Olivia O'Neal - Blog Post 1
Hi, my name is Olivia, most people call me Liv. I am a freshman at UNR majoring in human development. I am hoping to go forth with either social work or child therapy. I was born in Chicago and moved from there to Michigan in which I lived for ten years. I then moved back to Chicago when I was ten due to my mom re-marrying. It was only my mom and I along with her side of the family for nearly all my life until my stepdad came. I am close with them both but my mom and I will always have a closer bond. We then moved to Reno when my stepdad got an amazing job offer. I went to Galena high school for all four years and then decided to stay in Reno which is why I chose UNR.

Family is a huge part of my life. I have the two most adorable little cousins on my stepdads side of the family. Their names are Ava and Madelyn. I normally only see them for holidays and occasional family trips. From time to time they send me handmade letters in the mail telling me how much they love and miss me which really lifts my spirit. As I mentioned before, I am also very close with my mom. She is one of my best friends and is always there for me. I am also an only child so she tends to spoil me. My grandparents on her side of the family are also a huge part of my life, and have been forever. They still live in Michigan, but travel to Mexico in the winters to escape the cold weather!

I work at La Vecchia which is an Italian restaurant in west Reno. I love it there and love the food! I also have a part time job at Yoga Pod which is a yoga studio in south Reno in the summit. I really love yoga, and working there I get a free yoga pass which is really nice but I need to start taking more advantage of it! I first got into yoga because of my mom. She used to be a yoga instructor just for fun because she was passionate about it, until she got in an accident which prevented her from doing yoga, let alone any physical activity.

The reason I want to either to go into social work or child therapy, is because of my love for children and my love for helping others. While I was in high school, I volunteered part time with RAVE which is a non profit organization that helps disabled children and foster children. Each night I volunteered there, we were each assigned a "buddy" for the night. The buddy you got is the one you play with the whole night. Being a part of that amazing organization is what really inspired me to want to give back to the kids who need to be loved and cared for. My whole life I have been told that I have a way with children, so I think the route I'm headed towards is perfect for me.

Thanks for reading!
#gunby101