I was born in a tiny town of Houston, TX (maybe you have heard of it) to two awesome parents, who I must brag are still married to this day...these days that's a pretty big deal! Soon after I was born we moved to the out skirts of Houston to a town the size of a dust particle called Splendora, I'm nearly positive that the only way two people who are not from the Houston area find it is that they are driving up Hwy 59, run out of gas and decide to stay. I will not lie and say that I didn't love my life there, it was the kinda place to grow up that everyone knew everyone and EVERYTHING if you were doing something wrong your mom knew about it in 2.5 minutes flat. I learned a lot about life in this tiny town, I learned heart break, humility, friendships and how to fight. I learned that teachers and coaches had eyes in the back of their heads and ears in every inch of the school, if you cussed in the locker room while telling a really good story your coach would find out and could make you run. I learned that if there were 100 kids in the hall way and you flip a teacher off as they are walking away from you, that some adult would see your mistake and again a coach could make you run until either your legs fell off or you puked and there was nothing you could do about it. I learned that if you are going to moon the school cameras (which at the time we thought our school was so high tech by having those) you shouldn't wear your letter man jacket that clearly shows you and your best friends name, apparently at 17 we didn't realize people could go back and watch those. I learned that I was not the best driver, in 6 months I had totalled 2 cars, bumped into a car in the parking lot, and run out of gas more then my dad could count. It was also then that I learned when you call your dad and tell him that you are out of gas, its not as funny as your first thought, and even if you do still think it is funny, DO NOT under any circumstance continue to laugh. I learned that if you are at a party that you really shouldn't be and it gets busted by the cops, NOT to raise your hand and ask the police if when he calls your house and your dad answers to please ask for your mom, because she would take the news better then could break it to your dad. I learned that I was not the pretty girl, but dang it I could make people laugh. I learned that I would never be a super athlete nor would I ever be very graceful, I'm pretty sure I fell out of more chairs, tripped on more desk and gotten more injuries then anyone in the history of Splendora High School, who else is talented enough to give yourself whiplash going over a hurdle. I learned that if you are going to do a practical joke like spray paint your name on road, its probably not smart to do in the exact spot your parents will drive the next morning...especially if you are the only Kayla and Shelley in the school. I learned that if you sound exactly like your friend on the phone you can do all kinds of things, like break up with her boyfriends, or call her mom and ask her if she could do stuff (which was fun until she started yelling at who she thought was her daughter). I learned the value of a dollar when I saved all my lunch money to buy a tanning membership (no wonder I was so skinny back then). It took me a few years but I did learn that my parents were actually pretty cool! I learned that the love of my life would not be found when I was 17. I learned never to say you would never marry a boy from your hometown. I learned that no matter how hard I tried to get away and not come back that would always be my home. I learned I was never going to be the smartest nor would I have the most talent, but most importantly I learned that comical misfortunes would always follow me around. I learned I'm goofy and that's just me, it's just my talent!
Now that I have grown up some would say that I am plagued with a black cloud, I would disagree and say that I have learned God has just given me the gift of laughter, and maybe I can teach others how to use it!
