Buon giorno!  

My name is Matilda Angelina Funicello.  I am 11 years old.  

I live with my family in San Diego, California, where the weather is nice just about all year long (though we do have rainy days).  I was born here.  I live with my Mama and Papa, my Grandmama and Grandpapa (they're Papa's parents), and my three little brothers: Pasquale (9), Giuseppi (7), and Dominic (2).  I'm the oldest and the only girl.

I like to do many things: help Mama and Grandmama with the cooking (I can make an entire dinner; my Mama taught me well and if there's one thing we Italians love, it's food and cooking!), draw, write stories or poems, go swimming or surfing on the beach, play volleyball or basketball (also soccer), dance, sing, and play games on the computer (Angry Birds, Mahjongg, Cubis 2, Super Collapse, and Bookworm are my favorites!).

When I grow up, I would like to be a world traveler and go around the world (particularly to Italy, which is where my ancestors come from; in fact, Grandpapa and Grandmama were both born in Italy, near Rome).  I would love to see the land of my heritage; that would be a dream come true for me!

I would also like to be a singer, a dancer, or maybe join the Marines.  I have plenty of dreams, as you can see.

At school, I will be in the sixth grade come September.  This will be my last year in elementary school.  It makes me kind of sad because next year I will be starting middle school and then I will be the bottom person on the totom pole, and I will no longer be the one in charge.  I will be the baby and that makes me a little scared.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my story.  I will write in here again soon; right now, though, it is about to storm and Mama and Papa don't like me to have the computer on while it's lightning or thundering outside.  Until later, this is Matilda Funicello saying so long!

~Matilda.

~To be continued.~