Why hello ladies and gents! I'm Jessica Swaim, also known as Jess by most, or if you go the 'Horn, you probably know me as Swaim.

I'm officially a new writer for the Huntsville Community of the Odyssey. I am extremely excited to be writing for all of you!

A brief summary of myself: I'm pretty awesome, to be honest.

An actual summary of myself: I was born and raised in Huntsville, Al. and I never wanna leave. Don't get me wrong, I love to travel, but you know, it's just home. I'm currently going Calhoun Community College for Nursing. Nursing has been my passion since I was 4 years old- I literally dressed up as one for Halloween for about two years in a row. Every "Career Day" we had in elementary school, I bet you can't guess what I was. No, it's not what you're thinking- I was definitely Hannah Montana. I'm kidding. Seriously, though, I have always had a passion for helping people. Especially people in pain. People going through the worst times in their life. I've been there, and with the help of so many people, my life got back on track. That's want I want to do for people. I want to be that person that can help them get through the trials that life will throw at you.

"You either just got out of a struggle, you're going through a struggle, or you're about to go through a struggle. Sometimes all 3 at once." -my counselor at Teen Camp, Shanna Akery

I have an amazing Youth Group. They are literally the best people on the planet. I'm serious. If you have not blessed your life with meeting everyone in it, you are seriously missing out. We have all been through so much. Several times I wanted to leave, and I pushed myself to stay because I'm not giving up on them. I have gotten so much closer to God through them than I ever was before. I'm a sweet tea addict. Noodles are my favorite food group. Netflix is probably what I'm doing if I don't answer my phone, or I'm possibly ignoring you; just kidding, I'm seriously not that mean. it's debatable, though.

My family is probably the most awesome family I have ever seen. Honestly, most families are not as close as mine. We probably get together, I mean every single one of them, at least once a month for some old-fashioned "guitar picking". I love being the big sister to 5 siblings. My siblings are who I live for.

My boyfriend and best friend are the 2 people I love the most- I mean, besides my family, of course.

My puppies are my babies. I'm pretty protective of them.

When I first saw the opportunity to become a writer for Odyssey, I honestly just kept scrolling through my feed. I never thought for a second that I would be writing for them or anyone, for that matter. I have always secretly loved writing, but never thought about writing for other people to see.

Yikes, this is scary.

Well, back to my story. The opportunity literally kept popping up. I could not get rid of the feeling that a door was being opened up for me to write about the things I have seen and been through. Maybe, just maybe, someone would read my stories and articles and they would be inspired, or it would help them in a way that no one else could.

I mean, even if I can put a light in just one situation that was put in the dark a long time ago, then I'm doing my job.

I promise I'm not just going to write about kind of that stuff either.

I promise I will write about the fun things, too. I will make you smile, laugh, and probably cry at least once.

So be prepared, and be our guest.

Yes, I just referenced "Beauty & the Beast." Did I not mention I love all things, Disney?

Can't wait to see where this will lead me!

Yours faithfully,

Swaim