Lauren Neale-May
Life History

September 11, 2000

I do not consider myself old or that knowledgeable yet, but one thing I do consider myself to have is history. History is something everyone has, no matter how old they are. Some may just have a more complicated history than others. My history is one that some of it I am not proud of and some of it I am ecstatic about.

I was born June 9, 1986 in Stanford Hospital, California. My parents are Candace Burley Neale-May and Donovan Neale-May. My mother has always called me her miracle child because doctors said my mother could never have kids again. So after she and my father adopted my brother about six months later they found out she was pregnant with me. The doctors my mother worked with said that she should have an abortion because they were sure I would be born retarded. But my mother said no and I was born a miracle baby.

I was born into a great family, with loving parents, an older brother and one older sister. As a child, I went many places such as Jamaica and South Africa. At age four, I started at Buttons and Bows pre-school in Palo Alto California. After one year there I then transferred to Saint Joseph's school. At age five I started kindergarten and became very active, always on the move.

The next year I went into first grade and found out that my activeness came from a learning disability called ADHD. This disability impacted me a lot over the next six years. In second grade I got a tutor because I was behind in reading. This tutor helped me so much that I caught up to the rest of the class by the end of the year.

The next years were normal, but I had behavioral problems from the ADHD. In fifth grade I had the worst time of my life. My parents got divorced and my teacher was a real witch, but I managed to pull through by the skin of my teeth. Sixth grade was rough because I was still getting over my parents' divorce, but I had a much better year. At the end of seventh grade I found a great new doctor and I finally, after eight years, got on the right medicine for my ADHD.

When eighth grade rolled around I was excited and I was even more excited because of graduation. I had graduated from the only school I really ever knew and needed a fresh start. I looked around at high schools in my area for a while but I couldn't find one that suited me, so I started to look at boarding schools and that's when I stumbled upon New Hampton. I was just in awe of the facilities, the community, and the policies. I knew after I left that it was the perfect place for me. Just coming here has been a major chapter in my little book of history, but even as I sit here writing this paper, I am making my own personal history because every second I use is another second in history.