I,
Danielle Dawn Harrison, was born on July 10, 1990 at 11:53 in the morning. I
was born in Provo, Utah where I still reside to this day. I get my name from
one of my mother’s favorite dolls she had growing up. I am oldest in my family
of 5 children, with 4 younger brothers; Chace Fal Harrison, Austin McKay
Harrison, Benjamin Parker Harrison, and Kayden Lee Harrison.
As a youngster I was a very
independent child. There were many times where I would take my younger brothers
out of the house, acting as a mom, and then was brought back by the police. One
particular story relating to this is one morning while my mom was getting ready
for work I took my younger brother, Chace, outside, put him in the stroller,
and started walking to the park. I was 4 at the time, and Chace was 2. After
getting a couple of blocks, a police officer stopped by and asked where I
lived. When I told him, he escorted me back to my house, knocked on the door,
and explained to my mother that I had wandered away. This wasn’t just the first
time that I had done this.
One of my best friends growing up,
Lisa Boekweg, lived just behind my house. The only thing that separated my yard
from her yard was a rickety fence. I would often sneak out of my house and
climb over the fence so that I could play with Lisa. Lisa’s mom was a preschool
teacher, which I was enrolled in. I loved going to preschool because not only
was it fun, but I got to spend it with my best friend, Lisa! A couple years
later my family moved around the block so that our house was across the street
from Lisa’s house instead of behind. It was the only time I have moved in my
life, and I didn’t have to leave my best friend behind!
After preschool, I attended en
elementary school in Provo that was about 5 blocks away from my house. It was
called Franklin Elementary School. Because we lived so close to the school, I
walked to school and from school every day. In Kindergarten, I was a very shy
child. At this age I was diagnosed with a lazy eye, meaning I had to wear a
patch over one eye to make the lazy eye stronger. On top of that I had to wear
glasses. I was made fun of in school for this, which is why I became shy. I
felt like I didn’t have any friends. This is how I felt through first grade as
well. After first grade and half way into second grade, my eye became strong
enough to where I didn’t have to wear the patch or the glasses anymore. I was
so happy! I hated wearing that patch. In fact, often times when my parents or
teachers weren’t looking, I would peel it open so I could use my eye to see,
then when my parents or teachers would turn in my direction I would quickly stick
the patch back on, sealing it completely. At the time I thought I was very
clever, but my parents saw right through it.
Through out my second grade, third
grade, and fourth grade year in school, I loved school. I loved being with my
friends and I loved learning. I am a quick learner and was able to pick up on
things pretty fast, which I loved. In fifth grade I became more outgoing. I loved
playing sports with the boys, especially kickball. In fact, during recess we
had a kickball tournament that was put together between the fourth graders,
fifth graders, and sixth graders, and my class won! It was so exciting for me!
In fifth grade I also became very interested in English and spelling. In fact, I
won the school spelling bee and went on to the district spelling bee. In the
district spelling bee, I remember never being so nervous in my entire life!
There were so many people there! It was so intimidating! During that time
though, I discovered my lucky number. Let me explain. I was 11 years old at
this time. At the spelling bee at my elementary school I was assigned chair
number 11. At the district spelling bee, I was assigned chair number 11 again.
And, during all this time I had computer 11 in my computer class. 11 was my
lucky number, I just knew it! And it still is to this day.
During my sixth grade year I
auditioned for a part in our class play that was being put on for the entire
school. It was Shakespeare’s, Taming of
the Shrew. I wanted the main role. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the part.
But, I was able to be the narrator. In the end I am glad I was able to be the
narrator because of one key factor: I didn’t have to memorize any lines! All I had
to do was read the narrative.
During my junior high school years I
attended Dixon Junior High. Nothing very memorable happened in this time of my
life. I was a good student. I had perfect attendance, perfect grades, and I was
even in the orchestra. I had friends that I liked to hang out with and I loved
to learn. During this time I also joined the summer swim team. This enrollment
changed my life forever. I loved swimming. It became something I really loved
doing. In fact, I continue to swim to this day! I was on the high school swim
team and on the club swim team for my city from junior high until I graduated
high school. I even swam for three years on the college intramural swim team.
It is something that is part of me, and I love it!
Looking back, most people hate their
high school years. But I loved mine. Sometimes I even wish I could go back! Yes,
I know it’s crazy! In high school I was a good kid. I had perfect attendance, I
had perfect grades (for the most part), and I was involved in the National
Honors Society, orchestra, and the swim team. My freshman and sophomore years were
uneventful academically. In swimming however, I was the only freshman in my
school to qualify for the state championship meet at the end of the season. My
best stroke is breaststroke, and I had qualified in the 100 yard Breaststroke
event. I remember being so nervous right before my race, but in the end I
dropped time and it was such a great experience. My sophomore year I made it
back to state but this time instead of just swimming the 100 yard Breaststroke,
I swam the 200 yard Individual medley, the 200 yard Medley relay, and the 200
yard Freestyle relay. I went on to swim those same 4 events my junior year and
my senior year.
My junior year in high school my mom
noticed that my back had a funny curve to it. I couldn’t straighten my back. It
was curved outward, making me look like the Hunch Back of Notre Dame. My mom
decided to take me to a specialist to see what the problem was. It turned out
that I had a disease called kyphosis, more specifically called Scheuermann’s
disease. My back was curved more than 80% of what the natural curve was
supposed to be for a normal person with a normal spine. It was getting
progressively worse, and if continued untreated I would have severe
complications as an adult. I needed surgery. I had a decision to make; whether
to have the surgery in the middle of my swimming career, or wait until after I
was done with swimming to have the surgery. At this point of my life I had a
goal to swim in college. I wanted to swim for Brigham Young University. Having
surgery could jeopardize any chance of achieving that goal. It was a tough
decision to make, but in the end I decided to go ahead with the surgery after
the state championship swim meet during my junior year. Today I am glad that I
made that decision. I was able to heal and recover quickly and get back into my
everyday life, which included swimming. The surgery actually improved my
ability to swim. I was able to fix my technique on my strokes and get faster times
in my races. I had a great high school swim experience. Unfortunately, I did
not achieve my goal in swimming for Brigham Young University, but I am grateful
that it didn’t work out. I have had so many experiences in life that made me
realize that swimming for Brigham Young University was not the right path
choice for me.
After high school I worked for Provo
City at the pool as a lifeguard, which I had for the past couple of summers. I
had applied and been accepted to Brigham Young University Idaho and wanted to
save money for my first semester. I loved lifeguarding! It was awesome because
not only was I around water and the pool, but I was able to get tan while
working! It was the best. In fact, to this day I still work for Provo City at
the pool. Now I am a supervisor and have the opportunity to take on more
responsibility. I still love it! I have worked with people who have stayed my
friends to this day. I have been so blessed knowing and being able to interact
with the people I have met through working at the pool, and I am so grateful
for them.
Brigham Young University Idaho has been
a great experience for me! When I first enrolled I had every intention of
transferring to Brigham Young University in Provo after 1 year, but that didn’t
happen. I fell in love with the school, the faculty, the intramural swim team, and
the students. I came into Brigham Young University Idaho wanting to major in
nursing. In high school I had the opportunity to intern in the Newborn
Intensive Care Unit at the hospital and fell in love with it. After 2 tries of
applying to the nursing program and not getting in, I decided to switch my major.
I wanted to get done with school fast and didn’t want to have to wait year
after year until I was accepted. I changed my major to Health Science with an
emphasis in Public Health. After a time, I realized that I didn’t even really
know what that major meant. I wasn’t passionate about it. One day I was my
Grandma Rasmussen’s house with my family and my cousin, who is a nurse, was
asking me about what I was studying at school. I felt somewhat ashamed at the
fact that I really didn’t have a major that I was really interested in. I told
him about my desire to be a nurse and how that didn’t quite work out. He then
began telling me about a position involving HealthCare Administration. As he
was explaining his experience with HealthCare Administration, I was very
intrigued. I wanted to know more about it. Needless to say, my current major is
HealthCare Administration, with a minor in Child Development. I enjoy this
major and minor a lot. It is very interesting to me and I think that I can be
happy with this career choice.
As of now, I am currently taking
online classes from Brigham Young University Idaho, working at the pool, and
working at a residential treatment center for teenage girls. I am saving up
money and spiritually preparing to serve as a fulltime missionary for The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Brazil Rio de Janeiro
Mission. I am so excited for this opportunity and am so excited to serve the
Lord and His children whole-heartedly. I leave in September and had received my
call in April. It has been quite a wait, but I am still so excited to be able
to serve the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength.
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