IDENTITY
 I am Ashley Oliver and I was born and raised in Queens New York. I started college 3 years ago, in the hopes of finding myself and starting a career path that I would like. I have always had difficulties staying the course on anything I have attempted. Most of the jobs Iâve tried, I have never been able to stick with. I often feel that I have wasted valuable time in my life. Iâve been hoping from thing to thing and not enjoying my best years, but stressing during most of that time.Â
 At 24, I decided to go to school after years of many dead end jobs, and after years of trying to figure out what direction to go in. I dropped out of high school after experiencing a dark period in my life during junior year, and Iâve been slowly putting the pieces together since then. Making such an impulsive move put me in an almost temporary paralysis, where I just watched others live out their lives and I simple had a front row seat for the show. (But things get better)Â
What college has done for me is itâs shown me that I have potential to do better and that my past did not have to write my future. I did more than just make the grade, I exceeded my expectations. I aced my first year and every year since then. I made it a goal to do my best and I have made myself proud doing that and seeing something through for once. Excelling in writing particularly has shown me how much I like to write and that I can make something of it.   Â
Writing for self expression to me is writing personal thoughts and ideas in a creative way. When writing from my perspective, I find that my ideas begin to pour out like a waterfall, and itâs hard to stop. Being imaginative and descriptive has been beneficial to me in my creative writing. Writing plays and stories (which I loveeee) are the way I express my inner thoughts, and views of the world through characters and stories. Writing from my perspective, I hope will allow me to be transparent in a way that will stir up conversation, be relatable and will hopefully be helpful to others that feel the same, because I believe the words of Maya Angelou that ...we are more alike than we are unalike. And the only way we will discover that is through sharing our experiences.                             Â
















