Thoughts about family and where I live

 I was born in Silver Spring, Maryland. I lived most of my life in Berwyn Heights, Maryland. I lived there until I was 11½, when we moved up to Skillman, New Jersey. I've liked New Jersey better because here I have more friends and I know more people, whereas in Maryland, there were only about seventy kids in my grade. Also, in Berwyn Heights, I didn't live very close to any of my friends and we lived on a busy road. We lived right across from the elementary school, so I didn't have any bus experience (other than on field trips) until we moved here. The school was tiny, so there weren't really any extra-curricular activities, and for band or chorus we had to be pulled out of class. I would literally read through all of class, and still get straight A's. I didn't study, and am still trying to get in the habit.

 My fondest memories from my childhood are mostly playing with my siblings. We had a big backyard and we'd explore “The Bamboo Forest” together, which connected the backyards of neighbors four or five houses down, and to the houses on the street behind us. We'd also play in our sandbox and “paint” the benches with sand and water mixed together. We'd play carnival on my brother's big bed with him giving rides to my sisters and me playing games with them. Oh, what fun we had before we detested each other.

 As far as I can remember, I wasn't a huge troublemaker, that was my brother's job. I teased him, of course, and my parents said they always warned me not to. I kept teasing him and eventually, when he was, like, four or five he teased me back and I was shocked. I stopped, but he's been bugging me for as long as I can remember. I have a brother and two sisters. I'm the oldest child, and my brother is second. I sort of like my position because I get to babysit my siblings and have more...benefits, but I'm also expected to do the most. It isn't fair because my brother gets to do everything good I do, except he doesn't have to do as much work because he's younger. Also, he'll always side with my little sisters against me whenever I've done any little thing and get me in trouble.

 I used to have a beta fish named Ruby. I named him when I was eight, and called him Ruby because he was reddish purple and had pretty flowing fins and tail. He lived for about 2½ years, when I had to be the one cleaning out his tank and remembering to feed him while my sisters got to have a pretty little pet. He died when I was eleven, and I'm sorry to say that I was rid of my duty to him.