Hi, my name is Megan Ruge. I am 19 years old, and I am a sophomore at Susquehanna University. I have brown hair, green eyes and freckles. I am only five feet tall, and I am often mistaken for an arm rest. I am an asthmatic, I’m lactose intolerant, and I have enough injuries for each member of a small cult. But this is just the outside, the wrapper that contains the person that I am.

On the inside, I am many things. I am a big sister, a little sister, a daughter, a niece, an aunt, a cousin, a girlfriend and a friend. I am a writer, a dancer, a volunteer, a world traveler, and a student. I am involved with Girl Scouts of America, Alpha Phi Omega, Susquehanna University Dance Corps, and the Susquehanna University newspaper formerly known as the Crusader. There are so many things that make me who I am. Each piece of the tangled web that is my life tells its own unique story.

I don’t know how long I have been able to consider myself a writer, but I know that my passion for writing started a long time ago. When I was younger, I dreaded practicing for standardized tests. I had some trouble with test taking and I hated going into some other room to take my test alone.

Even though they were the worst, I always knew there would be a picture prompt. The test would provide a picture and we would have to imagine what is happening in the picture and write a short story. I think that’s where it all started.

There was this one prompt that pictured what appeared to be floating houses that made me think about one of my favorite movies of all time, “Halloween Town.” That’s when I began writing my first script. I wanted to make a movie with all my friends. The script never got finished, and then I moved.

When I got to Pennsylvania, I tried to write again. This time, I wrote a play and let all the kids in my class be the stars. This was a way I knew I could make new friends and get people to like me. It was when I began to write other stuff that I discovered my spark.

It started with short stories, and then, every day I was coming up with new ideas. I was always looking for blank paper, in study halls and in classes, to write down the dialogues, ideas, and scenarios that flew through my head. I decided when I was 12 years old I would write for the rest of my life. And here I am, still writing.

Though writing is a huge chunk of my life, it is only a passion that takes up half of my time. The other half of my time, and my heart, belongs to dance. I started dancing when I was 3 years old for Perna Dance Company in Hazlett, New Jersey. When I was a little ballerina, it was hard to tell if it was something I would stick with for the rest of my life or just a phase I would go through.

I was in and out of dance for a while, trying new things and always somehow finding my way back. In high school, I decided it was something I couldn't live without. I have studied several different forms dance, tap, jazz, ballet, modern, contemporary, and hip hop being some.

I can now successfully say I have danced for 16 years, and I am going into my 17th year of dance with the title of choreographer. I am very excited to yet again further my dance education and experience at Susquehanna University.

Though there are so many pieces of me, my passions are the things that show the world my heart. My passions for writing and dance are only the biggest parts of my heart. I also love to read, make jewelry, swim, spend time with family and hang out at the beach. I love to travel, experience knew things and conquer my fears. I always look for new opportunities to go outside of my comfort zone and meet people who might change my life. These are the things that make who I am, as a writer and as a person.