Who Am I and Who Do I Want to Become?

 My name is Addison Tyler Antico. I was born and raised in Wayland, Massachusetts. For my entire childhood, my life goal was to become a professional NBA player, until I reached about 10th/11th grade where reality started to kick in. I was an athlete my whole life, but then I was introduced to politics. One story that I believe captivates who I am as a person took place in High School. In 2016, before the school year started, I came up with the idea of expressing my support for then-Republican candidate Donald J. Trump. Except I had 1 problem: considering where my house was located in relation to the road, no one would ever see 1 small yard sign. I told my father let's get 1000 small Trump signs and flood our lawn. Long story short, too expensive, so we decided to build 1 massive Trump yard sign. The sign was 16ft tall and 50ft long. This was the beginning of something that I would have never thought would transform my life. 

In 2016,  I was taking my first ever “AP” class (Government Class), which was a little nerve-racking, but I always told myself “If I enjoy the overall topic and put my brain to it, I will succeed.” That is exactly what I did: I got involved in every class discussion, and not because I wanted to, but because I had to. There were a lot of times where I didn’t want to speak, but I had to because no one else would. Note, Wayland is a very very small town that is 95% intolerant democrats (no diverse thought). I was the only person in my class that held more of a Conservative viewpoint. Except, I had one friend in the class that had conservative views, but he didn’t have the heart to speak it. Every day, I would be verbally beaten by not only my classmates, but my own teachers, so I made it a mission to give them a good debate, but kept in mind to ALWAYS be respectful, always. The year 2016, made me the person who I am today. I learned how to properly stand up for what you believe in, especially when you hold an unpopular opinion. If I never spoke my mind because of the fear of facing backlash, I would not be the person that I am today. I am NOT perfect, but I will always speak up when I feel like something must be said. When I look to see 10 years down the road, I see an entrepreneur that is craving to make a change, whether that is specific actions or small conversations that slowly change people's perceptions. My goal in life is to never be another “sheep” in society. Meaning, don’t be a robot or most importantly a follower. 

Conservative, Entrepreneur, High School