| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | As a child, I lived on a farm on top of a hill. We had cows, chickens and pigs, thirty acres of land, cats and a dog. Some of my favorite memories are of exploring with my brother the farm and the surrounding farmland. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | It depends on the situation. I get along very easily and can talk very easily with my mother. I share similar interests with my father and I enjoy spending time with him doing outdoor activities such as camping or playing catch. I can identify with my brother because we grew up together. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I admire people who bring out the best in others. These types of people are usually optimistic, friendly and outgoing, however, more than that they must be truly compassionate to identify people's strengths and to want to encourage these strengths. It is perfectly admirable to be a good person, but it is truly inspiring to be a person who makes others better. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | This is a very silly question which deserves a silly answer. Once when I was much younger, maybe eight or nine, my father, brother and myself went to buy a chicken plucker from an Amish farmer. As young kids, both me and my brother thought of Amish folk as very stern, serious and humorless. However, the Amish farmer that we went to see was very mischievous and clever and enjoyed a good laugh. So before he and my father talked business, they small talked and told some jokes in the kitchen. When the farmer offered us coffee and a seat at the table, we all took seats and I unknowingly sat in the chair with a whoopy-cushion on it. When I sat down, the cushion made a very dramatic fart sound and everyone in the room had a great laugh from it. The farmer later admitted that he had forgotten about the sound-making device and that he had bought it a few days before to prank his wife. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | Right now I am really feeling the itch to go backpacking on the Lake Superior Trail in Northern Minnesota. Also, it is a dream of mine to accomplish the Triple Crown of Hiking which is to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail and the Appalachian Trail. Other than that, I find the Mediterranean area to be very interesting, specifically Italy and Greece. Also, England, Scotland and Ireland have always been intriguing to me. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | That is something that I have not put too much thought into, but right off that bat I would say that I would want them to embrace their personal interests and talents and to not succumb to the peer pressures of sacrificing these interests in order to fit in and be "normal." I would hope to instill this sense of individualism along with a sense of responsibility towards society and to use these talents to not only better one's self but also humanity as a whole. |
