| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My most memorable childhood moment happened when I was about eleven years old and I finally learned how to do a back flip on a trampoline. At that time, all of my friends knew how to do a back flip and every day or so there would be a flipping contest to see who was the best. I would usually have to sit out because I could not do a back flip. One day I made up my mind that I would practice every day until I learned. Weeks of failed attempts went by but I kept at it. Then one day after hours of try and fail, I decided to take a break. I asked my friend if he could get me a glass of water. He chuckled and responded, "If you do a back flip I will." At that very moment I dropped my head and felt bad. Then something just came over me and I said, "Alright, watch." I jumped on the trampoline, took two huge jumps and did a back flip for the first time. My friend shouted "It's about time," and went to get the glass of water for me. That moment was the most memorable because I worked hard for a personal achievement and it paid off. The water was great but the feeling of knowing that I consistently worked at something and achieved my goal was far more rewarding to me; also, I was finally able to be a part of the flipping contests. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | The family member I identify most with is my youngest nephew. I identify most with him because he and I are very much alike. I see myself in many of his thought processes and actions. He is a unique child that carefully observes the world from a very different perspective; much like me as a child. He often asks questions that aren't common for a child his age. His father, my brother, will usually call me, laugh and say "He has a question for you." Then my nephew and I will speak for about thirty minutes or until he feels his question was answered. I stay on the phone with him because I was him at his age. The only difference is I didn't have many of my questions answered and it extinguished much of my curiosity. I don't want that to happen to him so I make sure I communicate with him frequently. He's the family member that I identify with the most. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | The character traits that I admire the most in an individual are integrity, modesty and empathy. I feel that these traits are crucial in the connection between humanity. Often times, we lose sight of the greater reality because we don't feel for one another. This lack of feeling causes us to wrong one another for personal gain; proudly boast about how tall we stand over our brothers and sisters; and simply ignore the heartbeats of the world when they don't beat to the same rhythm as ours. This is causing the world to become the tragic place it is. But if more people would practice integrity, modesty and empathy, even for a day, there's a gleaming ray of hope that can potentially be seen; making the world a better place to live and grow. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | The funniest thing that ever happened to me was when I learned to ride a bike the summer I was five years old. So my brother and sister were teaching me how to ride by using my sister's bike because hers was a simple bike and my brother's was a mountain bike. They get me on the bike and tell me to push off with one foot, balance, keep the handle bars straight and keep pedaling. They placed extreme emphasis on the fact that I should keep pedaling. They told me that if I stopped pedaling I would fall. I placed all of the instructions into my head and began to practice. The first time, I fell instantly. My eyes grew teary but my brother assured me that I was okay. So I got back on the bike and tried again; this time getting about six solid pedals in before I jerked the handle bars and fell again. But I was determined not to fail. So this time, I pick the bike up. I looked at my brother, sister and all the other kids of the neighborhood and told them that I will do it this time. So I stand the bike up; put my right foot on the pedal and pushed off the ground with my left. I steadied the handlebars and placed my left foot on the pedal and began to ride. From behind me I hear "Yes! Yes! You got it!" while in the back of my mind I'm hearing "Do not stop pedaling." I'm coasting along and my brother tells me to turn around and come back. I look back, still pedaling and screamed "How?!" I hear my brother say "Oh no, we didn't teach him to stop!" He then yells, "Pedal backwards!" At this point I'm even more confused. I didn't know you could pedal backwards. At this point the chase begins. My brother and sister take off after me, telling me to stop but I don't know how. So I'm still pedaling, getting faster and faster. They are running as fast as they can as I approach the corner of the block. Just before the street, I make a sharp left on to another street; still pedaling and steering straight. The sharp left was a surprise to me. However it wasn't surprising enough to slow me down. At this point, my brother and sister are still running behind me. I ride for about a block and a half and make another sharp left into an alley; still pedaling and steering straight with my brother and sister still chasing me. Up ahead about thirty feet away is a green dumpster with an opened lid. I'm slowly approaching the dumpster without the slightest thought of stopping at this point. I am now about three feet away and I make another one of those quick left turns but this time it's a full U-turn; just barely missing the dumpster. As I turned around, my brother and sister we finally catching up to me and I was approaching them. My sister yelled, "Don't pedal anymore, just glide." So I stopped pedaling, coasted into my brother and sister and pedaled backwards to stop. By now they are breathing extremely heavy. Panting, my brother asks "I thought you didn't know how to stop?" I told him, "I didn't. I actually learned when I made my first left turn. I was just seeing how far you two were really willing to chase me." They were upset as we walked home but it was the funniest thing to ever happen to me. For the first time, as the youngest sibling, I was able to pull one over on them. And it was hilarious. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | If time and money were not an issue, I would travel to Africa. Contrary to popular belief, Africa is a very beautiful land. The tropical and temperate weather patterns of the region are very captivating to me. I enjoy hotter weather and lots of sunlight. In addition, I enjoy nature. As I learn more about nature and wildlife, Africa has an abundant diversity of life that is calm and peaceful. I enjoy the calm, soothing energies of nature and Africa is where I would want to embrace that connection with the earth. For me, Africa is a place that I have never been, but I long to reconnect with it. If I had both the time and money, Africa is the place I would travel to. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | When I have children, I would like to pass the principles of accountability and responsibility on to them. I need them to be able to be strong men or women in this world and make a positive contribution. I feel that accountability and responsibility are the heart and lungs of a solid character. When those principles ground a person, there is a higher likelihood that the other positive traits of integrity, discipline, and perseverance, just to name a few, will be firmly planted in solid ground. It is imperative that accountability and responsibility are the lessons I pass on to my children because when I am gone, they will still be able to stand on their feet without me when times get rough. |
