Alright, my dudes. Listen up, because Iâm about to tell you some stuff you never asked to hear, and will probably forget within a few minutes.  My name is Arianna Crossley, but everyone calls me Ani. I was named after a translator who became my older sisterâs best friend during the time period when I wasnât born yet, and my family was hosting a child with heart problems from a third world country.  Iâve gone to three different school districts in my life, South Arbor Charter Academy, South Lake, and now Fitz. From kindergarten to the summer after third grade, I was at SACA, and while I was in kindergarten, my parents were going through the process of filing for divorce. My mom, my sister, and I all moved to an apartment complex in Ann Arbor, which was close enough for us to still go to the same school. When I was in first grade, my mom became friends with the man who would eventually become my step-dad. They began dating a few months after they met, and were married a year and a half later.
We then moved out to Saint Clair Shores, and I was enrolled at Avalon Elementary, one of the South Lake school districtâs three elementary schools. It was immediately obvious that I had learned more in three or four years of schooling than anyone else in that place. I was given the opportunity that only comes around once. I got to test out of not only fourth grade, but fifth grade as well. I passed the tests with flying colors, and the school had me wait until summer and then automatically enter into sixth grade. I was only ten years old, and a meager height of four feet and eight inches. Middle school seemed like a whole different world than anything Iâd ever experienced, and I was terrified that I wouldnât fit in. I started building a shell around myself, letting in only a select few. Over the two years I was in that middle school, I made two friends, who I am no longer in contact with.
Finally, due to simple convenience, my family moved me to Chatterton Middle School, where I met most of my current friends. In high school, most of the shell I constructed in sixth grade remains, meaning I talk to very few people, and am still very insecure. I am working to get over that, though, and so far, itâs going pretty well. Whether breaking out of that shell means going to ridiculously expensive nerd conventions, or just opening up more, Iâve been making great strides in becoming the social butterfly I want to be.
My life goals are pretty simple, but may be difficult to achieve. I want to become a forensic anthropologist, which would mean I would help to solve crimes by studying the bones of the victims. I hope to get a doctorate in forensic anthropology at Michigan State University. Hobby wise, I want to have a very nice camera, and take beautiful pictures of water, the sky, and animals. Especially animals, though. Theyâre just so cute and fuzzy, and their fluffy little faces make them the perfect models. In order to achieve all of my goals, I will need to work hard, save money, and to take my studies seriously.
I have a very extensive list of likes and dislikes, so be prepared for a large amount of nerd to be thrown in your face. I enjoy reading anything I can get my hands on, which once included the dictionary. The feel of the pages beneath my fingertips, and knowing that everything I think Iâm seeing from the book has been created with my imagination, makes me feel powerful. Drawing is what used to be a hobby of mine that has now overtaken my life. I draw characters from TV shows, movies, anime, books, and various other media platforms. Iâll occasionally find someone interested in paying for my art, but they rarely pay what would be considered a proper amount. I sing every chance I get, mostly to alternative music such as TwentyOne Pilots, Panic! At the Disco, My Chemical Romance, and Fallout Boy. I enjoy playing the ukulele, even though Iâm still pretty bad at it. I am one of the few children who actually likes studying and learning, because knowing more is better than being clueless, even if it seems boring at the time. However, I do not enjoy final exams. They bring me nothing but pain and misery. I immensely despise all sports aside from soccer. People who talk over a quiet person are the worst kind of people, and I dislike them greatly. If I were to go on about all the things I donât particularly enjoy, this would go on for the rest of my existence.
I have a lot of favorite shows, but Iâm going to narrow it down to three. Number three is Supernatural, a fantasy horror show starring Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins. It revolves around two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, as they follow their fatherâs footsteps, hunting down evil supernatural creatures such as monsters, demons, angels, and even fallen gods, while trying to save innocent people along the way.
Number two is Doctor Who, a science fiction show with many different starring characters. The Doctor, from a race called the Time Lords whose home planet is Gallifrey, travels through time and space in his TARDIS (short for time and relative dimension in space), saving other worlds and alien species, with numerous companions.
Number one is Stranger things, a science fiction horror show starring a bunch of adorable children. On November 6th, 1983, in the town of Hawkins, Indiana, twelve-year-old Will Byers vanishes mysteriously. Willâs frantic mother, Joyce, searches for him while Police Chief Jim Hopper launches his own investigation. Willâs friends Dustin, Mike, and Lucas discover a psychokinetic girl who claims to know Willâs location. As they uncover the truth, a sinister government agency tries to cover it up, while a more insidious force lurks below the surface. These shows have inspired me to write my own horror and science fiction stories. Theyâre important to me because at the nerd conventions I go to, most of the people there like those shows, so I have something in common with a large group of people.
I donât really have a favorite food, but I enjoy something my mom makes. Using balsamic vinaigrette and chicken, she makes a meal to die for. The poultry fills the kitchen with the tangy smell of the balsamic vinaigrette, and the scent wafts all around the house. Paired with garlic rice, the juices that have built up soak into the bed of grains, filling the entire meal with an outstanding array of flavors. This meal has inspired me to cook for my family and to become as good as I can be. This meal is important to me because itâs something my mom made for me a lot as a kid, and she would always let me help. It was one of the times we could do something fun together when I wasnât busy with school, and she wasnât busy volunteering at our school.
In life, all I want is pets. In all seriousness, no jokes. Pets are my life, and I want tons of them. Cats, dogs, ferrets, otters, whatever. Any pet, I will have. They bring so much joy, and theyâre just so darn cute. Not to mention, I seem to have a way with animals, and most of them seem to love me.
Alright, now time for some random blabber from yours truly. Okay, so you might not know this, but here it is: I am a huge nerd. There. My big secret. I am the nerdiest nerd to ever be a nerd. I religiously follow science fiction books, movies, shows, games, anything. I attend two or three nerd conventions, such as Youmacon and the Midwest Media Expo, every year. I dress as my favorite media characters. I play video games on a daily basis, and become so attached to the characters that I can never finish them. I draw anime characters and stare at them. I am also incredibly clumsy, as I trip over things as small as electrons, or dust mites. I canât talk to people, and I hate bugs. I like Dungeons and Dragons, Audrey Hepburn, Fangoria, Harry Houdini, and croquet. I canât dance, I canât act, and I donât know karate. Iâve got to face it, Iâm never gonna make it (Band reference, I actually do know karate, I can dance, and I donât know what fangoria is. I donât like croquet, but I do like everything else.) I listen to music you wouldnât expect from a soft marshmallow like me. I listen to My Chemical Romance, FallOut Boy, Panic! At the Disco, TwentyĂne Pilots, Eurythmics, Nirvana, Led Zepplin, and Halsey. As you can tell, I have a relatively varied taste in music. I listen to songs because I like them, and I couldnât care less if other people donât. Due to my music taste, I have been categorized as âemoâ and occasionally âhipster.â I canât control what other people think of my taste in music, but my personal opinion is if I like it, Iâll listen to it, and they canât stop me. However, occasionally I will avoid informing people about the stranger aspects of my personality. To actively avoid unwanted and, truthfully, worthless, judgment, Iâll pretend that I am a Normal Human Being With Normal Human Interestsâ˘. Itâs easier to make friends that way, even if I canât have a nerd attack in front of them. Sometimes, though, we need to give up parts of our personalities in public in order for people to accept you. Â
Time for some random facts about yours truly!! Iâm Irish, German, Finnish, and Cherokee. I know for certain that none of my ancestors were Nazis. I look like an untoasted marshmallow. I enjoy skeletal humor, I find it quite humerus. I draw all day, and Iâm actually selling my drawings! My favorite song is âMamaâ by My Chemical Romance. If you havenât heard it, give it a listen. It will change your life. I can speak in a multitude of strange voices, and have been told that I should do voice acting. I love cartoons, and am a literal child. Literally, I just turned fourteen a month before I wrote this (October 3rd, 2016). I have a semi-popular blog on a social platform called tumblr. I went through a very brief phase where everything had to be galaxy print, including my phone keyboard, and now I prefer black and white, but have kept the galaxy keyboard. I love sour candy, and can eat a bag of warheads like itâs nothing. I prefer PlayStation over Xbox, but Nintendo over everything. I play the ukulele. I love cherries. Iâve never been on a date. Iâve never been in a relationship past platonic or familial. I also hate talking about myself, so this'll be a real hoot. Anyways, this is a W.I.P., so there'll probably be more added as I go throughout the year, unless I unexpectedly reach the character limit before I'm
