So I work nights which means I basically get paid not to sleep. At first it was hard to adjust, but I got the hang of it now. Energy drinks became my bestfriend, and power naps.

Sleep for me was during the day time and once college started the less sleep I got. I was very excited for school so I didn’t mind the sacrifice and I knew it would all be worth it. Tuesdays and Thursdays were the days where sleep wasn’t in my schedule. I went into work at 9:30pm and got out at 6am. That gave me an hour and thirty minutes to get ready for school.

I would buy an energy drink on my way to school and breakfast. It was enough to stay awake for all three classes those days. I know it might seem rough, but once I got to school I was awake and I enjoyed being there. My last class ended at 12:30am and that’s when things got rough. As someone who works nights, we know that the sun becomes your worst enemy. So leaving campus I would need to wear sunglasses.

I would go home and work on homework then sleep for 5 or 4 hours then go back to work. Mondays, wednesdays, and fridays where my rest days. I did have time to sleep on those days so my body didn’t feel as tired. Overall it was a time of challenges and it made me really put my priorities in line.

It was like how many children experienced; I was lost in the mall. One moment I was nonchalantly looking around stores with no worries. Until I realized the familiar voices were no where to be heard. Suddenly my little child mind goes into panic, looking frantically in the stores for my family.

I retrace my tracks and go back to all the other stores we went into. Why? I don’t know it made sense to me at the time. Using not only my eyes but ears to find anybody I knew. Young me was not going to ask for help because she was determined she could find her family herself. I walked panicky and as fast as my little legs could go, store to store. Still no success in finding my pack, this is where I was starting to give up.

I could no longer bottle up my tears when finally a lady approached me asking if I was okay. Embarrassed from my tearful face I just nodded and she then proceeded to ask me if I was lost. To which I nodded my head again, now I was no longer scared.

I was taken to a mall security guard and that’s when they made an announcement. Finally I was reunited with my family, happy once again.

Like many families mine would love to go to the pool in the summer time. Only I would dread when that decision was made. As a child I liked the idea of getting in the nice cold pool it was just the deep bottom that caused me true fear. For an adult 7ft was manageable as they are able to swim, but for a child it was a big risk.

Even though my parents would assure me they wouldn’t let me drown, the thought wouldn’t leave. Drowning was a big fear for me, going to the pool was a nightmare. The water clear as day but the bottom to me was an endless drop. Many times my family would try to get me into the pool but it would only end in me crying. So for a long time I never learned how to swim or even tried to learn.

As I grew older and grew taller, my fear slowly became smaller. I finally learned how to swim when I was 12 and didn’t feel like the bottom was so endless. It’s funny how as a child we see everything bigger than us, only to grow and see it’s really not. Like many of our fears in life, when we surpass them we see how little they truly are.

When I think of the word family, a lot comes to mind. I come from a household that cherishes family; it’s a big priority. We are also a big family that it’s hard to keep track of everybody sometimes. Although we come from the same background we are all so different.

I have two older brothers who are like any older brothers, very protective of me. Even if they annoy me, they have taught me a lot. My older brothers basically raised me, as my parents were always busy working. They both set an example for me to become a person who people can depend on.

Not only do I have older brothers but I also have two younger brothers. They are a handful, but like my older brothers, I helped my younger siblings the same way. In their case I’m the one they run to for help, or just to bug me.

My parents worked a lot when I was younger, but they always made time for us. We didn’t like that they were away a lot of the time, but they always made up for it. For that I will always appreciate my parents, because we’ve been able to keep a strong bond between each other.

Back in my junior high school days or middle school, I really wanted a thinner body like many of my girl classmates. I was not on the heavy side, yet I was unsatisfied with my own weight. looking back now I realize how judgmental I was on myself.

I know I wasn’t the only one who had this way of thinking. Sadly many girls in middle school start to feel very insecure of their bodies. I know this from the many conversations I had at that age with my friends, they were always quick to critique themselves.

As I got older I was glad I was able to get out of that mindset and not let those negative thoughts get to me. I might not be what society says is beautiful but I really dont care.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.