My Autobiography - a work in progress!

I had to write an autobiography for a class I'm taking and I decided to share it with you. Here is a quick look into my life, take it or leave it. :) But as a bonus, this version includes pictures, my professor won't get pictures!

An Autobiography of 

 Kelsey Michelle Glover Yeck

I was born on December 17th 1991 to Ken and Karen Glover. I am the youngest of 5 although I only have one full blood sister. My parents were both married previously and had kids. My mom had a boy and a girl and my dad had a girl. My sister, Natalie and I were the glue that bonded our family together. Fortunately we all grew up in the same home with two parents that loved us. 

My brother, the oldest, is fifteen years older than me so I grew up quickly because there weren’t as many younger kids around. I remember sitting under our dining room table while my oldest brother and sister had parties with their high school friends. I hid there as long as I could before Dad would discover me and make me go to bed. Ben and Candi’s friends gave me nicknames and treated me as a sister of their own. That’s the way I liked it, I was raised by two parents and a ton of teenagers, all in one house. The day I went into kindergarten was the same day Candi went to BYU. There were about a dozen of her friends in the front yard wishing her farewell and I loved to joke that they were there to wish me well at my first day of school. When I was a little girl I loved going downstairs to Aimee’s room and sitting on her bed while she listened to music. She had a smashing pumpkins poster in her room and I will never forget it. You could see it from the door way and I always caught a look of it when walking by. Once when we were picking up Aimee from the airport we were surprised that she’s dyed her hair. Little did we know it had been much more dramatic a few months earlier when it was the color of the pop star Vitamin C’s hair. Luckily she calmed her fashion sense down a bit. 

 My elementary years were a roller coaster and I’m not sure if I completely understand what I put my parents through. In third grade I had a terrible experience with separation anxiety. It was awful and affected me at school and at night. I remember my dad walking down the street one night to see how far he could still hear me screaming. I know Natalie was wondering when this would end while she was trying to get some peaceful sleep downstairs. One day at school the principle came out and physically picked me up and carried me into the school while I was kicking and screaming. I don’t remember seeing my mom’s face as this happened but I’m sure it was filled with tears and pain. Not only was it very difficult for me to understand but it was even more difficult as my parents tried to get inside my head and understand why their daughter suddenly had such grave fears. It was a hard battle but my parents fought to get me through it. It took a lot of tough love that angered me at the beginning but I’ve since learned that it was the best thing for me and I will defend their tactics forever. 

About 2 years after that I began fifth grade and started to play basketball. I didn’t know if at the time but this would become a great outlet for me and something I would love for years. Before my time with basketball I danced which I think really helped me not be a goofy, uncoordinated, super tall girl and become a talented basketball player. It was a great way for me to utilize my natural height and develop amazing friendships. I have fond memories of road trips for summer tournaments. The week long camp at the University of Utah was an interesting experience. 4-5 games per day meant we were dead by the night but we always ended up talking into the wee hours of the morning about who knows what. Those are adventures I will never forget. My time with basketball was shorted than I expected. I planned on playing for Utah State University and worked hard while they recruited me but my career was cut short due to extensive injuries. I decided not to play my senior year and I got involved with a lot of other things like the elite choir at my high school, Encore. 

Encore made my senior year a blast. I was able to sing with my best friends and experience great things. We went on tour at Christmas time and it was always fun to get out of class to go spread some Christmas cheer. Every year we went to McCall, in Idaho, to prep for our new Christmas songs. It was so much fun to spend a weekend in the mountains in the most beautiful lodge. The place we stayed was run by a Christian family and every time we ate we sang a prayer song on the food. I hate that I can’t remember the words now. That family and the song really had an impact on my life. I will never forget what it looked like and felt like to be there. Those experiences were always a joy and I often think about how sad my life would have been if I hadn't had that time to spend with friends. 

My life at home was really great! I had the blessing of having a family who loves me and supports me. Before my junior year in high school my family’s home of 20 years burnt down in a propane tank explosion. It was an accident but I will never forget that day. Being the youngest it was only me and my parents at home. We were about to sit down for dinner when we hear a loud hissing noise coming from just outside the kitchen. We had been having problems with our air conditioning unit that day so my dad told me to go turn off the a/c while he went to take a look. After flipping the switch I came around the corner to see flames outside our kitchen window. My mom and I went into auto pilot. I ran for the fire extinguisher and my mom grabbed the phone. My dad attempted to fight it for as long as he could but quickly realized it was out of his abilities when the partially depleted tank exploded. I yelled for him to run and get out while I grabbed my mom and headed for the front door. The last thing I saw was my dad behind me running out of the house. By the time we reached the street and turned back he was nowhere to be seen. Where was he? Was he ok? Was he more injured than I thought when that tank blew? I was in a panic when I finally saw him come outside. He had turned down the other hall to retrieve some important things before coming outside. It was a relief to see that he was unhurt. The first explosion alerted most of the streets around us but the second explosion of the un-depleted, full tank was enough to break windows in people’s homes a half mile away. I had a friend who was running on the track at our high school, about 1 mile away and he felt the ground shake. That was one of the most terrifying and amazing things I have ever seen. The emergency crews were there within minutes and the fought so hard. With the nature of the explosion we learned that the natural gas line had been compromised and the fire crews were fighting a losing battle. They pulled out until a gas worker could come clamp the line. I will never forget the sight of fire fighters leaning up against our neighbor’s home, blackened and sweating from the work. It was too much for them. 5 crews were called in to help stop the fire. 

As I stood there with my parents, watching our home, lives, and everything we knew burn I heard my mom look up at my dad and whisper, “what’s happening?” he looked down at his wife, his everything, his best friend that he built that home with and said, “we’re losing the house.” What happened next I didn’t expect. A tear never escaped her eyes, she looked at the home she worked so hard for and stood tall with bravery and courage, determined to press forward. Once the fire was out and contained we were able to, with firefighter escort, walk through what was left. It was a blackened mess, against a black night. As we reached the garage we looked out to the darkness and faintly saw a glint of gold and red. In the Christmas decorations above the garage there was a snow globe with a gold base and red ribbon. In that snow globe we could see Santa bending over to kiss a woman. This decoration was a gift from a family friend because she said that when you turn the base it plays, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and that reminded her of my parent’s relationship. In the black world around us it was like a ray of hope there to remind us that if we have each other we will always be ok. As long as we can look up with courage, we will survive. 

That night changed my relationship with my parents forever. Things were never quite the same because not only was I growing up but the three of us had to pick up our lives and rebuild everything together. We had no home, no clothes, no food, no nothing but we had each other and we were able to cleave to that and find a way to move forward. I was no longer outside of discussions about money or what our next step was. I was intricately involved with getting things in order and making our life run as smoothly as possible. I learned a lot during that time. It was life lessons about how a home really runs and the little things that you have to take care of. I learned a lot about insurance companies and how important it is to frequently review your policy as well as what it takes to cancel or suspend your utilities. When we rebuilt the house we were so excited and by the time it was finally finished we were so happy. That new house, on the same foundation, represents our ability to pick up and move on. We rebuilt more than just a home, but I life and walked away with relationships that we so much stronger. 

When I said that my relationship with my parents changed I meant it really did. From that day they became my best friends and my closest confidant. I told them just about everything. Countless nights I spent sitting at the edge of their bed talking about life and school and friends so when I left for school at Brigham Young University I was walking away from a bond that was closer than any of my other siblings could understand. My parents dropped me off at school and when they left I was a mix of emotions. Excited and nervous, happy and sad, mixed up in every way. I remedied that by getting really involved, really quickly. I went to the Foundations of Leadership Conference and met my best friends there; I joined the Resident Hall Association and planned events for our dorms, and became the first freshman to be on Cougar United. I had a blast my first semester! Then I went home for Christmas and came back to school ready to have some more fun. I was excited to go on dates with fun guys and just hang out with my friends. Little did I know that the next day I was going to be walking in to a class that would change my life forever. 

That class was Biology 100. However, it was a few days in before I sat down to a random guy and we started talking. He was cute and seemed really nice. When we got out of our seats to leave I was happily surprised to see that he was quite a bit taller than my 6’ 4” self. I was even more excited to sit next to him again and we were talking a lot. Finally, only about 2 weeks later, he asked me out and we had an amazing first date. We made dinner together and played game and I really got to know this guy. A few nights later we had our first kiss and I was excited to see where this relationship would go. 

It went pretty far, 3 months after our first kiss we were engaged it was such a fun time and I really wasn't expecting the proposal. We had got up to Boise for General Conference and while I knew he was going to ask my parents to marry me I had no idea what the weekend really had in store. After priesthood session we went to dinner with my family and he seemed happy and giddy and nervous all at the same time. Once we went home I took Mike for a drive around my home town. It was perfect and we ended up at the train depot overlooking downtown Boise. While we were talking he started fidgeting with his pocket and before I could ever wonder what he was up to he pulled out the ring and put it on my finger. I was shocked! I thought the ring was still in Utah being sized but he’d planned ahead and wanted to surprise me. It was amazing and just 3 months after that we were married in the Boise Idaho Temple. I will never forget that day and the way it felt to know that I was sealed to the most amazing man and the perfect one for me! 

Michael plays football for BYU and we love our life in Provo. School and work plus football keeps us so busy. It’s crazy to think that we have already been married for a year and a half. Sometimes it seems like it was yesterday that I sat next to him and other times I feel like he’s been a part of me for my entire life. He makes me laugh like no one else can and the way he loves me can bring me to tears. I knew him long before this life and I love that I’ll get to be with him long after. I love watching him play football and do what he loves. It makes me so happy when he talks about our family and the kids we’ll someday have. I know he’s going to be an amazing father and I can’t wait to be a mom. My story doesn't end here; this is only a beginning of a long tale of one daughter of God finding her way back.

Whether you enjoyed that or not it was a glimpse into parts of my life that you probably don't know about.