When I was younger, I hated my name. Especially in my teenage years, when all you care about is how you fit in with everyone else. If you have a name like Maribella, you are unique, you stand out, and back then, that was a horrible thing. All of my friends were called Lily, Ruby, Keeley, Alexandra and Emily. I forced everyone to call me Bella so that I didn't stand out as much, but every time we had a stupid substitute teacher, she would call out, "Maribella? What a beautiful name. Where is it from?" Of course, my mother has a very imaginative mind, so she made the name up. It doesn't come from anywhere, she liked the name Bella and Marianne, and put them together. As I have grown up as a person, I have realized that more unique you are, the better. It helps define you, and as soon as you go into University thinking you are the top of the class, you realize there are so many other smart people. You feel lower than everyone else. And the only way to get back up there is to stand out, or study really really hard. I chose the first option.
My Maths teacher in year 8 was one of the best I have ever had, and one of the smartest. She always told us to make friends with someone smarter than us in University so you can have a 'study buddy'. I went back to my old school to visit her, and tell her she was right. My best friend is one of the smartest people I know, and I met her in a lecture, and she became my study buddy. And I gained a whole best friend out of it. Not a half, a whole.
When I was in high school, I could never work out what I wanted to be. In Year 4, I wanted to be an environmental scientist. In Year 7, I wanted to be a geologist or volcanologist. In Year 9, I wanted to be a laywer. But it was only in Year 11 when I thought I'd go into medicine. And I have no regrets whatsoever from the choice, because I love it.
There are a couple of other things about me too. I love to read, and in University, you do a lot of reading. When my step mother bought me Pride and Prejudice, I immediately started to love reading, and I already liked it. Instead of watching TV or playing computer games, I would read. It was my time, and my time alone.
Travelling was my other hobby. By the time I was 14, I had been to 16 different countries. Growing up in Australia, not much happened for me. Small life, big town. So my dream job was somewhere I could travel lots, like being the host of a travel show on TV. So I moved to England. That's where I discovered music.
YOU ARE READING
The Old Book Store
أدب الهواةMaribella is an international teenage pop star and a member of the famous and rich "One Direction". By agreeing to run everyday for 10 weeks to prove her fitness, she meets Will, an ordinary guy living an ordinary lifestyle.
