Dear family, friends and complete strangers,

Hello! The first thing I want to do is extend a warm welcome to all my readers! Thank you for taking part in this first blog post with me, it means a lot. Starting this blog is something I have contemplated taking on for a while now. The one thing I felt that always held me back from starting this blog was the fear of what my peers and others would think of me. Luckily for me the biggest thing I learnt this year from attending college is that you should always do what makes you happy and pursue what brings you pure happiness. Writing is something that has always brought me pure happiness. I am very excited to embark on this new journey with all of you!

This being my first blog post I feel it is important for all you to get to know me on a basic personal level. My name is Marissa Reed. I graduated from Carlisle High School last year (2017). Last fall I attended Grand View University. I was blessed with the opportunity to continue both my academic and athletic career there. I am pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing. This last school year I competed with the GV track and field team.

My "Family" is something I will always put first as you will soon learn. I say "Family" because to me family is more than just blood related. Family to me is defined as the people who love and support you. They want to see you reach your greatest potential and go above and beyond to help you reach your goals. My "Family" consists of my family, friends, teachers, coaches, co-workers, and Carlisle community. Being a part of the Carlisle community is something I have always taken a lot of pride in. (That could be a blog post all on its own.)

My religion is something I also take very seriously. I attend Oakwood United Methodist Church located in Pleasant Hill. I feel this blog is something I have been called to do. I want to touch as many people's lives as possible through this blog. I feel blogging is a way for me to connect to people and hopefully make an impact on their lives. I feel this is my next challenge to endeavor.

So, what is my whole goal with this "blog thing" anyways? My goal is to post once a week. As you will soon find out, I have a very busy life. It may be impossible for me to post some weeks once school starts backup in the fall. During the summer I may be able to post twice a week. After completing my first year of college I feel I am more diverse and have a more mature way of looking at things. I want to share my thoughts, advice, and life experiences with you guys! Yes, some of my blogs may sound more like a diary post. I will always provoke a challenge or try and pull it all together so there is an overall take away. I also want to write inspirational and motivational pieces. My number one goal for this blog is to touch just one person's life, if I do that then this blog has accomplished everything I wanted it to. I want to be an inspiration for people. I want this blog to create a unique, personal, and individualized experience for each one of my readers.

The people who are closets to me know the passion I have for writing. Writing is something that has always been a stress reliever for me. I love that feeling when you read a good book and you feel fully satisfied. Writing is a way to share a piece of yourself with others. The stories written or told will never be forgotten. A chance you take is an answer you will always know. It's the stories that remain untold or unwritten that will be forgotten. It's the chances you never take you will always miss. This was a chance I was not willing to miss out on.

My number one fear in life is to live an ordinary life. You only get one life to live, why would you want to live an ordinary one? I want to live an extraordinary life and encourage my readers to live their extraordinary lives. Don't let those chances pass you by. There is no telling how many days you have left.

Finally, I want to thank you guys for beginning this wonderful journey with me. Thank you for reading my first blog and I hope you will continue this journey with me, it means more than you know. Feel free to share this with your friends and get the word around. I want to touch as many lives as possible, including your's! Help me with this goal and continue to share and read my blog. I want to help YOU live your extraordinary life!

Don't Be Ordinary. Be EXTRAORDINARY! YOU Were Born To Be EXTRAORDINARY!

Love Always,

Riss