| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | I was raised in a warm place where it never snows, so one Christmas we visited family members that live in a much colder part of the country. This was the first time I'd ever seen snow, and it was extremely magical. I remember getting up early and marveling at the stillness of the snowy forests, and then playing in the snow with my brother for hours. To this day cold, snowy weather reminds me of the wonder and awe of seeing snow for the first time. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I've always been really close to my brother. We were both homeschooled for much of our childhood, so we formed a tight bond in those early years. Instead of being separated by our age difference like in a public schooling situation, we shared a lot of early experiences which brought us closer and caused us to be able to relate to each other on a deeper level. He's a really smart and dynamic guy, and we've always enjoyed each other's company. Whenever we're together we end up having lively debates and deep conversations. I'm very grateful to be so close to my brother. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I’ve always really admired people that are able to make their visions and ideas into reality. It is easy to talk endlessly about things that you want to make happen, but to be able to actualize a dream is something that sets someone apart. That being said, it is also vital to be able to live in accordance with your values and visions while also caring for and being considerate of those around you. Compassion and consideration for your loved ones, strangers, and the natural world are critically important to the practice of being an emotionally healthy person in my opinion. I really value people who live their lives in a way that aligns with their personal values, and I have always strived to live this way myself. I value honesty, curiosity, resourcefulness, hard work, commitment, creativity and the ability to follow through with goals and intentions. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | When I was about nine years old, I went and visited Santa Claus at a local Christmas festival to tell him my wish list for my gifts that year. At the time I was growing out my hair so I could donate it to charity, and since I hadn’t yet gone through puberty, it was not uncommon for strangers to mistake me for a girl. As I sat on Santa’s lap, he very confidently asked me: “what would you like for Christmas, little girl?” I was used to being misgendered at this point, so I responded in my squeaky little kid voice, “I’m a boy.” Unfortunately, Santa did not buy this, and the rest of our brief interaction was spent trying unsuccessfully to convince this confused Santa Claus that I wasn’t trying to trick him into believing I was a little boy. Up until this point, I had been under the impression (thanks to the many songs and legends) that Santa Claus was some sort of all-knowing deity that should have already known who I was when I sat down on his lap, so clearly something was amiss. It was not long after that I determined that Santa Claus must not actually exist. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | My dream trip would be to do an overland journey starting in Western Europe (or maybe even the southern tip of Africa if I’m feeling really extreme), ending up on the far eastern edge of Siberia and crossing over into Alaska. The goal would be to cross through as many different cultural regions as possible (the Middle East, Central Asia, the Himalayas, South and Southeast Asia, North Asia, etc.) and really take in the different qualities and climates of all these places. I love cultural studies, and I’ve always thought it would be so cool to be able to traverse such a wide swath of land and observe the different peoples, languages, architectures, religions and environments that these areas contain. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | If I ever have children that I raise, it would be important to me to instill in them an appreciation for the natural world, patience, compassion for others, a love for learning, and the ability to think for themselves. My parents always prioritized teaching me and my brother to be independent thinkers, and I feel that the encouragement of this skill from a young age has helped me to become a more well-rounded adult. Growing up I spent many hours playing in the nearby woods and waters with other kids, and these experiences strengthened my social skills and gave me a healthy appreciation and respect for wild places. I would hope that I’d be able to foster similar experiences for my own kids, as I look back on those times with a lot of fondness and gratitude. It would also be important to encourage children to be in touch with themselves emotionally. I would do my best to equip them with skills to be able to process and understand their emotions from a very early age so that they’re better able to interact with the people around them and form healthier relationships. Lastly, I’d like to pass on to them a love for literature and books. I’ve always loved reading, and I credit my parents for encouraging me to read from a young age. Reading books did wonders for my little imagination, and it has only ever enriched my world. |
