I was born on August 22nd, 1995 at Grossmont Hospital at 6:14 in the morning. I was one of two children born that day because five minutes later my twin brother was born. I weighed in at only 4.7 ounces and four inches long.
I am the son of Miles and Shelley Espley. I have a twin brother, David, and two agnate half brothers from my father's first marriage, Matthew and Nicholas. My mother and father are still married after seventeen years. Shelley Espley, formally know as Shelley Stratton, has lived in Southern California her entire life whereas Miles is originally from the Isle of Wight in England. He moved here when he was twenty and has worked for GKN Aerospace for over 25 years. My mother has committed to being a stay at home mom up until recently where she began working seasonally for Sally Foster, a large advertising company for school. Nick is happily married to Kristina and have a son, Travis, who is growing up fast. Matt, the younger of the two, is now engaged to the love of his life, Angelina. 
My mom was very involved in all of my schooling while I was at Carlton Hills. Because of her consistent involvement in every aspect of the school, she got to know the staff well, and in return the staff got to know me as well. It didn't take long for the teachers to fight over getting us in their class once they saw the type of student I was. Growing up with such an exceptional reputation, I was able to get on good terms with the office so that when I got into a “fight” in a year to come I was only given a warning, while any other student in my position would have been suspended or expelled because of the Zero Tolerance policy.
When the time finally came for me to go to high school my life began to change. I felt a new sense of independence and freedom. I continued trying to build a good reputation that I had in middle school, but West Hills presented many challenges. I had to learn to balance homework, sports, a social life, and other extra curricular so that I wouldn't be overwhelmed. As time passed I grew accustomed to the fast paced full schedule that high school demanded every day. I worked incredibly hard every semester to maintain above a 3.5 to stay on Honor Roll and get into San Diego State University.
As a young kid I was not easily entertained. My attention never stayed on something for long before I either got bored with it or found something new and exciting. There were two loves though that I still hold dear to me. The first is my love for animals. Growing up I have had a lot of different pets including dogs, cats, rats, a guinea pig, a ferret, and even a sugar glider. Spending significant amounts of time with all of them developed my interest in owning and caring for many different types of animals. The second love is my passion for photography. This began when I got my first digital camera for my seventh birthday; it was the first present I opened and the only one I remember. I took pictures of everything, pets, family, road trips, and everything in between. Part of the reason for maintaining my intrigue with it is that I always feel the need to capture every moment so that one day when I'm old and gray they won't be gone forever.
Once I got older into my junior high and high school years I had a broader plethora of hobbies. The first most significant activity I started was snowboarding. A few times every season since Freshman year, my family and I go to Big Bear to ski and snowboard for a couple days. Flying down the snowy mountainside is not only fun and exciting, it also challenges me every time I go down, so I never get bored. The other major part of my life is traveling, specifically on road trips with my family. We all still drive down to Mississippi every summer to see our family members, and from all of these trips I've developed a love for exploring new places. Over my life I've also been to D.C., multiple camps, and any other trip that I was able to be a part of. Lastly, my final and most important interest that has flourished is photography. I've saved money to buy bigger and better cameras and equipment including the Photoshop program in order to turn the images I capture into more professional works of art. Every day presents me with something new to do, but I'll never forget about the things I love to do.
Throughout my life one of my most prominent characteristics is how helpful I am. Growing up in middle school I would go up to my teacher after finishing an assignment and ask them if there was anything that they wanted me to do. Once I moved into high school I immediately joined any and all extra curricular programs that involved working with my fellow students. The first of many programs I contributed to was our Freshman orientation, HOWL. I taught incoming students the skills necessary for surviving high school. After that was a more emotional activity that our school hosted known as Unity Week. Over the course of two days I talked and connected with groups of Sophomores in order to get them comfortable enough to share anything they were hiding inside and feel better about themselves and their lives. I continued to do events like this throughout high school.
As a kid and all the way through my Freshman year I was a very timid and restrained person. I had a very select number of friends, and I was sheltered in my small school. West Hills helped to change that into the attribute that I am most proud of, my leadership. Leadership often goes hand in hand with confidence, which is something that I severely lacked. After being thrown into a school full of a variety of people and mass numbers of students surrounding me every day helped me to adapt to many different situations with new people. As I progressed talking to more and more people, meeting new students every day, I became comfortable with myself and my ability to work with those I didn't know. I began talking to everyone that I met, making new friends, and amercing myself in any new experience possible. Soon enough this led my involvement in leadership activities. I spent years as a HOWL leader, Unity Week leader, and a Camp Wolf Pack leader; I also attended Camp LEAD, and was chosen to be the West Hills' Boys' State Delegate. Each and every one of these programs confirmed my place as a leader on campus, and there was one experience that would not have been possible without my new-found confidence. The one major event that let me know that I had finally made something of myself, after years on the Yearbook staff, was being chosen by my adviser over all of the other applicants to be Editor-In-Chief of the organization. That part of my life seems to has flown by too fast, but I wouldn't go back to change anything because it made me who I am today.
After studying and obtaining a Master's degree in Psychology, I plan to pursue a career somewhere in that field. I was first interested in Psychology when I did an in-depth project on the subject during my junior year of high school. That spawned an interest that would soon come to consume my life and future plans. The main reason why I have decided to follow this path is because I know that I will never get bored, and I will not only get to help people but also be constantly challenged by new situations and clients. A dominant perk of this subject is that it is extremely broad, so it expands the number of jobs that I will be able to get. I believe that I will be working in either criminal or clinical Psychology. Both options will satisfy my need for constant challenge and desire to help and guide people. As I settle into whichever job I may have, I know I will do well because I have been helping people my whole life, and now I can do it professionally.
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