| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My favorite memory is camping in Big Bend with my family. It didn’t go exactly as planned; we got soaked during a hike on our second day, I bickered with my sister incessantly, and we ate campfire food that I thought was gross. Despite how appallingly I’ve described the experience, I remember it extremely fondly. In addition to the breathtaking landscape, it was the last time I spent with my sister before adulthood and we overcame the hardships we encountered as a family. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I identify with my mom the most, although my dad’s a close second. Slowly, almost beyond perception, I’ve adopted her mannerisms and expressions as well as her penchant of talking with her hands. We have a nearly identical sense of humor as well, so it’s easy for us to keep ourselves and my sister entertained. I love woodworking with my dad, or working together on the myriad of projects we have running at any one time. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | Kindness, fortitude, humility, grace, skilled. I guess those’d be the generic, though important, traits I admire. At a certain point it’s hard to ascribe set values that could apply to all of humanity, or at least to a vague hypothetical person. Without knowing their background, the kinds of adversity they’ve faced, I’m fairly reticent to judge people on those traits. I suppose a better form of the question would be: “What traits would you most like to espouse?” To which my answer would be the same, and hopefully more meaningful. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I once (and only once) engaged in a discussion about artwork my cousin had decided to hang in his new home. It was a lighthearted discussion about aesthetics and art in general, and then we began to remark on specific works. We each shared our impressions, until we reached a particular piece near his foyer where he asked point blank my opinion. I told him I couldn’t understand the artist’s perspective, and it didn’t elicit emotion in me. I hesitated before telling him I didn’t really like it.
A short pall struck him, and he paused before he said that he had helped his fiancee and they had painted it together. With nothing to say, all I could do was laugh meekly and thankfully my cousin joined me. I apologized profusely, he graciously accepted, and we moved on.
In and of itself, my gaffe is not the funniest thing to ever happen to me. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share our story during my speech at his wedding, however, and now he brings the ‘incident’ up regularly. As time has passed it’s become even funnier between us! |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I’d like to go back to Australia, and Switzerland is pretty high on my list as well. Japan, China, and Singapore are next followed by Nigeria and Kenya. I have a very good friend from Peru who’s insistent I visit, so I'll likely rearrange the order whenever the mood strikes next.
I travel to experience a culture different from my own, to form connections with people, and to experience the subtle and not-so-subtle changes in the human condition globally. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | In addition to the traits I aspire towards, I’d also like them to have my sense of wanderlust and
self-assuredness. I’d like them to be inquisitive and question everything, including their own beliefs and assumptions. To be able to be both independent and cooperative depending on the situation, and to care for their fellow humans. |
