Heyyyy, I'm Chanel Baldwin and I'm 15 yrs old. I'm considered quiet at times until I feel comfortable around someone. After a while, I've become the weird one. I'm the only child so I mostly spoiled. I have a good connection with my parents, but there is still some stuff I can't tell them. I've lived in the Bronx all my life on Kingsbridge. I have the most amazing friends around here. Even though I'm the only child, my family is the whole neighborhood. Since I'm the youngest and they knew me since I was eight, they treat me like a little sister. I like that feeling because it makes me feel safe and protected. I've had friends that back-stabbed me, but who hasn't? Everyone experienced an unfaithful friend, but it didn't kill me, it just made me stronger.

I now attend Mott Hall Bronx High School and I'm on my way to 10th grade. My freshman year wasn't what I thought it would be. I mean it was an experience but not the experience I needed. I had so many problems in high school it just made me someone different.  I'm not the same "Chanel" any more. I've become more open with myself and now I express myself more. I get good grades because I like to challenge myself and my mom will kill me if I didn't.

I've worked for one year and this summer I work at CampInteractive. This is an experience if I may say, but it's not so bad. It's just something I've never done before. I went on this trip to New Jersey and sometimes it was fun, but I saw anotherside of me. I realized that I'm a person that can do anything after this trip. I went canoeing, hiking, and rock-climbing. My favorite was rock-climbing so guess which one I didn't enjoy the most. Truthfully, it was not so bad, it was just was the hardest of all. Overall, the trip was an experience that I might have to think twice about doing again.