| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My most memorable childhood experience was when I went parasailing in Aruba. I forget exactly how old I was, but I'll always remember that I weighed ninety-five pounds. The instructor recommended that anyone under a hundred pounds should not parasail, because the wind would throw you around, but I was stubborn and lied through gritted teeth. It was amazingly fun as well as terrifying. I was suspended in air flying above this big beautiful ocean. On my way down, it became very windy and I was whipped around in a painful and nauseating way. That experience was definitely a thrill, in more ways than one. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I identify very closely with my mother. I get a lot of my personality from her. She has an easygoing demeanor and can strike up a conversation with anyone. She and I spend a lot of time on the front porch getting to know each other even after so many years. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I admire when somebody's default character traits are positive. I like when people are kind and give respect unless given a reason not to. I admire when people take life with a grain of salt and are able to laugh at their own shortcomings. I admire when people are ambitious and passionate about what they're doing or where they hope to be. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | About a year after I bought my first moped, it started to fall apart. I was giving my friend a ride on the back of my tiny moped to buy a thirty pound bag of cat litter, which I now realize was a terrible idea. We must have looked ridiculous on the ride home, but it was hilarious. Halfway home, my scooter died. Luckily, my house was at the bottom of a huge hill, so we used gravity, a little peddling, and contagious laughter to get us all the way home. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I would love to travel to South America. Everything seems so lush and the scenery is unbelievable. I would love to hike through the mountains, hang out on a Chilean beach, and eat bananas from the tree. I speak Spanish relatively fluently, so I'd be able to get by in many countries. If and when I have the time to take a year or two off from life in the US, I'm escaping to Argentina and living by the ocean in a simple house; I'll get a simple job, and live a simple life. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I would like to pass on the overall vibe I tend to give off to people. People always tell me it's really easy to be around me and to be friends with me, that I make them comfortable. I like to engage people and try to bring out positive parts of their personality as well. I love actually listening to people. I would want my children to be genuinely interested in other people and empathetic. Everything else seems to follow. |
