Every person has to make a journey. To learn about themselves and the peole around them. It could take place at any time. Your house while reading your favorite romance novel, or with your boyfriend on prom night. You have that ephinay where suddenly everything that had ever happend to you makes sense. For every person it is something different. Mine came to me in a life changing way. This is my story. This is my journey.

So, I guess we should start with the basics. My name is Gabriella Montez and I am 17 years old. I am the only daughter of Maria and Thomas Montez. When I was 10 years old, my father was killed by a drunk driver. So now, it is just me and my mom. And my best friend. Together, we have been through everything. He is an instrumental part of my journey.

He, by the way, is Troy Bolton. I can't even begin to descibe to you how perfect he his. Everything about him is drool worthy. On top of being captain of the basketball team and the most popular guy in school, he is nice and sweet and polite and a million other amazing things. With his golden brown hair and swoon worthy blue eyes, he is an angel walking among us. God, did I mention that he is perfect? Or that I have a hopeless crush on him?

It is really becasue of him that I even started on the journey that was truly the beggining of my life. He made a single decision and it changed everything for me. It seems that is a bit extrreme, but Troy always had a way of making everything in my life change. But, in the 17 years that I have known him, it has always been for the best.

Not that he would ever notice. The only people, or should I say person, that figured it out was my one of my other best friend, Taylor Mckessie. Taylor is the co-captain of the Scholastic Decathlon team, and is like my sister. She can read me like a book. We must have been like 13 when one day she just looked over at me and said, "You love Troy, don't you?". My blush answered her question.

Though, of course, once Taylor knew she just had to tell Sharpay. How do I even begin to describe her? I guess the answer would be loud, obnoxious, and pink. I swear to god that that is the only color that she wears. But it looks good on her, so what can I say? When she found out, she yelled, high pitched by the way, for 20 minutes. My ears have never been the same.

And because Sharpay is uncapable of keeping a secret, her boyfriend Zeke Baylor was told almost immediantly. I really like Zeke. All he did when he found out was give me a knowing smile and offered me a cookie. Gosh, thoose cookies were good. I wonder if he has any more of those. Wait- that's not important. OK, back on track.

I am a nice person really. So when I figured out that almost everyone knew, I had to tell my big brother, Chad. Chad isn't really my big brother, but he might as well be. With his afro hair (that he named Fredward- don't ask), he is defintily like no one you will ever meet. Basically, everyone but Troy knew about my secret crush on him. Though, in hind sight, it's not really much of a secret. The way that I look at it, I am just lucky that Chad didn't tell anyone. He is a slightly slow and completly loveable! Without him I don't think anything would have turned out right.

This is the cast of characters for the play of my life. These are the people that helped me along the way to find who I am and who I always wanted to be. Without them I don't know where I would be. Without them I don't know who I would be. Without them I wouldn't know who I should be. I truly owe them everything. This is there story as much as it is mine. That's why I have to tell it. They don't deserve to never know the kind of impact they had on me. They don't deserve to never know that they put me on the path that I would follow for the rest of my life.