| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | When I was eight or nine my dad took my sister and I on a road trip. We started in California and the goal was to make it to the Arctic Circle in our old Ford Taurus. Our dad would reward us with Jolly Ranchers for behaving well, like not fighting with my sister. Along the way we stopped in Portland and Seattle, took a ferry in Vancouver, and ended up next to a glacier in Alaska. We made it far enough that the sun was setting past 11:00 at night, so of course we stayed up really late because it didn't make sense to go to bed when it's still light out. One night we went to find a sign with our hometown in Watson Lake, Yukon, where there are 77,000 signs from around the world. After three hours of constant searching we found it on the last possible sign post. I got an extra Jolly Rancher for finding it, awesome! We came back through Montana and Idaho. Montana didn't really have speed limits back then and we made great time. While we were in Twin Falls my dad insisted we go out and try some Mongolian BBQ. As he tells it we were reluctant to go but once we tried it we immediately loved it. It opened our eyes to the possibility that there's really good food out there and we just need to not be afraid of trying it. All in all a great trip and we've never done anything quite like it since then. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | My mother, while being one of the nicest people I've ever met, is also one of the most competitive people I've ever met. As she explains it, if she's in a class and has the ability to get the best grade, then she's going to get it. She swims regularly and competes in swimming events at close to sixty years old. She's involved in birding and totals up the number of species she sees in a year to compete with the rest of the birders. I've inherited most of her competitive nature, less so academically and more so athletically. I've done some form of exercise every year since first grade and really enjoy pushing myself to be better than those around me. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | Being active. It's all too easy to sit around all day or to drive everywhere, even when the store is less than a mile away. Having the drive to get outside and enjoy the outdoors is a big plus. Being responsible. There are real life consequences for poor behavior and irresponsibility. People who think about their actions tend to make better decisions. Being patient. The ability to wait something out is hugely important, especially on an active lifestyle. Like not returning to running too soon after an injury, or going hiking after a knee injury. Being courteous. It says a lot about someone depending on how they treat other people, like retail employees or waiters and waitresses. Having some simple decency goes a long way. Being open-minded. Trying something new and unfamiliar can seem scary, but it is these experiences that make life interesting. Having discipline. The ability to stop yourself from eating that extra bagel, or to get outside and go for a run when you aren't feeling 100%, or to pass on buying something silly because you don't actually need it. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | My friend and I had been playing this video game on the Super Nintendo. It starts with the main character finding himself in a pool, and if he doesn't swim to the top he dies. If he stands next to it for too long, a tentacle grabs him and kills him. If you move away you encounter a few slugs which hardly look threatening, but they immediately kill you. It was frustrating and it took us weeks to figure out some of the levels, to the point that we'd give up and forget about it for a month or two before picking it back up. We finally get to the end and await what we expect to be some sort of explanation for all the nonsense that happened. Instead the main characters fly away on a purple dragon and the credits roll. My friend completely loses it. He's yelling at the screen, "Where's the explosions?! The explanation for this!? Anything?!" I couldn't help but laugh, weeks of hard work and it was basically one big joke. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I'd almost certainly go to Europe, staying in Switzerland for most of the time. They have fantastic mountains there with tons of hiking, and I could practice my French and hopefully become fluent again. I have a friend in Germany I could go visit, and I would love to try all the food and drinks they have. My sister recommended the Netherlands and also Belgium, and another friend went to Poland and said it was a worthwhile trip. The Scandinavian countries also have incredible features and I'd be more than happy to spend a few weeks exploring the mountains and fjords. If I stayed long enough I could ski/snowboard in the Alps and learn to skate. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | Never think that they are better than anyone else. It's not a good attitude to have because if you look down on someone you're inherently going to dismiss their thoughts and ideas as being inferior when the reality is you could learn something from them. Or they could be the ones who you'll need help from and maybe you've burned a bridge with them by writing them off as worthless. Honesty is a good policy. People can smell a lie and it's tough to come back from being known as untrustworthy and dishonest. The truth hurts but it's a lot easier in the long run versus trying to get out of a lie. Treat others how you want to be treated. I think this one is kind of obvious. I think it gets lost a bit as people get older but kids should know it. Hard work goes a long way. Be open to trying new things. How can you know if you don't like something if you've never tried it? I'd also add don't be afraid to try something twice. Tastes change, people change. What was once awful could be completely different. It's okay to lose. I never took losing real well as a kid. It took a while before I realized games didn't mean all that much. Having fun is more important than winning, I feel. |
