Marina Lester

If you wanted to put a cliche label on me and how I find myself here today, I was the classic quiet kid in the back of my high school classes writing 'dark' poetry. But the reason I was so often to cry was because I had no one with which to share my smiles. I was a bad social anxiety case, to the point until it was becoming physically impossible for me to reach out to anyone.
And in eleventh and twelve grade I turned all preconceived perceptions of me on their head. Transforming my grades, making friends, being chased by boys and traveling along with ten of our schools top students as ambassadors to Honduras. It was not an easy journey, but it was in me and still is. But what changed everything was finding strength in others before I was finally able to find it in myself.
Unfortunate children, people, all over the world in horrible conditions ready to do whatever just so they could live to have the next day, no matter how bleak it seemed.
To see people fight for what they believed in, to stand for something.   ... United. True. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

What changed everything was purpose. I had purpose, and I honestly believed, knew, nothing could stop me and what PURPOSE was, IS bigger, greater than any of my fears and in that I discovered my strength.

Social anxiety I believe would be very hard to understand unless you have it. It is a chemical imbalance in the brain which I choose to self medicate and combat with exercise. I love physical activity and going to the gym.

I am a girl who likes to think, expand my creative pallet and stretch boundaries in new discovery of self and other worldly mysteries. Graduating high school I find myself beginning my very own charity which keeps me very busy and nurturing the hope in my heart and belief in the world. I meet many amazing people and have  come to realize what I am up against as a charity is ignorance, not people missing a 'good heart', and that realization leaves a lot of room to hope, because ignorance is there to be changed.

I have chosen to be a humanitarian, but to even further discover again my still deep love of the sea I have hopes and plans to turn and defend our oceans as a sea activist.  And as you will come to know here is that I also have not stopped writing since the day I first began at the age of thirteen.

I am now twenty-one, learning the eco fashion industry with my charity Halos & Handbags filling in the space with old and long loves of writing, nature and adventure. I am a vegetarian and proud sponsor of a little girl in India, as well as a monthly supporter of the SPCA and Amnesty International and have plans in the near future to join Sea Shepard, Captain Paul Watson on one of his ships.

I am an avid free diver, love many forms of music, dance and expressive art. I'm admittildy romantic and idealistic but I have a foot in the real world. I am the best sort of friend you can count on and trust through thick and thin. I have a great sense of humor and though I have curbed my social anxiety I can still often seem quiet and mysterious as I sink deep into my thoughts and wanderings. And I look forward to sharing with you as Hub has given me so much more than I would ever have expected. In Hub I am made happier and am shown so often a stranger's beautiful side as we all put our hearts, minds out here for others to experience. I'm going to say it, Hubs has actually, actively made me an even better person. And I thank you all so much for listening, and granting me with present awareness of self and others. Thank you...


"A ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not what ships are built for." - unknown.