My name is Michelle and I am from the state of eternal sunshine, where everybody else comes on vacation or to retire--the lovely and humid land of Florida. I was born in Miami and have lived in Florida almost my entire life (with the exception of three short, vagabond years in northeastern Pennsylvania). The city I would call my hometown is in central Florida, a tiny hiccup of a town called Belleview. It is small and full of horses, soccer moms, and other people's grandparents. I currently live in Orlando, Florida and attend school at the University of Central Florida. I am majoring in English and minoring in Spanish. For anyone wondering (because I know you are! haha), yes: Disney World, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Sea World/Aquatica are about 30-45 minutes away from me. But I haven't gone in a few years. Outside of the occasional babysitting, housecleaning or yard work job, I haven't had a formal job yet. However, I have applied to a couple different jobs, so we'll see. 

In my free time, I really enjoy writing. I'm fascinated by the art of structuring a story and building characters that fit well and are emotionally revealing without losing their mystery. As you might expect, I also love to read books and short stories. I love time spent with my friends, just shooting the breeze. I have a lot of fun exploring different thrift stores, going to the beach, and attending concerts when I can. (I went to a Civil Wars concert last week! They were incredible!!!) I also like to bake yummy things, leave notes for my roommates all around our apartment, and make people laugh. 

I grew up as a middle child (any middle children out there? Represent!) but now have a total of seven brothers and sisters, making me the second oldest. My parents each remarried and had more kids when I was around ten years old, so I have quite a few little kiddos in my life that I am proud to be a big sister to. I will be 20 years old this May. My family is from Cuba so they are generally loud and crazy and incredible cooks. (Nothing beats lechón con arroz y frijoles with some flan for dessert...mmm!) I speak fluent Spanish and am currently studying Italian in school. One day, I'd like to master Italian, Portuguese, and Bahasa Indonesian. And maybe anything else that comes along, haha, who knows. I know it won't be easy, but the world's a big place, you know? I'm really passionate about learning how to communicate in it. 

In the past, I have been on three mission trips. When I was fourteen, I went with my church for a week to New Orleans to help rebuild after Katrina; when I was sixteen, I went to Ecuador for two weeks with my church under M-Fuge International; when I was seventeen, I went with my church for a week to Rocky Boy Indian Reservation in northern Montana to serve some amazing missionaries up there. I have also been to many camps (Centrifuge) and leadership conferences (Student Leadership Universities 101+ 201).

What excites me most about this trip is that is entirely unlike anything else I've done before. I've never been away from home--much less my home country--for that long, never been in a culture so different, never been so drastically out of my comfort zone. What makes me the most nervous about this trip is the same thing. I can't compare it to anything I've done before, so I have nothing to gauge it by. But I know that's ok because I know that God told me to go. And He is SO faithful, so I know that He has big plans for each of us there. :D

If I could sum up one of the biggest struggles of my life in one phrase it would be a struggle of identity. Growing up, I never knew where I fit, never knew who I was or whose I was. I tried be a lot of different things for a lot of different people but I always felt out of place. That is, until Jesus intervened and gave me a new name, a new life, a new identity: His. 

I'm so excited to keep reading all your bios and get to know you + pray for you in the coming months! This is going to be incredible. Jesus is so, so, so good. <3