Amanda Byerman- Howdy!

Hey everyone!

I'm Amanda Byerman. I was born in on December 4, 1999 in Sparks, Nevada. When I was 6, my family and I moved to Las Vegas, where I lived until June 2016 when we moved to Lexington for my father's job. I'm excited to be here, but I'll admit moving in the middle of high school wasn't exactly a dream of mine.

This year, I am, as always, terrified but determined. In school, I want to get straight As. I think it would be pointless to shoot for anything but the best. There’s really no reason to limit yourself that way- we all have such enormous potential, and it’s our responsibility to utilize that potential. This year in particular, I’m looking forward to meeting new friends and getting involved, as well as bulking up my transcript a bit.

I love informed discussion about current events, particularly in politics. This year in particular has been quite the doozy. I manifest this love in competing in Forensics, mainly in Public Forum and Lincoln Douglass debate. I also have long been interested in international politics, participating in Model UN back home. However, this year I will try my luck at KYA and KUNA instead.

I’m also inordinately in love with Broadway (the place and the genre). Although I lack any sort of talent at all (my dad says I sound like a dying cat), I adore watching musical theater. While showtunes aren’t exactly the coolest, I’m often left in awe of the deftness with which musicals portray emotion. My current favorites are Hamilton, Les Mis, and Spring Awakening. The Sound of Music is my favorite movie, as nerdy as that is. Aside from showtunes, I love Simon and Garfunkel and Regina Spektor.

In June, my family and I began our cross-country trek from Las Vegas to Lexington. All four of us spent 5 days jammed together in our Toyota hybrid- it was the longest 5 days of my life. Along the way, we were able to see some of the most beautiful attractions America has to offer, from the cliffs of Mt. Zion to downtown Denver to the World’s Largest Ball of Twine (my personal favorite) Only a couple weeks after our arrival, I did a summer program at Centre College learning about international religions. It was very interesting! We were able to visit a Monastery, a Temple, and a Mosque, all over the course of 2 weeks while we stayed in the dorms there. I was able to meet many interesting people, from all over Kentucky and the surrounding areas. I also visited Okracoke Island, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, with my family. It was wonderful- the beaches were beautiful, and my baby cousins were adorable!

My favorite website is Google Maps. Between being in a new place and having the sense of direction of a blindfolded rock, I rely upon websites like this to get pretty much anywhere.

Here's a pic of me at the World's Largest Ball of (Sisal) Twine. It was a life-changing experience.



I'm looking forward to getting to know everybody! Let's make this year great!