Hi everyone! My name is Ashley, and I decided to join the forum--on my real name, that is. I tentatively signed up a few days ago with a variation of my name, said to heck with it, and then signed up again with my true identity (I apologize to the moderator!). I've been reading around for a week or so, and I figured I might as well register so that I can join in talking . I'm a 19 year old college student in the U.S.,and I am majoring in Health Science with a minor in Psychology. I'm most likely looking at entering a graduate program in either Behavioral Neuroscience or Clinical Psychology--but not completely sure, yet! I just know that I love learning about the relationship between mind and behavior, and I'm convinced that in a healthy human, there's an incredible amount of control by the first towards the second. I became acquainted with Ayn Rand four years ago while reading Anthem in a High School English class. A friend gave me his copies of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, but they ended up on the bookshelf until college. Last year I met my boyfriend, who encouraged me to finish Atlas. I did mostly out of sheer curiosity (I knew I liked Anthem, but even with a love of reading, Atlas looked daunting). The second time I met him, he was wearing a shirt that said "Richard Halley: School of Music" and refused to explain the meaning; he stated only that I would find out in due time what his shirt meant. Of course, I did find out, and I am quite glad I did! The first thing that attuned me to Objectivism is that I've never bought into the popular social scene or "way of life." I don't drink, I don't party...none of the college hullaballo. And I really figure I'm not missing out. My interests include reading in bed all day, playing the flute voraciously, and drawing all the time. Oh, and I also occasionally rant about how much I love sushi. Another reason I am interested in Objectivism is because I've fought to battle my own past demons, amongst them, depression and an eating disorder. Rand's philosophy is definitely something that's helps carry me through the rough times, and helps me better enjoy the good times. An experience that has definitely convinced me of the viability of Objectivist philosophy was the methods I began to use in recovery from the eating disorder, namely honesty and individualism. In treatment, I did a lot of therapy-work to find out where I messed up (and where other people messed up and I wasn't accountable), how I could fix my present, and what I could look forward to in the case that I did choose to change. It has been a pretty rewarding journey, and one I'm still travelin' on. I've come to the conclusion that I cannot have both an eating disorder and a productive life--so I think I'm on the right track. So, long story short: I'm here !