| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | The first thing that comes to mind is a visit to watch the Patriots’ training camp with my father and brother when I was around 8 or 9. They'd cordoned off a section of the bleachers and a couple players were sitting there. My brother followed me as I slipped past the rope and ran down to the players sitting there with their families. It was Adam Vinatieri, Super Bowl hero! My dad caught up to us and apologized but Vinatieri said it was ok and talked to us for a few minutes about football and signed some stuff for us. It was great! |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I'm very close with my youngest sister. She's a decade younger than me and I still remember holding her in my arms the day she was born. As she grew up, I recognized in her the same kind of intelligence and sense of humor that I have. I knew we'd have similar social experiences because of this and have always done my best to be there for her and guide her when she's at a crossroads (or a minor inconvenience that she's dramatically treating like a crossroads). We're the most outgoing of our immediate family and have always had a strong bond. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I admire curiosity, the ability to quickly admit when they're wrong and apologize if necessary, treating everyone well, even those who cannot help or hurt them, intelligence, and a quick wit. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I don't know if this counts as happening to me, but in ninth grade my friend decided he wanted to be class president. He convinced me I should be class vice president, so I went along with it, and for my campaign speech I brought in my little sister who was four years old at the time. She was adorable, and I held her up to the microphone in front of the auditorium and she said in her tiny, cute voice "My name's Allie and I think you should vote for my big brother because I love him." Brought the house down and we won in a landslide. The next year I brought her back, and at the end I triumphantly crowed, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." My friend and I both lost that year. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I'd like to drive across the country and stay at local motels, go out to local diners in the morning and bars or restaurants in the evening to meet the local people, and really explore the country beyond the stereotypes we're so often presented with. I'd love to visit New Zealand and Australia one day, maybe tour through southeast Asia too. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I'd like to instill my children with a desire to be the best versions of themselves possible, to never stop learning, and never stop striving to understand the people around them and in their communities to the best of their ability. I'd like them to be physically, mentally, spiritually, and creatively fulfilled, and to pursue happiness with every fiber of their being. Most of all I'd like them to recognize that their words and actions impact the people around them, and while they should always pursue their own interests/needs/wants, they should never trample on anyone else's to do so. |
