Hey guys! As you probably already know my name is Maria Vlahopoulos and I’m a freshman at Baruch College. When people first meet me, they might think I’m a bubbly short Greek girl, but when you get to know me, you realize I’m much more than that. I was raised in a very religious Greek Orthodox household. Greek was my first language, I did not learn English until I was about 5 (which is hard to tell because I do not have a thick Greek accent.) I went to Greek private school for about 10 years, which had it’s ups and downs. Since I was the girl who always hung out with the guys, I was the one girl they blamed for everything. I got detention for almost everything I did even when I didn’t do anything wrong (or so I thought.) The plus of Greek school was the fun Greek plays we did and the friends I made that I’m still close with today.

One thing you guys probably already know about me, because I talk about it  every week in this class, is that I play softball. I’ve been playing since I was 7 and I never plan on stopping. Playing softball has shaped me into the person I am today. It has transformed me into the persistent leader I am today. Right away when I started high school I got into many clubs and sports. I bled blue and orange which were our school’s colors. My senior year I was captain of the softball team, and co-captain of the volleyball team and the Robotics team. Balancing all that and two AP’s was pretty difficult, but I learned to balance my time and still have time for myself.

I see myself as very optimistic. I’ll always try to find the “bright side” of every tough situation I or someone else may be in. One thing I hate is seeing people sad. It gets me just as sad as them sometimes even worse. I’ll find anyway to make a joke just see that person smile or chuckle while their crying. From what my friends say my shoulder is a pretty good place to cry on. I don’t tell them what they want to hear I tell them the truth. On March 18, 2010 disaster struck. My best friend’s sister passed away; and I was in complete shock. This young 20 year old girl, that me and my best friend annoyed as if she were my own older sister, passed away. I didn’t know what to say to my best friend. Sorry wasn’t good enough. Then I realized that sometimes not saying anything was fine. Just being a shoulder for her to cry was enough. I knew at that point, that I needed to be with her every step of the way. I was with her everyday, making sure she was always occupied with something, to get her mind off of it until she was able to accept it. It was at that point that I realized you really don’t know what you have until it’s gone. As cliche as that phrase is, it’s true.

I’ve always tried to find something cool with my initials, because I feel like everyone has a cool acronym for their initials. The only interesting thing I can come up with is the my initials stand for Momentum which is  P=mv. Another cool fact is that my dad’s name is Leonidas. That’s the same name used in the leader of the 300 pack. But, my dad is nothing like the leader of the 300 pack. He’s 5’2 and isn’t Spartan.

Some hobbies that i enjoy besides sports are crocheting and playing the piano. With winter coming up, I’ve already purchased many balls of yarn to make scarves. (If you want one let me know after class and I can give you a good deal) I’ve been playing the piano since I was 6, but I recently stopped because 24 hours each day isn’t enough to do everything. During the winter break, I plan on playing again and getting back to how good I used to be. If you ever come to my house you’ll find someone arguing and someone cooking. It’s pretty much a typical Greek family in my house, and I love every minute of it. My parents are pretty over-protective. One thing they won’t let me do right now is dorm, but I know it’s because they love me and care for me. Baruch hasn’t changed me yet it’s just made me more stressful but happy to know that I have softball next semester so that’s something to look forward to. I hope to adjust to the college life soon so I can enjoy my next 4 years.