As each day of 2012 passed by, I started to grow more secretive, and quieter than the person I was as a younger child, I spent many of my days drawing, reading, writing, listening to music, and pretty much just sitting down to reflect through the day. Many people would say that they’d be stuck on last-minute homework that they needed to complete, but I would say that I’d be stuck on what to draw, or be stuck on what to write about because drawing and writing were my escapes that no one else but me could understand. Whenever people saw my drawings they’d always comment on how there would never be a picture that was well “happy” I could say, or “bright”, all they saw were hand drawn pictures of vampires, corpses, and fan art of horror movies scenes that they really wish they’d never have to see. I’m a weird person, but to be more specific a weird 13 year old girl, who’d rather spend her days drawing vampires in her room whilst listening to the alternative rock group My Chemical Romance, than do things like spend time on Facebook, go to the mall, or hang out with friends. Yes, not only was 2012 the year that I made a hidden collection of hand drawn images of vampires and werewolves, it was the also the year I had discovered “good” music, and was the year I found a starting point for my growth. It just simply started out by listening to the famous, but overrated Green Day single 21 Guns, then it grew from listening to Nirvana, The Sex Pistols, The Rolling Stones, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Suicide Silence, My Chemical Romance, The Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Frank Sinatra, Lana Del Rey, Bjork, Hole, Paramore, Slipknot, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G, Mozart, Bach, Eminem, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, and other artists and bands that have impacted the history of music greatly. For all I know, I just seem to be interested in things that most people don’t exactly enjoy, but I’m selfish, greedy, narcissistic, and stubborn and that’s what makes me not different from you. 
-Maria