This Is Me

     I just want to take a moment to thank you for reading my blog! My name is "Haley", but you can call me "Michie Poe". After over 17 years, I have become disenchanted with constantly writing all my experiences down in notebooks, and decided to begin writing about my life experiences digitally. I figured senior year would be a pretty important year to document. 😊
   
     I have always been pro-life. Ever since I became aware of what abortion was (probably 5th or 6th grade), I have been against abortion. I could never wrap my head around how anyone could support the merciless killing of innocent children in the womb. But, as I grew older, and my mind expanded, I learned about the history of abortion in our nation, and the various reasons people get and support abortions. The idea of abortion would always make me cringe, but it wasn't something I really thought about unless someone else mentioned it (very rarely, as abortion is a personal and passionate issue for many people). I always believed that pro-choice was the scientifically correct side, but not the morally correct one. As of late, I am beginning to realize just how much pro-choicers twist and deny science to fit their worldview. It wasn't until my junior year of high school that I began learning how to logically defend my pro-life stance. Browsing through Facebook one day, I stumbled upon the Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice Debate Forum, run by a man named Antonio. I decided to send Antonio a message, as he makes some very strong cases against abortion in his forum. I brought up several pro-choice arguments I hear all the time, and Antonio helped me address them. Ever since then, I have joined Antonio as an admin of the Debate Forum, and I have become committed to defending life.

     I have not always been Christian, unfortunately. I always believed in God, and believed that the Bible was His inspired word, but I never bothered to read it. I only prayed when I felt I needed God, and rarely ever attended church. I prayed to received Christ as a young girl, and was subsequently baptized, but I spent most of my childhood very unplugged from the faith. But when I was twelve, my mother's father, Grandpa Vance, passed away. Before he passed, he tried talking to my mom about getting my dad and I into church. The memory is still fresh in my mind of when my mom (really my stepmom, but my mom nonetheless) made a big decision for my family. I was sitting in the passenger side of her car, running some errands with her. We drove past the Orange Park Plaza and came to a stop at a red traffic light. My mom looked at me and said, "Haley, we're going to start going to church like my Daddy wanted us to."  Personally, I had no problem with it, so I just nodded my head. Over the next few weeks, my mom and I, along with my Aunt Amy (Mom's little sister), looked for churches to regularly attend. We eventually found a church we very much enjoyed, and began going there. Before long, my Dad began going with us, prayed to receive Christ, and was baptized. After a couple months, I felt the Lord working on my heart, like He has big plans for me. I re-dedicated my life to Him, and as a public symbol of my rededication, I was baptized a second time. I have been on fire for Him ever since.

     In case you're wondering, my pro-life views are not dramatically affected by my Christian faith; I have been pro-life much longer than I've been following Jesus, and I would be pro-life regardless of the religion I practiced.

     I have always loved literature. Reading literature, writing literature, listening to literature being read to me. I loved reading in kindergarten, and even wrote short kids books. As I grew older, the books I read became more and more mature. I have always been fascinated with the figurative language and symbolism behind every novel, and secretly had an aspiration to become an author of sorts. Among my favorite works of literature are: The Bible, The Lottery Rose, The Great Gatsby, The Crucible, The Grapes of Wrath, Animal Farm, Of Mice and Men, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Harry Potter series, Eragon, The Scarlet Letter, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Odyssey, The Devil's Arithmetic, The Boy in Striped Pajamas, The Raven, Fall of the House of Usher, and more. I have always been into writing poetry and letters that expressed my innermost feelings. Currently, I am writing a novel of my own, called The Dragon Chronicles: Isles of Speartha, the first book of a trilogy.

     I have always been a Florida girl. I call Middleburg, Florida home. I do not live in close proximity to a beach, but I don't live unreasonably far from one. I have lived in the same house on North Cocoa Avenue my entire life; about 30 minutes away from Jacksonville, a three-hour drive from Orlando. In my opinion, Florida is a lovely state full of lovely people, though I'm sure there might be some bias there. As far as weather is concerned, Florida can be very bipolar, - I've experienced harsh winters, mild winters, blazing hot summers, and more tolerable summers. As you can imagine, Florida, like many regions near the Equator, gets harsh summer storms, especially in July and August. My uncle, along with my aunt-by-marriage and baby cousin, live right next door to me. Directly across the street lives my best friend and her family. Two houses over from her house is my grandmother and grandfather, whom I visit quite frequently. Most of my family lives in Florida, but I have relatives living all over the country, - Rhode Island, Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, and other places.

     All in all, my views on things have remained stable throughout my life. I have matured a lot, but on few occasions have I gone through something so huge that it drastically changed me. That is why I'm starting this blog, - to document the changes I go through, the risks I take in life, the things I experience. I hope you enjoy taking this journey with me, and hope to hear about your experiences, too. 😊