| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | I learned to waterski on my family's lake. The water is dark green in July but still cool from the long winter. After three days of effort, I was finally able to pull myself from the surface and stand in the wake of the speedboat, triumphant. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I am most like my father. We like the same music, movies, and TV shows, but more importantly, we have the same sense of humor. He was an excellent father to me growing up and now I am glad to spend time with him as an adult. Apparently, our laughs are identical. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I am a person of action. I can't sit still if I feel as though there is something I can do to help solve a problem for me or my friends. I admire people who are slow to act but thoughtful and patient. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | When I was a kid, my family visited a sheep farm. My brother slipped and fell in a pile of sheep crap. I haven't stopped laughing at it since. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I would bike across Europe. There is no more freeing way to see the world than on a bike. If you know how to maintain one, there is no limit to where you can go (provided you have the time). Plus, pedaling means you can eat all the good food and drink all the good wine you want. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I love to learn, and I love to think deeply about what I've learned. As a future educator, I am tempted to say wisdom. But more important to me is that my children share in my compassion for other people. I am known among my close friends for being tolerant and slow to anger. It's a useful quality; not only does it make me happier, but it makes the people around me feel good. |
