| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My most memorable childhood experience was a month long trip to Europe with my mother when I was thirteen. This trip allowed me to expand my horizons beyond my own borders at a time when I was finding my identity as a person. The experiences I had on this trip shaped my views of my own country as well as people from other cultures and nationalities. I became a lot closer with my mother on this trip through our challenges and adventures. Most importantly, this trip piqued my interest in traveling. I have since been to over a dozen countries and I someday hope to make it to over 100! |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I am closest to my father. I find that my father and I get along well because of our similar interests and personalities. We both love learning new things and are fascinated by history. I am someone who has a lot of spontaneous ideas and my father has always been the one to support me to pursue my dreams. My father is the one who told me about the wonders of having children because of all that you can learn from them. I got my dad interested in a lot of the hobbies he has today including hunting and running marathons. It is amazing to me how much we can accomplish when we work together. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I admire loyalty, hard work, respect, and honesty. I see all of these character traits in my father. He is the hardest working man I know and he does it because of his loyalty to his family. In addition he works an honest job and would never steal from another person. Honesty and respect go hand in hand. Being honest with yourself and others is all about the respect that you have for yourself and others. Being honest and respectful are imperative in order to build effective relationships. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | Last summer I was working a lot of hours at my internship. I fell asleep one evening after I returned from work. I woke up at 8:30 pm but my clock just said 8:30 and I thought it was 8:30 am. I have to be at work by 9:00 am so I jumped out of bed, threw on my clothes, and ran out to my car. I started driving down the highway when I realized that the sun was setting and not rising. I turned on the radio and I finally realized that it was morning and not evening. I couldn't believe that I had tricked myself! |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I would spend a year backpacking across Europe. I would start in the west in the UK and travel across the continent to Russia. I am fascinated by the vast amount of history and culture within each country in Europe. I would love to be able to take my time in each location and be able to keep my itinerary flexible. If I met some friends at a hostel I could travel with them for several days before parting ways and making some new friends. I think the experience would be a great life lesson. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I would want them to know their family history and where their ancestors came from. The history that I do know is that my great great grandmother and grandfather sailed from Sweden to America and raised their children on a farm. My other great great grandfather fought for the Union in the U.S. Civil War. One of my grandfathers was a major in the U.S. Marine Corps and fought against the Japanese in the South Pacific during WWII. My other grandfather was a sailor in the U.S. Navy and served on a troop transport ship and was also in the South Pacific during WWII. He was at the Invasion of Okinawa and he personally landed in Japan following the end of the war. I served in the Global War on Terror to support the war in Iraq. I would encourage my children to do something amazing and make our family history even more incredible! |
