Autobiography

            Born on April 6, 1984 weighing 8 pounds and 4 ounces my parents named me Brandy Sue Elliott. Arriving at promptly 1:36 p.m. at the Plymouth Memorial Hospital in Plymouth, IN, I was the first born child to Fred and Cindy Elliott. My mom used to tell me that I was born at the best time of the year, it wasn’t too hot or too cold, it was just right. Well low and behold a little boy was born just a year later on March 31, 1985 his name was Troy. I used to love taking care of him and being a big sister it was a lot of fun. Nearly four years later another boy graced us with his presence his name was Matthew. He had to be the most beautiful baby in the whole world, and you know that must mean a lot coming from his sister. Although I have always wanted a sister, but never got one, I wouldn’t trade my brothers for anything.    

            Elementary school was an odd stage for me. I was very shy and didn’t always relate to other children well, unlike Troy and Matthew who always got into trouble for talking too much.  I was the first grandchild out of nine so it was always said that I hung out with the grownups way too much.  My responsibilities were very high as a child being the oldest sister and cousin. I first started babysitting for my cousins at the age of eleven, and some would say that at that age I was way too young to start watching other children. When I first started watching my cousins they were very young, anywhere between the ages of under a year to six years old. I contribute my knowledge for children and how to take care of them to growing up with so many children that were younger than me.

            When I entered junior high my prospects of being social were getting higher. I started joining sports I played volleyball and basketball, and I was really good at them. In the eighth grade I received most valuable player award for volleyball and I also received

the American Legion Award for an Outstanding Student Leader. These awards were a great accomplishment for me. In the ninth grade things started to slow down, I was diagnosed with a heart problem called Arrhythmia, now this may sound normal, because everyone may have a little case of this once in their life time, but mine was much more serious. When this would occur my mom would try to take my pulse and she would lose count at 200 beats per minute because she just couldn’t keep up, and she was a nurse. As a result from this heart problem I had to have surgery two different times. The surgeries were to be miner and only last about two and a half hours, but both of them lasted about eight and a half hours. I had these surgeries a year and a half apart one at the age of thirteen and the other at fourteen. Almost three weeks after my second surgery my mom and I were in a head on car collision. The woman driving the other vehicle was in the wrong lane coming over a hill and we hit head on. There was only one fatality in this accident. Now I am a firm believer that seat belts do save lives. Only two years later my parents got a divorce and my mom and Matthew moved to Metamora, IL, and my brother Troy now lives with my grandma at home while I lived with my aunt and uncle throughout my senior year and now when I go home from college. This is a hard thing to deal with at times since me and my brothers were so close, but sometimes things happen and you have to deal with them the best that you can.

            So I went through high school just like the other kids and I had a lot of fun despite some of my problems. During the summer between my freshman year and sophomore year I was first runner- up in the Miss Maxinkukee pageant, the summer after my sophomore year I was crowned Miss Maxinkukee 2000, during my junior year I was on

the Homecoming Court and the Prom Court. These awards were a big honor for me.   During my senior year I joined BPA (Business Professionals of America) and I went all the way to State Competition to receive sixth place in the state of Indiana for Interviews.  This took a lot of hard work and dedication, but I achieved a very prestigious award.  My graduation from high school was a very sad, but exciting occasion, because my class of 62 was very close knit. I really enjoyed my high school years and all of my friends.

            I chose Manchester College because it was close enough to my home town of Monterey, IN to go home when I feel like it, but it is far enough away so that I can be on my own. Coming from a small school I felt like I needed to be at a small college, and I felt that Manchester College fit all of my needs. I have chosen to major in Elementary Education with a mild intervention.  I have always known that I wanted to work with children, and I wanted a family. I figured that if I were to teach at the same school as my children then that would be ideal, because we would have the same breaks and hours during the day so that I could spend time with them. I think that my goals in life are very reachable if I just work hard to achieve them.