I feel that before I can know where I'm going, I should have a good look at where I've been. I have a box in the garage of hand-written notebooks dating back to second grade.

Among them I found a journal I (rather unevenly) kept when I was 12-13 years old. I think an examination of my younger self is a good place to start.

The first entry is dated Thursday, Oct. 19, 1989. I quite helpfully started with an introduction of myself:
Dear Diary,
Starting tomorrow, I shall call you Anne. The reason why I'm starting a diary is this: I need a vent for my feelings. Today, I'm sick. (I could have gone to school, but I had a stomach ache last night, & besides I didn't get my Spanish homework done & I am supposed to have two math tests today. Anyway, it's a good thing I faked it, because I really feel sick now.)
I suppose I should tell you about myself. I have light brown/blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and I tan easily. I have two little sisters, twins, and they are 9 years old. (I had to ask my mom how old they are, I wasn't sure if they are 9 or 10. Scary, isn't it?) Their birthday is January 30. My dad is 43 years old. I'm not sure when his birthday is, though I know it is some time in March. My mom is 39 yrs. old. Her birthday is Oct. 30, the day before Halloween. Isn't that cool? I am 12 yrs. old, and my birthday is Sept. 4. My mom works in a print shop, my dad hauls parts for nuclear weapons, I think. (Continued tomorrow)
Yours Truly,
Jodi

I started that journal during a period when I was sick quite a lot. I attended a small Christian school at the time. The curriculum was self-paced for core subjects, so missing a lot of school didn't really interfere with lessons too much.
I named my diary after Anne Frank, by the way.

The next entry gives more insight into my younger self's personality and relationships within the family:

Sat. Oct. 21, 1989
Dear Anne,
I'm mad, my mother blames me for everything! I'm so frustrated! Here's what happened: I was walking along the hall when my sister called for me. She asked me if I wanted some pizza. I went to see what she was talking about. She had an aluminum platter with some marks on it. I took it from her & rubbed out the markings. I have it back to her and started to leave. She chased after me to hit me with it, and I started to run. Just as I took off, I ran right into my mom! She yelled at me, then yelled at me a minute later. I started crying & I came in here. Now my pillow is all wet.

Gee, I got in trouble for deliberately provoking my little sister and running through the house. What a shocker.
To continue:

I'm not sick anymore, the doctor said I need to rest. Rest! Ha! We went to Palo Duro Canyon today.
Now Where was I? Ok. Now I remember.
My dad never really told me exactly. I and my sisters attend Grace Christian School. I am in the sixth & seventh grades, Rachael is in the 3rd & 4th grades, & Denise is in the 2nd & 3rd grades. I am very tired right now, so I will see you tomorrow.
Yours truly,
Jodi

As I said, self-paced curriculum (Accelerated Christian Education, actually), except for Spanish, which was Abeka, a high school level video course which I and 2 other girls were doing in Jr. high. I was basically 1/2 step from homeschooling.

Well, that's who I was. I suppose I should contrast it with who I am now:

I am 28 years old, a senior in college at Arizona State University, majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Biology. I have been married (monogamously the last couple of years by default, but not by mutual expectation) to my husband David for almost 7 years, and we have a little girl, Luthien, who is 2 1/2. I still have brown eyes, but my hair is now quite dark brown, not blonde like it was when I was younger. I still tan easily, but try to be wise about skin exposure anyway. I still have trouble remembering my dad's birthday. My sisters are now 26, and to this day I kind of think of it as wierd/scary how much older they keep getting. One of them has a 6 year old daughter, and they are each in a cohabiting relationship with a guy named Michael (not the same one!). We've all 3 served in the Navy, which is where Rachael met her Michael and I met my husband.
I'm not a Christian; I renounced it for Paganism at age 16 and have practiced Asatru since I was 19 or so.
The little girl I was never imagined her life being anything like mine, that's for sure!