About Me

Birth Date and Place:

I was born in Seattle, Washington on August 23rd 1995. Since we lived actually on Vashion Island, my mother and father had to take a ferry to Seattle. Now I was supposed to be an identical twin, but about one or two months before birth she died. Her name was going to be Adrianna, and I always wondered what it would've been like is she was still here... I'd definitely switch spots all the time.

Family Members:

(left to right: Aaron, Kayla, Mark, Me, Klint, James, Ryan, Beth)

I live with my aunt, Beth Love, and her kids James Love (18), Mark Love (14), and Ryan Love (13), along with her husband Aaron Ruud and his twins Klint and Kayla Ruud (18). Even though they are my cousins, I consider them my brothers and sister because I’ve lived with them for years now, and we all treat each other and refer to each other as siblings. My father, Tony Barker, lives down the road from me, but we’re rarely in contact. My mom, Juanita Arnold, lives with her husband, Travis Arnold, and all my sisters, Leandra Godfrey (27), and Brittany and Courtney Arnold (14) in Utah. My older sister has two sons, Brandon Calabrese (7) and Urijah Bakko (3) who I absolutely adore. The most important and significant family member, though, is my grandma, Linda Barker. She was there from day one and I don’t know what I would do without her.

My Grandma and Grandpa

Childhood and School Life:

So my father took me away from my mom and my older sister in Washington when I was two years old and moved down here to San Diego. We lived with me grandma for a little, and when I was four we moved to Chula Vista in a trailer park. I went to kindergarten and first grade at Feaster Edisons Elementary. When money got tight, my father decided to move back into my grandma and grandpa’s house where I did second grade at Highlands Elementary in Spring Valley. After that, we moved into the basement of my dad’s sister’s, Beth, house in Lakeside. I did half of third grade at Lakeview Elementary, and the other half at Lemon Crest Elementary right down the street because I didn’t like Lakeview. After that school year, my aunt decided that her and her kids were going to move to Texas, so my father and I packed up and went back to my grandma’s house. That summer I went to visit my mom, who was then living in Arizona. I decided to stay there for a little longer and started my fourth grade year at Fredonia Elementary. I eventually got homesick and went back to my dad in my grandma’s house once again. I finished the rest of fourth grade at Highlands, and then continued onto my fifth grade year there.

My father and I

When an opportunity for my dad and I to live outside of my grandparents house came, he took. We moved to Eucalyptus Hills in Lakeside and lived in an RV on the property of his childhood friend’s parents. For once I stayed at a school for longer than a year. From 2006 to 2009 I completed middle school at Lakeside Middle, but I didn’t stay at the same place. Halfway through eighth grade I packed my bags and moved out of my dads due to his alcohol and drug addictions. I finished the rest of eighth grade living at my aunt Lisa’s house in Santee. After eighth grade graduation, I thought it would be a good idea to try living with my mom again, so I did. For the first half of my freshman year I attended Dixie Middle (out there ninth grade was still middle school). It didn’t work out there, so I came back, and because school schedules were different from state to state, I had a month long break where I didn’t go to school and I lived with my grandma back in Spring Valley. My aunt Beth offered to have me live with her, so I did. I finished my freshman year at El Cap, and after that I decided to transfer to West Hills for my sophomore year. And that's where I’ve been ever since.

Hobbies, Interests, Activities:

When I was younger, like kindergarten to about fourth or fifth grade, I would write stories in my free time. My father couldn’t afford to put me in sports, so most of the time I was alone playing with my toys or writing. I also enjoyed drawing. My father, if he had done anything with his talents, was a phenomenal artist, and I guess I kinda got part of that gene.

My water polo team and I

In 2009, when I lived in my aunt Lisa’s house, I wanted to write a legit book, so I did. Granted, it’s not published and people besides my close family has read even part of it, but it’s finished and typed, just sitting in my computer.

Sports weren’t introduced into my life until my sophomore year when I started at West Hills. Water polo quickly took over my life, and I loved it. I’m not varsity status by any means, but I did put my all into it. I’ve played pretty much every single position: sprinter, deep wing offense/defense, center forward defense, set, goalie, etc. It’s bittersweet, though, because I’m graduating and probably won’t ever play again.

Anecdotes:

To be quite honest, I’m not a people person, nor am I very interesting. I don’t like to go out where there's going to be lots of people, and I don’t like being asked about myself because I don’t really know what to say. When I went to school in Utah, for example, I went four months without talking to anybody. People probably thought I was a mute because, literally, I did not talk, even to the teachers. Unless I desperately needed help, I didn’t even look at them. But, I wasn’t just some cold hearted person not talking to people. No one made any moves to try to  talk to me, in fact people wouldn’t even look at me at that school. The students were mean and stuck up in my eyes. I’m glad they didn’t try to talk to me cause I probably wouldn’t give them the time of day anyways.

So, obviously you can tell I’m quite then. I don’t like to talk because most of the time, there's no need to. I’m not always quite though. Ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you that I’m super loud and kinda crazy. I love to laugh and make people laugh, but that's if I know you well enough  and am comfortable with you. I’ve had someone before tell me, “Wow, you’re nothing like you were before.” I tell them, “No, I’m still quite, but I know you now.” Cause that's what happens.

Career:

When I was little I wanted to be a worm finder for science because I saw a dinosaur movie where the guy in it did that. When I was about 13 years old I wanted to be an interior designer, and when I was 14 I didn't even plan to go to college yet alone think about a career. It wasn't until a yer later that I decided I wanted to become an operating room nurse. Anything medical related fascinates me. And because I'm interested in anatomy, I figured becoming a surgical nurse would be the best. I want to help and be in on the action, but I don't want to be the one responsible for someone's life. I haven't changed my mind yet on that career rout, and I'm set to major in nursing in college, so we'll see how it goes.