that’s just me, before we met

They asked for a biographical sketch, to which I replied:  
I was born in Casper, Wyoming, but Utah is my real home.  I enjoy basketball and AP calculus.  Writing is an imperative pastime, and football games with the family are, too.  I like to hike the G with my friends, and sometimes I go to Las Vegas on vacation.      


All of which is accurate, verifiable,... true. 


But it felt cliche, counterfeit,... fake.


I guess it’s just hard for me to define myself in 300 words or less, and this is probably what I should have said:


My name is Lindsey, I am seventeen years old.  And the truth is, I care about people and the way the sun shines through the clouds each evening a lot more than the grade I'll get on my biology test tomorrow.  


My name is Lindsey, and I’ve spent countless nights lying in the bed of my truck looking for something in that vast sea of stars.  Sometimes when I look at the moon it makes me want to cry it's so beautiful, but i've never shed as many tears in the moonlight as I have while reading over people's sincere words.  


My name is Lindsey, and I believe in love; it is the only thing that has ever given me true, enduring joy.  I believe in people, too; they are the only thing that keeps bringing that love to me. 


My name is Lindsey, and I’m afraid of the future.  I’m afraid of change and the unknown, but I’m mostly afraid of missing you when i leave.  I'm afraid of forgetting. 


My name is Lindsey, and someone once told me the future is as bright as your faith. I’ve been looking up ever since.  
Then, just when I was about to give in to that pounding in my head, she said, “the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who actually do.” I’ve been crazy ever since.  


My name is Lindsey. I bite my nails, I have one million split ends, and I've never once had a tan.  Sometimes I forget my drivers license on my mantle, and sometimes I forget to bite my tongue.  


My name is Lindsey, and I say silent prayers of thanks sometimes because my life is just too beautiful, and I have the most beautiful friends. 

My name is Lindsey.  I am sometimes alone, and I'm sometimes scared, but I like to think that one day I'll change things.  Maybe not the whole world, maybe just his smile, but I like to think that one day that’ll be enough.


-Linds