play, but I'm still, as ever, overcomed with procrastination (as any one else). I'm (still) learning more about myself such as I have OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) and insomnia (trouble sleeping), but I've learned to live with it because it IS a part of my life and it makes me who I am. I've learned that the present will come back and impact my future. I've learned to be understanding towards others because I want them to be there for me when I'm troubled. I've also learned that even though I've changed drastically within three years, I'm still the same person. I still love my rock 'n roll music, but I've opened my musical horizons towards other genres of music. And I still play violin.

Most importantly, my close and best friends still remain as my close and best friends. Hannah and Jennifer are my oldest and dearest friends. I've known Jenn since preschool, that's right boys and girls, since 1998. And I've known Hana since 2001 when I first moved to Rosita elementary, we played dodgeball together. Jenn now lives down the street from me and Hana goes to school with me. They've been with me through thick and thin, from my rebel phase to my girly girl phase. They haven't backstabbed me once ever in all the years I've known them. We do nearly and almost everything together. At one point in our lives, they both came over to my house everday and they were over here more than they were at their own houses. We call each other names and push each other around, but in the end, we all laugh it off. We all tell it like it is, the truth and only the truth. They are the closest thing to family when family isn't there. They'll be the people with me standing outside shaking our walkers at youngsters telling them to "GTFO OFF THE LAWN"

Of course, they aren't the only people that's helped me on my way through life. Many others has played important roles, and they know who they are, so thanks for being there, for making me laugh and smile, for telling me to get a grip, for keeping me company when I couldn't sleep, for staying up with me over aim on those late school nights to get homework, for coming up with clever ways to keep me going, for putting up with me when I was being irritating, and for slapping me in the face when I deserved it.

""''""Im not going down by myself, I'm going down with my friends"