If you still want to know more, here's a brief biography.
I was born in 1976 in Hinsdale, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. My
parents are each lawyers, though my mother has not practiced since I was
born. We lived in La Grange, another suburb of Chicago, for my first
couple of years, but in 1978 we moved to La Canada, a suburb of Los
Angeles. I have little memory of my time in Illinois, but for people
who wonder why I'm a Cubs fan, it is because my family and I are from
Illinois.
My childhood was fairly typical. I went to a public school, Paradise
Canyon Elementary. I had a couple of great teachers, most notably
Joy Gifford and Ron Gordon. I played lots of sports, I loved reading and
I liked
watching television. My sister was born while I was in kindergarten,
and we were always very close. I kept myself very busy through playing
sports, participating in Cub Scouts and having lots of friends. The
highlight of my elementary school years was when the Cubs went to the
playoffs in 1984, and the lowlight was when they were knocked out.
From there I went to La Canada
High School, which was for grades seven
through twelve. Here I also had a couple of great teachers, most
notably Todd Kissell and Susan Hamre. I was not as popular as I had
been in elementary
school, but I didn't really care either. I had a few close friends, and
that was good enough for me. I kept myself mostly busy with
marching band, but I also watched a lot of sports. Unfortunately I
had to give up playing sports, as they all conflicted time wise
with marching band. There was never any doubt that I would
leave La Canada when I graduated, and wanting to get into a good college
far away from Southern California was the only motivation I had to work
on my classes, which I found to be really boring. Thanks to the
combination of good SAT scores and parents who had gone to the
University of Michigan, I was accepted to the U of M, and left La Canada
as soon as I could.
I arrived in Ann Arbor in August of 1994 in time for band week here. I
had always wanted to be in the Michigan Marching Band, and suddenly
I was. The first month of school here was the best time of my life. I
had new friends thanks to the Tuba Section, I
had classes that
challenged my intellect and I had independence. After a little while I
realized that I had a problem. While I had always wanted to go to
college, I never had any real plans on what to do there or afterwards.
This led to a steep drop in my grades that eventually resulted in my
being kicked out of school. This was the best thing that had ever
happened to me.
For the first time in my life I had been unable to coast through
something, and suddenly I had to figure out what to do. I decided to
get a job, and for two years I worked at the University of Michigan
Library. At first this was great - I only had to work 8 hours a day, I
had no homework, and the weekends were completely mine. This job taught
me the value of money, but also had a greater impact: it made me want to
go to school. All my life I had gone to school because I had no other
options. Now I had another option, but realized that school was what I
wanted to do. The job at the library was a steady paycheck, but it
never challenged my mind. I needed intellectual stimulation, and the
way I had experienced that was by taking classes. I worked hard, and in
December of 1998 I was readmitted to the University of Michigan. This
was the proudest I had ever been.
Since then I have worked much harder at school. Not as hard as I could
have, but hard enough to pass my classes, and hard enough to challenge
my mind. Thanks to a couple of great professors I rediscovered my
fascination with government. I now have a plan, and I will soon have a
degree. Upon graduation I hope to get a job with the federal
government. I do not know if I will always work in civil service, but
it where I want to start. After many years of drifting, I finally have
a course.
Throughout this journey my family has been wonderful. My parents have
been very supportive, and taught me everything that I feel is important.
I can not thank them enough for teaching me to question everything and
to defend what I believe. My sister has been my closest friend. She
taught me responsibility, and has also taught me to question myself. My
grandparents have all passed away, but they influence me daily: I have
many aspects of my Daddy Bill's mind and I strive to have my
Nana's social conscious. I share my Grandma's curiosity, and my
Grandpa's love of life. My aunts and uncles have also influenced me,
and made me a better person. My Uncle Bill has a webpage, and also a
home in Chicago that he has often let me stay in for free. My Aunt
Barbara gave me many needed vacations to her home in Tucson, and was one
of the first adults to actually listen to what I had to say. My Uncle
Tom showed me that it is possible to follow your dream, and my Aunt
Joanne did whatever she could to make me happy.
I fall into the INFP profile on the Meyers-Briggs' personality test,
but I think that the profiles are too vague to be useful. My strongest
personality traits are loyalty, cynicism, an analytical nature and
a desire to make others happy. Philosophically I believe strongly in
Hard Determinism - the belief that free will is an illusion, but I do
not believe in destiny. My favorite activities are playing sports,
watching sports and following politics. Clue is
my favorite movie.
If you wish to know more, please email me at dsa@umich.edu. I love getting email, and
I try to respond within a couple of days. It will also allow you to
see my newest quote on my .signature file - the old ones are collected
here. I am always curious,
so please drop me a line, or respond to the
Question of the Week.
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