Introduction:

Unique in a Unique Way

Hello. My name is Alexia. I know, it’s an average name. There might be thousands of girls with a name just like mine. And, of course, with an average name, a lot of people would think I have an average life. But, my life is unique. Well, everyone’s life is unique, which makes them all the same in a way. But not mine. I personally believe my life is not an “average” unique, but a “unique” unique. I bet any other Alexia would not be able to compare, or even to relate to my experiences. But, it’s only my opinion. You need to decide this yourself. And, in order to decide, you must first know a thing or two about me. But, I’ll be brief. It would take a lifetime to tell everything there is to know about my life.

First of all, I’m a 14-year-old who goes to a public high school. Not so unique, you say? Well, I’ve got more to tell. I have a little brother and a little sister. They’re bot3h ten years old, so it wouldn’t take long to figure out that they’re fraternal twins. When they were born, I named them Timmy and Tammy. I’m not so “average” unique now, am I? Well, here’s another tidbit of information. I call myself “Daddy’s Girl” proudly, when others think of it as an insult. This is because I was born on my daddy’s birthday, so we share the same date of birth, the same sense of humor, and the same interests. At least, we share our athletic interests. He got me hooked on triathlons, and now I participate in them regularly. My love of the event gave me a very nice idea for s birthday present for Timmy. This adds to the uniqueness of my life, because when Timmy was two years old, he was diagnosed with autism, a mental illness that results from major neural damage. So, every year, I participate in a triathlon that raises money for autism research. And since the triathlon always takes place near Timmy’ and Tammy’s birthday, my daddy and I call it Timmy’s “gift”. Now that Timmy is almost 11, his many years of therapy and meds paid off in his neural passages’ recovery. And, this is why all my babbling fits in with my life. Even though I love my brother, and I still cheer on his progress, my parents spent most of their money on his treatments. Too much, if you ask me. That’s why I’m in a public school. And, that’s why my parents had to delay other treatments, such as Tammy’s eye problems. Yes, this is crossing the like from “unique” unique to “troubled” unique. But, I’m supposed to be talking about myself at the moment, so I’ll try hard to stop straying to Timmy and Daddy.

Because of my experiences with Timmy, I was able to become a teacher. Pretty “unique” unique for a teenager, huh? I actually am a swimming instructor for people with disabilities. Every time I work with my students, who are usually older than me, I fell like I’m passing on what people did to help me. At this point, my life is getting very confusing, but I’ll explain as briefly as possible. I’m not sure about this, but Daddy told me that there was once a time when I too had a deficit that was a little bit like Timmy’s autism. It made me practically fall over when I learned that I had a brain problem. It must have been mild, though, because I hardly remember being retarded. But, that does make my life a little more “unique” unique, if I’m making sense.

I guess that wasn’t just a thing or two, but, like I said, it would take a lifetime to say it all. I just have one more thing to say. I have one true friend who knows an amazing amount of information about me. His name is Brad, but he prefers to be called Buddy. I think the name works for him because he’s been nothing but a buddy to me. And, he hasn’t changed through all the five years I’ve known him. We met in 4th grade. I guess I was a mental illness victim back then, because I don’t remember attracting any friends. But, Brad was right there. He showed me around the school, he told me which teachers and students to look out for, and he made me feel like I belonged. After a few months of knowing him, I began calling him Buddy, and the name just stuck. Sometimes in middle school, a kid or two teased us and called us “boyfriend and girlfriend”. Whenever that happened, Buddy went red in the cheeks and clenched his fists. I didn’t know why until he explained the meaning to me. Back then, I thought it meant that Buddy was a boy and I was a girl, and that we were friends. I think I was better off being naïve. And, buddy feels the same way. So now, we’re freshmen in the same public high school. As if that wasn’t good enough, we’re in all of each other’s classes. What’s unfortunate, though, is that there was a sport in Phys Ed that would really blow my cover. But, that needs explaining. And, it’s a long story. I guess that means I should start telling it ASAP. It all started when Buddy and I were still in 8th grade…