| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My most memorable childhood experience is working on my grandfather's farm. It's not just one experience, but the way I felt helping him with manual labor over the years, growing in body and mind as he taught me about life and what it means to be a man will always stick with me. The lessons I learned about honor, love, and showing kindness to everyone are lessons that I will teach to my children one day. The most valuable one is that we must show love to those around us because that's simply the right thing to do. It is not always easy, and there will be people who will never show love in return, but to be a man is to lead by example, especially when it is difficult. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | When I was growing up, it was definitely my grandfather. He always had a big smile and a kind word, and a huge, room-filling laugh that people loved to hear. I didn't see much of my own father growing up, he worked long hours and would frequently leave the house before I woke up and come home after I had already gone to sleep. On the weekends he'd always make sure to spend time with me, my brother, and sister, but we were all competing for his attentions. Now as an adult, college graduate, and corporate employee I realize how hard my father was working, and how much he sacrificed to give me the best chance in life that he could. My father is an inspiration to me, and is the best example of a father that I could imagine. I identify most with him now and model myself after him, working hard to bring the best I can to my household, saving money for the future instead of spending, and always making sure that my family knows how much I love them and care for them. I put them first before myself, and that's a lesson I learned from my father. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | Honor. Honor is a tricky concept to grasp and live with. It is a code of morality that dictates the choices one makes day to day, and represents foresight, conviction, and a deep understanding of one's place in the world. To live with honor is to be a person of principle. Honor comes from a personal decision to act within those principals which one chooses for one's self.
I see many people who seem to only react to situations in life, not being able to look ahead in time or to understand other people's motivations. People who can't seem to see past their own nose and appreciate the broader world for what it actually is. These people are without honor.
To be an honorable person is to command respect, instead of demanding it, and it is difficult and worthwhile. Nothing is more admirable to me than an honorable person.
I see many people who seem to only react to situations in life, not being able to look ahead in time or to understand other people's motivations. People who can't seem to see past their own nose and appreciate the broader world for what it actually is. These people are without honor.
To be an honorable person is to command respect, instead of demanding it. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I laugh a lot and find joy in many things. My entire family is like this; we're usually the loudest table in the restaurant when we get going, so there are a lot of funny stories! The one I'm sharing here is notable because of the long game, so we're heading back to my grandfather's farm for another story. My brother and I were inseparable growing up, and used to fish and swim in the pond on my grandfather's property, including skinny dipping! One day when I was very young, maybe 7 and my younger brother 6, swimming in the pond and my grandfather walks by to check on us and shouts: "Are you two in there without any swimsuit on?" and we guiltily admitted that yes we were swimming naked. He shouted back to us from the shore "Well make sure you watch out for snapping turtles! If you're not wearing shorts they might bite your wanger off!" Well, you've never seen two boys swim faster than we did to the shore to get out of that pond! My brother and I spent the rest of that day fishing for turtles trying to catch one.
DECADES later at a Thanksgiving dinner our extended family, about 30 people, we were talking about our fun years growing up on that farm, and the love we had for that place and my grandfather. The subject of the pond came up and how much fun it was to swim in it until we found out about those turtles. My grandmother looked at me and said matter-of-factly: "You know there were never any turtles in the pond, right?" My whole family erupted laughing. I will never live that down, and it's certainly the funniest joke I've ever been the punchline of! |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I've always wanted to travel to Singapore. I've had friends who work there who describe it like a different planet! I have friends who travel there for work and rave about its beauty and how wonderful everything is there. I'm also a big foodie who loves trying strange new foods, so it seems like the perfect place! |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I want to give them the best possible start in life, financially and ethically. I want to pass on what I've learned about how to compete in this world, and how to do that without losing a sense of compassion. I want to teach them that the world is made up of people who struggle everyday, we all have our own stories and are all in this together, so treat people with respect and kindness. I would also teach them how to not be taken advantage of, that being assertive is a good quality, and aggressively pursuing your own goals can be accomplished without taking advantage of others. I would tell them, above all things be true to your own principles. |
