Julia was born in Mount Vernon, Missouri on February 18th, 1974. She spent the first ten years of her life playing outside of her father's travel trailer at campsites. Their family traveled across the country following her father's minster work. She had a love for nature, and nature loved her. At age six or seven, her family nicknamed her butterfly. When one land on her during a hike; it didn’t fly away until the end of the hike. When Julia entered middle school her family stopped traveling and moved to Arkansas. She graduated high school at 16 and went to Arkansas State University. She decided against college to be a waitress/bartender and then restaurant manager. A devastating accident happened one night in August of 1996 when she was 22. Julia was out with a friend who was drinking. She was the designated driver for the night. As they were driving they were rear ended by a drunk driver. She survived an accident that could have been fatal. The steering wheel of the car penetrated her skull. Julia attended an intensive therapy to be able to speak and walk again. Julia reported, “...The steering wheel in …show more content…
She pushed so far past that car accident. She became something amazing. She stood up for everything she believed in for not just a day, or a week but over 700 days and 180 feet in the air. I believe she is unstoppable. She is inspiring to me. She fought long, and she fought hard. When she protested in Ecuador she got arrested and deported. These hardships never hindered her