Autobiography by Daniela Acuna

What super-interesting experiences and facts can a girl tell when she has been living only for 16 years and two months? Probably a few, maybe many, or none. It depends on the way people define the word interesting. However, let’s start this story from the very beginning.

My name is Daniela Andreina Acuña Monge, and I was born on May 27^th, 1994, in Maracaibo City, Zulia state, Venezuela. I live with my mom –Migdalia Monge; my dad –Ernesto Acuña; and my sister –Valeria Acuña (who is one year younger than me), in San Antonio de Los Altos (town located in Miranda state, Venezuela). I consider myself as a very lucky person. Throughout my life, my parents have done all on their reach and more to give my sister and me everything. I grew up (and I am still growing up) surrounded by love and understanding, and I have never lacked anything.

My family is the most important thing to me. I feel very glad I can call my mom, my dad and my sister my best friends. They support me in most of the things I want to get and I owe them everything I am. Also, I feel lucky and blessed I have a big family. All of them are a really important part of me. I try to keep them in mind whenever I am apart, especially now that I’ll be in the United States for two months. I have three rings my mom gave me (two are hers and there’s this butterfly one she gave me when I went to middle school), and I try to wear them almost every day, so I can think of my family and moments we have had together all day. Sometimes I think memories keep people close no matter where they are.

I am catholic, and, as my family, my religion is a really important part of me and of who I am. I have too many things in life which I am thankful for and I consider myself as a very blessed person.

My family and I have moved three times to different cities in Venezuela. I have been in six different schools. Right now I go to a catholic high school in my town, and I am about to start the senior year. Since little, I have always been an A⁺ student, so my grades and being serious and giving each subject its importance and time has always been essential. When I see the things I have achieved on my own, I get motivated to keep working hard and keep being excellent. My favorite subjects in school are Math and Physic. I hope to get into a good university, I think I want to get a degree in electronic engineer and get graduate degrees in that field -which are three of my goals in life. I still don’t know if I want to study abroad or in Venezuela, but I’ve got about six months to decide.

I consider myself as a friendship-independent person. Even though I see friends as a gift from God and the family He has let me to choose, and even when I appreciate, love and care a lot about them, I have gone through some bad experiences in my short life that had made me become suspicious when it comes to choose and maintain friendships. Any kind of relationship, but especially friendship -in this stage of life- is based in trust, and when I trust someone I do not like having to regret myself for doing that. So I have become very selective.

I have not gone through truly bad experiences in my life, but these kinds of events (which I consider not-so-good events) I mentioned above have made me stronger and a fighter, and have made me become determinate and constant; I see myself as a strong young woman. I keep firm in what I believe, and I have always fought for what I want.

Also, I like helping people or whatever needs my help, especially animals.

Animals have been an important part of my life since I can remember. When I was a little girl, I remember I always wanted a puppy, but my parents wouldn’t give it to me because they thought I wouldn’t take care of it. So I had to keep asking for it until they finally gave my sister and me a puppy. I was eight years old when Gordito (that is my dog’s name) came to live with us. For everyone’s surprise, we took and keep taking care of him; that experience definitely taught me to be responsible and increased my love for animals. I love animals and I try to do what is in my reach to help them.

Right now I am starting to get more involved in defending animal’s rights but I’m planning on extending that condition by creating a nonprofit organization that actually helps and does something for both domestic and wild animals. That’s another goal I will achieve when I am able to. The same thing happens with nature, and as long as I can do something to leave a better world for future generations I will do what’s in my reach.

I have to say that I am a dreamer, I have always been; to me there are no limits! So it is really easy to think anything is possible, and it will be as long as I keep that in mind.

I have always been very dramatic, since I was a little girl! A lot of close friends and family often joke with me about the times when I made and still make a huge deal out of something tiny. But thanks to that I discovered the passion I had for performing arts, specifically singing and acting, because it was a way where I could be dramatic without having people making fun of me because of it. I love acting; to me is fascinating how I can get to be more than one person and live those lives and learn from them. I have participated in small school plays, but I have loved those experiences. However, my first love is singing. Funny home videos of when I was little show I have always loved singing. It is amazing how people can express how they feel and make other people feel in a determinate way just singing. I am not a professional singer… yet. I am studying in an academy in Venezuela to achieve that. I am a person who usually keeps a low profile, but I can tell that I transform myself when having to sing. I feel like those moments are the only ones where I can be just and completely myself in my very own way. I have performed previously while being in elementary school, in the school’s choir or things like that; but in May 23^rd of this year I had the amazing opportunity to perform in a “Prom Concert” of the Academy I am in (it is kind of an event where they promote students to the next level). Singing in that stage was one of the most amazing and unforgettable experiences until now in my entire short life, and I definitely want it to repeat.

But year before that was the moment that actually made me get into the Academy and start taking singing more seriously. I sang at my fifteen-year-old party (for girls, being fifteen in Latin America is like being sixteen in the United States, so often we have parties or trips to celebrate birthdays. In my case, I chose a party) with all my friends and family there, and it was just amazing.

Actually, my whole party was amazing. Being fifteen means a girl stops being a child to become a young woman, so it is a big step in our lives. Dancing vals with my daddy, adding all the moments I lived during those seven or eight hours, was one of the most special and unforgettable experiences I have ever had, and it is really hard for me to express it all with words. Seeing my mom, dad, grandparents, friends… almost crying because of the excitement after I sang showing me their love and support was something I definitely appreciate and will never forget.

All my family, but specifically my mom, my dad and my 94-year-old great-grandmother keep encouraging me to go after that dream (even when I know sometimes they are afraid of that crazy idea I want to accomplish). In Venezuela is hard to fulfill this kinds of goals, but the fact it is hard doesn’t mean I’ll quit trying and dreaming, all the opposite! I don’t know exactly if that is what I am meant to be, but I’m planning on figuring it out, and my family keeps encouraging me to go after it.

They are the people I admire the most, because they are unstoppable and had worked and keep working very hard to get what they want and see their loved ones happy. I admire them because of their strength no matter the circumstances. They have never given up and they have taught me to never give up, having your values and believes always present. I really wish I can get to be as good person as each one of them is, be remembered as a person who did everything to be successful, happy and to see other people happy the way they do, and to have as many birthdays as my great-grandmother has have!!