| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My most memorable childhood experiences, both good and bad, came from baseball. One of the lowest points of my life came while spending a hot summer playing little league baseball on a team that went 0-21. In our last game, I made a key error letting a ground ball go through my legs which cost our team our last and best chance at a single victory that year. I made up for it the next year when I threw a game-tying runner out at home plate from deep in center field. Baseball was the medium I used to bond with my father. He was very active in coaching my little league teams and we spent hours upon hours practicing pitching and fielding grounders in the backyard. He raised me to be an avid fan of our home team, and took me to many games throughout my childhood where I was able to see my heroes on the diamond in person. Bonding through baseball helped me develop a relationship with my father and it is a bond I hope to have with my children one day. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I believe that I am a fairly even mixture of both of my parents, and I identify with aspects of both of their characters. I identify with my father's cool demeanor and level headedness under pressure. I consider myself to be a fairly easygoing person like my father. In addition, I have his sense of humor. I identify with my mother's thirst for knowledge. I got my school smarts from her. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I admire loyalty, reliability, and adaptability. I consider myself to be loyal in that I will go out of my way to help my friends, and I always appreciate when others treat me with that same respect. Reliability is important to me because when I say I will do something, I do it and I expect others to do the same. Nothing bothers me more than when people do not hold up their end of a bargain. Adaptability is admirable because it shows that people will find a way to succeed. Adaptable people navigate through obstacles and come out stronger on the other side. It also displays creativity which I am constantly wishing I had more of. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | While all the adults in my family were probably appalled at the time, remembering my grandfather drunkenly chasing my cousins and I around the house with a can of whipped cream which he sprayed like a fire hose on Christmas Day always makes me laugh. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I'd like to see various parts of Asia. I think Eastern cultures are very interesting and I'd love to try some authentic foods. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | Physically, I hope they get my eyes. My entire life people have consistently complimented my eyes and it always makes me smile. Personality-wise, I would hope they have a similar calm temperament, kindness, and the ability to make people laugh. |
