62/365

Name: Ayo
Three words to describe yourself: eager, enthusiastic, token
Ayo is from Gainesville, GA and has lived there for twelve years. Before Gainesville, he lived in Yonkers, NY. Even though he does not live in New York, Ayo says that it "feels like home" even though he left at a young age. His mom's side of the family still lives there, so he visits often. His goal is to "be successful in the business world", and he was inspired to do so because of his experience with "personal ventures" as a kid; including selling candy on the side. We talked about basketball for a while, and Ayo is an Atlanta Hawks fan. I told him I liked the Spurs and he responded that the "Spurs are boring, old, and crusty". Whatever. As far as college, Ayo's favorite thing about UGA is being able to meet new people and have new experiences. The hardest thing has been "transitioning away from the people you knew and branching out". Ayo also enjoys playing basketball for fun and watching Sports Center and game shows.

61/365

Name: Shantell
Three words to describe yourself: smart, party-freak, funny
Shantell was born in San Fernando Valley in California and both of her parents are from Mexico. At the age of fifteen, her father moved from Mexico to leave his family and pursue better economic opportunities and her parents met in California. Her uncle was married to an American and living in Myrtle Beach. He told Shantell's dad about how Myrtle Beach had more job opportunities and offered cheaper living than California did, so he drove across the country to visit Shantell's brother to see what the area was like. The rest of her family flew on a plane that landed in Atlanta and the airline ended up losing their luggage, so they had to stay with an aunt that lived in Atlanta. The family liked the Atlanta area, so they decided to move to Gaineville, GA because it is the poultry capital of the world and her father works in that field. For short-term goals, Shantell would like to graduate from college and either go into the dentistry or the food science fields. For the long-term, she wants to retire in Mexico in either Guadalajara or Puerta Vallarta. She says that Mexico "is so free . . . who knows about the drug cartels now", but "In the U.S. it's work, work, work . . . it's so tedious . . . I can't see myself relaxing in an environment like that". She also enjoys art and loves to draw with colored pencils and acrylic paint.

60/365

Name: Jacob
Three words to describe yourself: thoughtful, environmentally conscious, music, humanitarian
Jacob's dad was in the military when he was younger, so he moved the U.S. when he was young. He was born in Charleston, SC, but moved to Louisiana, and then to Fairfield, CA. At the age of six, his family moved to Blairsville, GA because his grandparents lived there. Blairsville is in Southern Appalachia, so Jacob enjoys going hiking, backpacking, and mountain bike riding. The longest hike he has been on was for four days. In his life, Jacob would like to "revolutionize the energy market by promoting green energy". His family recycles and he listened to Jane Goodall give a lecture at Young Harris College which "sparked [his] interests". He has been playing the acoustic guitar for seven years and played trumpet in high school. Also, Jacob keeps a goal list in his dorm room and shared some of his goals with me. He would like to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, visit Poland, and become fluent in German. His great-grandpa lived in Germany during Pre-WW2 and moved to America because he did not want to be a part of the Nazi movement, so Jacob wants to visit the area where his family came from.

59/365

Name: Scotty
Three words to describe yourself: tall, alpha-male, antiquated 
Scotty is from Duluth, GA and describes the city as "suburban chic". He enjoys the downtown area and the historic nature of the city. At UGA, he plans on earning his "MRS degree" and was "kind of kidding" when he said this. He does not consider himself "a long-term goal kind of person . . . [he keeps] things in perspective" but he said he's open to change. As an indentured servant to Rebecca Jones, his social life is mostly composed of making sure Rebecca is happy. In his free time, he likes to draw, paint, make tables, and do whatever he can to please Rebecca Jones. Since the age of five, Scotty has been playing the piano and he can sing but "not what others would consider 'well'". Scotty lives by a quote that goes something along the lines of "be true to yourself today and to tomorrow's self, even if they contradict each other". I believe Emerson said this, so correct me if I am wrong! Scotty also has blood type AB- and wanted his picture to be on the body of a giraffe, with a unicorn horn on his head. I am obviously very talented with Microsoft Paint.

58/365

Name: Kelli
Kelli lives in the Maryland/Virginia area and was traveling from San Antonio to Atlanta to Reagan International in DC. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and double majored in business and psychology. She is now a credit analyst working for Wells Fargo. Before her dad retired, he was a military officer, so her family moved around a lot when Kelli was younger. She was born in Korea, then the family moved to Texas, Germany, New York, back to Korea, then to Tennessee, and finally to college in Austin. Living in Germany was her favorite place because "you could travel all over Europe" and see monuments such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Eiffel Tower. As a fluent Korean speaker, Kelli loves the food and the culture of Korea, but she likes the DC area because it "has all four seasons . . . and there's lots of culture and interesting people". Out of all the places Kelli has lived in, moving to Texas was the biggest culture shock because "people are so friendly, there's so much space and it's a big state". Her short term goal is to get on the management track at Wells Fargo, but eventually she would like to "settle down, get married, have kids, and enjoy life". Kelli considers herself "deeply Christian", and she sings at her church and volunteers at Vacation Bible School. She has also taken a mission trip to Arizona, so she wants to do more mission work in her free time.

57/365

Name: Patricia 
Three words to describe yourself: kind, truthful, considerate
Patricia is my step mom's mother, and she has been my grandmother for the past ten years. She was born during the Great Depression, has lived in San Antonio, TX her whole life, and has one younger brother. Her mom died from breast cancer when Patricia was seven-years-old, so she had to raise her brother herself. Her dad was also an electrician, so he always had a job, so the family wasn't "dirt poor". She was prom queen of her high school and studied elementary education in college for two years. Not finishing her college degree was her biggest regret in life, but she was a girl-scout leader for twenty years and has taught in the Catholic School. "Pregnant women were not allowed to go out", and Patricia was not content doing secretarial work. She did not even drive a car until she was married at age twenty. Her goal in life has been to "just have fun" and she has greatly enjoyed her life thus far. Currently, Patricia's goal in life is "to stay healthy" and help get my grandpa through his sickness. He worked at Southwestern Bell for forty-five years and has never missed a day of work--so he is a fighter! Patricia has been married for 58 years, and she has six children & a lot of grandchildren, so she "has the big family now that [she] didn't have growing up".

56/365

Name: Kirt
Three words to describe yourself: ridiculously, good, looking
Kirt is currently dating my older sister, Jackie, and they have been together for "a long time", or more than 2 1/2 years. He was born in South Miami, FL and he "loved it". There was "nothing but going to the beach, palm trees, and coconuts". He attended Florida Gulf Coast University, was the Student Body President, and double majored in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies. Growing up around a family who was in the military, Kirt wanted to become either a lawyer or a part of the Defense Security Services (DSS). The house rules growing up were: "you have to do karate and boy scouts until you're eighteen", and Kirt is both a black belt and an eagle scout. Being a lawyer therefore "fit with what [he] was learning growing up". Last June, he graduated from Northwestern University with his Juris Doctor and loves living in Chicago because "whatever you want to do, you can do it . . . you can go to world-class museums, baseball games, football games". I asked him what he likes about Jackie and he replied, "She is ridiculous, insanely smart, ridiculously good-looking, and is the most caring person you'll ever meet . . . that's what sets her apart". Kirt is half-Spanish and half-White and always has a story to tell! His name was supposed to be "Kirk", but the nurse misspelled the name on the birth certificate. The family would have changed his name, but they were leaving for Venezuela in a few weeks, so it was too short of time to change the name on the passport. He has traveled everywhere in South America and Europe, but he'd like to go to New Zealand, Australia, and Iceland. Growing up, his family also owned a wolf named Kaska. His dad did not tell his mom that he was buying a wolf, and Kirt's mom was "so unbelievably livid" when she found out. Kirt has never broken any bones, but he has been skydiving, bungee jumping, and been hit in the head with a golf club. His mom worked as nurse at his high school and when Kirt went to her office with blood streaming down his face and arms, he said, "Mom, I need to go to the hospital". She replied, "What is that? Ketchup?" Kirt ended up with eleven staples in his head. In the future, Kirt would like to buy a lake house/ranch and "just chill out all day" and "go with the flow" of life.

55/365

Name: Mia
Three words to describe yourself: materialistic, spacey, easygoing
Mia is from Alamo Heights, TX, and area in greater San Antonio, TX and she likes in because "[she's] comfortable". Her mother is Canadian and her father is Turkish. She is a sophomore at San Antonio College studying merchandise-marketing and would eventually like to become a buyer for a store. Her inspiration for pursuing this career came from going to Saks 5th Avenue and "hating the layout". Mia wants to work for a small business because "big ones are mean and ugly". She would love to live in New York, if she had a penthouse on 5th Avenue. "No way would I want to go there and struggle". Working for a consignment store, Mia considers herself a "thrifter" and likes thrifting because "you don't get screwed by the big guy". In her free time, she likes to make wooden picture frames out of canoes and has been playing the piano for eleven years.

54/365

Name: Tammy Quintanilla
Three words to describe yourself: outgoing, down-to-earth, I love life!
I have known Tammy since I was born and I consider her as my aunt, or another mom ;) She was born in Pensacola, FL but was raised in Guadalajara, where her parents originally met, until she was fourteen. Her second uncle, Luis Echeverría Álvarez was the President of Mexico in the 70's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Echeverr%C3%ADa). When her dad passed away when she was fourteen, Tammy moved to Tucson, AZ to live in the United States. She "hated living here" and it took her three years to learn English. After Arizona, she moved to El Paso, TX where she "met the first love of [her] life". Tammy and her husband lived in Hawaii for two years, but divorced because he was a "womanizer". Tammy says she "learned a lot from that marriage . . . people can't take you for granted". She then moved to Austin, TX because her family moved there as well. One night, Tammy went downtown with a friend, met her second husband, Michael, and they married six months later.

They moved to Plattsburgh, NY because Michael was stationed there, and they met my parents who were also living on base. Tammy's car had broke down, so she walked over to my parents house to ask for a ride, and her and my mom have been best friends ever since! My older sister, Jackie, was only a year old when they met, so Tammy played a big role in my sister's life as far as helping to raise her. Tammy and my mom believe they are sisters separated at birth and that they were probably best friends in another life. She told me a story about how she thought that my parents house was on fire and she ran--eight months pregnant--to their house to "try and save" my mom, but it was just steam escaping from the house. From Plattsburgh, they moved to Corpus Christi, TX where Michael was going to earn his Master's Degree. Then they moved to San Antonio, TX where Michael earned his PhD in Psychology at Our Lady of the Lake University. My parents moved to Bethesda, MD; where I was born, and where I believe my dad went to medical school or to complete his residency--I'll have to verify that. Afterwards, my dad was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX, so the Quintanilla's and the Pruitt's were reunited again!

Tammy and Michael became divorced a few years ago. She met another guy, named Miguel, who was a fireman and, for twenty years, has been living four blocks away from her house and she never knew him. (Note: my mom is currently dating a retired fireman...I tell you these two women are the same person). She fell in love with Miguel and described him as "somebody that can love you for who you are". Tammy was getting "scared when things started falling into place" as far as meeting him at this point in her life. After a year and a half of dating, Miguel asked Tammy to marry her on a Monday night, and she said "yes". Tammy had a weird feeling, however, that she knew "Miguel is not going to live for long". Miguel sadly died in a drowning accident in a lake the following Wednesday. It has been difficult for Tammy to move on from her loss, but she enjoys "being herself" and living the single life. In a few years, she would like to move back to Austin to start life fresh. I told her that she could just move in to our "sorority house" with my mom in Georgia because my younger sister will be in college. After all, both of them said they would live together in Florida when they retire!

53/365

Name: Edward
Three words to describe yourself: short, hardworking, disciplined
Edward was born in Abilene, TX but spent the first ten years of his life living in Panama and said the country was "paradise". He did not have television growing up, so he had to play outdoors. His father was in the military, so his family had to move around a lot. Edward spent junior high living in South Dakota, one year in New York, and one year in Phoenix, AZ. When I asked how moving around affected him growing up, he replied, "When you first move, it's difficult to meet friends", but he is still in touch with his best friend from 5th grade. Edward moved to Germany during high school and said the country "was more fun than any other place [he's lived in]". He met my dad in Germany in 10th grade English and Geometry classes. My dad was "the class clown" in school and Edward was the very shy new student so they "built up a friendship". One day my dad had asked him, "Hey Ed, you want to skip class?". "We've been friends ever since".  I asked if he could tell me any other crazy stories about being friends with my dad. He pleaded the 5th. Edward now has two sons, is a single-parent, and is an engineer. He works with micro-electrical mechanical systems, or MEMS, and builds computer chips.

52/365

Name: Kenon
Three words to describe yourself: introverted, honest, trustworthy
Kenon currently lives in Philadelphia, PA, but he is originally from San Antonio and is visiting his family for the holidays. He enjoys San Antonio because he "likes the people . . . real friendly" and there's "no snow". In Philadelphia, Kenon works for a "Big Bank" (he wouldn't give me the name, and I understand). He graduated from UT San Antonio and his father was in the military at Lackland AFB. Being in the military, his family had to move around a lot, and for Kenon, living in Naples, Italy was the "biggest in [his] memory". It was a "different place, different language". He thinks moving around a lot has a child helped him in life because it's "easier to meet people . . . with going to a new place every three years of so". Also, Kenon liked "living with other people in the military . . . you become close". The mustache he is currently sporting is not his normal facial look as he is participating in the "Movember" thing.

51/365

Name: Brandy
Three words to describe yourself: funny, critical, understanding
I met Brandy at Cuppy's, a local coffee shop in Kennesaw, and it turns out that she is a Junior at Kennesaw Mountain High and knows my younger sister who also goes there! Small world! Brandy was born in Jackson, GA and her parents divorced when she was five. When her dad met his new wife from Kennesaw, she moved with him there as well because of the better school system. She played softball during 9th and 10th grade, but decided to play in the rec league this year because she felt that high school softball was becoming "so competitive" and she "felt inferior" to the other players. As a Junior, she is still trying to figure out what to do in life. Brandy can picture herself in twenty years with a house and family, but "the process of getting to college is nerve-wracking". She would like to do something in the medical field such as pathology and is thinking about studying at either Kennesaw State University or Mercer University. She wanted to be a neurosurgeon but did not want to be in school "for twenty years". Her mom is a registered nurse, so she was exposed to the medical field at an early age and she understood the financial stability that normally goes along with those types of careers. Brandy has felt this way her whole life--except in 4th grade when she wanted to be an astronaut. She enjoys working at Cuppy's because "the people are great" and she can walk to work. At Kennesaw Mtn., Brandy is a part of the magnet math & science program and hated the program during 9th grade, but now that she is older, the program is "like one big happy family . . . you appreciate them more". Originally, she did not want to apply to the magnet program but her dad told her, "you can get unlimited texting if you join". So Brandy applied, but "[the texting] wasn't worth it". Good luck to you, Brandy, in all of your endeavors!

50/365

Name: Theresa Tran
Three words to describe yourself: indecisive, funny, appreciative
Today is a special day. It is "Tranniversary". Or for those of you who do not know Theresa, it is her 19th birthday! Theresa loves putting "Tran" into any word she can. She was born in Smyrna, GA and moved to Fredericksburg, VA when she was five-years-old. After 4th grade, her family moved to Kennesaw, GA because her grandparents were already living there. She is a first-generation American and is proud of her Asian heritage. Her mom left Cambodia because the Khmer Rouge ended, while her father left Vietnam during the Communist takeover. Her dad is very conservative because of this and calls CNN "Communist News Network". She enjoys speaking in Vietnamese accents "especially when you hear [her] rendition of Pride and Prejudice". Theresa has traveled to Cambodia and "a lot of the roads there are not nice but they're building them . . . I rode an elephant . . . I fed it a banana . . . I also fed banana chips to a monkey". In her lifetime, Theresa would like to write a book because she would like to be able to ask: "I have a book, what do you have?" On a more serious note, she would like to be a small animal veterinarian as opposed to a large animal one because she "[doesn't] like sticking her hand up...well...you know". She predicts that my dog, Casey, will live to be twenty years old (I hope so because he is eleven!). Her inspiration for becoming a vet comes from her love of puppies and her experience interning for a vet's office. Theresa also enjoys puns and asks, "Who doesn't like puns? . . . if you don't [like puns] there's something wrong with you . . . like unresolved childhood issues". As a final food for thought Theresa states, "Spay and neuter your pets...and stay in school!"

49/365

Name: Jackson
Three words to describe yourself: driven, funny, laid-back
Jackson is from Savannah, GA and loves it there because he's twenty minutes from the beach. For the past four summers, he has worked for the same mini golf place. "I tell myself I'm not going back . . . but they somehow entice me to return". In his lifetime, Jackson would like to "be a successful lawyer . . . and have a nice family". He is pre-law and currently studying international affairs--instead of political science--because he feels this field may lead him to more opportunities than politics, such as working for the state department. Jackson has a lot of experience with politics because he had two internships working on the campaigns of Jack Kingston and Saxby Chambliss. He would like to go to UGA's law school or possibly Tulane University and is thinking about practicing corporate law. The TV show "Suits" on USA is his dream job. As far as school goes "Monday through Friday [he's] all business" but likes to go out downtown on the weekends. For Jackson, the best thing about college has been the "freedom . . . doing whatever you want . . . but I've seen a lot of people abuse that privilege". The hardest thing has been "remembering 1000 different people's names that you've just met". His music is consisted of 50 percent country and 50 percent rap, and he likes watching Burn Notice and Law and Order on USA. Being a Georgia native, he also likes watching the Atlanta Falcons and Georgia Bulldogs play.

48/365

Name: Alyssa
Three words to describe yourself: determined, stress-prone, social
Alyssa is from Marietta, GA and has lived there for twelve years. She was born in North Carolina and lived in Alabama, but was too young to remember living in those locations. She says she has "a bad sweet tooth" and does not have a favorite dessert. When Alyssa was younger, she wanted to be a veterinarian, but her mom convinced her otherwise. She became interested in knowing how the body worked and how people contracted disease, so she turned her attention to becoming a doctor. After watching House and other medical shows, however, Alyssa noticed that she would cringe at the scenes showing surgery, so she "couldn't be a surgeon". Instead, she would like to be a medical researcher with the CDC and is interested in pathology. When I asked her about college in general, Alyssa said that the best thing is "getting away from parents" and the "social aspect", while the worst thing is the "stress level" and taking "fifteen hours of classes plus RHA [meetings]". She has traveled to Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Hawaii and said the Bahamas were "beautiful, but it would be scary to live there . . . people harass you". In Hawaii, Alyssa found it strange that "they have chickens running around everywhere" including the airport. Purple is her favorite color and she enjoys pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks!

365 People 365 Stories Essay

Here is the essay I wrote for my English class about my blog and my reasoning for creating this project. Enjoy!

Since I have become a college student, I have begun to pay more attention to the connections that are created between people interacting with one another. On a daily basis, I have been observing the different ways in which I personally communicate with others around me both directly and indirectly. I order coffee from the barista at Jittery Joe's in the Miller Learning Center, listen to my professor give his lecture in my Human Geography class, and walk past the homeless man who asks for money in downtown Athens—all without realizing that I am communicating with other people. I noticed that I was unconsciously going through the motions of interacting with people in my daily life and not taking the time to listen to people's histories, perspectives on life, and future goals.

To examine my views and questions about humanity as a whole, I decided to create a blog project that would be composed of the biographies of 365 random individuals to determine what makes us unique as human beings even though we all want the same things in life. The title of the blog is appropriately named “365 People, 365 Stories” because I am going to randomly interview one person every day to hear his or her life story and then post a brief summary and picture on my blog for an entire year. Such questions will include but are not limited to: “What is your life story?” “What are your goals in life and how will you go about achieving those?” and “What is the most important thing in your life?” The inspiration for this specific project came from a moment when I was walking back to my Residence Hall with my friend, Chas Choran, and we were brainstorming possible paper topics for our English papers. Because I have a creative side to my personality and I love to journal, I have always wanted to create a blog, but I did not know what I wanted to write about. I wanted to be original, and this idea allowed me to be authentic because it was a topic that I have never heard of before. I am also interested in how people think and enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories and this blog is an outlet for me to do both.

The more people I meet, the more I realize that humans generally have desires to attain the same things in their lives. When I meet someone and ask what they would like to achieve in his or lifetime, the response is usually: to be financially secure, be successful, and live a happy life. Even though we wish to acquire these similar goals, our experiences and the people we encounter determine how we seek to attain our set goals in life. I think that everyone can recall one experience or person and say, “If I did not have this experience or if I did not meet this person, I would not be where I am today. My life would be completely different”. One of the reasons I began this blog was to observe how people's present lives are defined by their past experiences and how they will attain their ambitions. In order for personal growth to occur, taking risks and being spontaneous with our actions is a way in which we can manifest our desires to make these goals become our reality. I believe that everything in life happens for a reason—whether or not we know what that reason may be—and if one of the risks we take turns out to be a mistake, we will be okay in the long term because we can learn from our experiences and apply this knowledge to our future.

As a college student, I find that I am always surrounded by people. During the first two weeks of adjusting to this new lifestyle, people were friendly enough to initiate conversations and eat meals with new people. I find that as time has passed, however, people are not as willing to go out of their ways to meet other people. The person standing in front of me in line may be an employer who is looking for someone to hire and I fit his job description, or the person could be someone who just needed a positive interaction and I might be the one to brighten his or her day. I would never know these backgrounds unless I initiated a conversation with either one of them. I find that people are generally friendly enough to talk to, so why do we not take the extra distance to meet somebody new? Perhaps the reason people feel restrained to break the ice with others is because they already have an established set of friends, but I feel that the reason contains deeper levels. After analyzing my own personal mentality, I think that the fear of judgment is the number one reason why I do not introduce myself to others. I think that people do not want to be judged for who they are as a person because they are not one-hundred percent confident in themselves. I am not entirely certain this is the case for everyone on this planet, but it was applicable to me and my personal background.

I have noticed that since I have begun this project, my self-esteem has improved as far as being able to talk to people whom I have never met. I need a lot of will-power to ask a random person to tell me his or her life story, but I find that with each encounter I have, it is easier for me to be spontaneous and more carefree about preexisting judgments that I may have about myself. During my sophomore year of high school, I moved from California to Georgia and did not know a single person. The first six months of adjusting to my new Southern life was very difficult for me because I was scared to introduce myself to others without having fears of judgment. When I made the transition to break out of my shell and let my defenses down, I was able to meet new people and make lasting friendships. Even though I have overcome many fears about meeting new people, I still have insecurities about who I am as a person. When I began the process of interviewing people, I had the courage to only interview students from the University, however, since I have become more confident in my daily routine of meeting people, I have expanded my horizons to interview people not associated with UGA.

My list of interviewees contains individuals from all walks of life, including: someone from the Occupy Athens movement, a fourth grader, a resident assistant, my dog, a few Southerners, and a Greek-American captain among many other diverse people. Even though I said that I would interview people I have never met before, I find that I may not know people as well as I should. I recently sat down with my grandpa and talked with him about his life story for an hour and a half. His story of retiring and reapplying to the military and hearing some of his other life experiences inspired me and I was able to learn more about my family history. Had I not taken the time to talk to him, I may not have been able to hear his story from his perspective, so on this particular post, I asked my readers to sit down with their family members to hear about their histories. I am not sure if my readers have done this, but I hope this request urged them to think about their roots and how they developed into who they are today.

On day three of this blog project, I interviewed a girl named Robin who said that she lives by one of Plato’s quotes: “be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle”. We do not realize that people all around us are hurting; whether it is physically, mentally, spiritually, or emotionally. We are so wrapped up in our own lives and egos that we may not pay attention or choose not to care about others that are around us. I believe that if we are more conscientious of others and choose to pay attention to what “battles” they may be fighting, the world would be a more understanding and compassionate place. Removing all judgments sounds like an impossible thing to ask, but I hope that my blog project will be an inspiration for people to be more sensitive to others, to take more risks in their daily lives, and to say hello to a complete stranger.

47/365

Name: Emilia

Three words to describe yourself: Romanian, funny, caring

Emilia is a native of Snellville, GA but is originally from Fagras, Romania. Her family moved to the United States when she was seven years old "for better opportunities," but she goes back every summer to visit her extended family. She liked growing up in Romania because "children have more of a childhood instead of being obsessed with television". One of the biggest culture shocks of coming to the U.S. was the dependence Americans have on cars as means of transportation because in Romania, they rely more on walking from destination to destination. English was not Emilia's first language, so it was difficult for her to learn it: "I remember crying . . . it was hard to adapt . . . I missed my friends". Describing the cultural differences between Romania and the U.S., she says that Americans "are nicer . . . and more open-minded". Emilia is studying International Affairs and would like to eventually become either a U.S. or Romanian diplomat (but preferably a U.S. one). She says, "it would be nice to represent a country and to try and solve problems between countries," and wants to "give back to the community . . . even if you change one person's life for the better, it's a domino effect". In high school, she was a member of the varsity soccer team. Eventually, Emilia would like to travel to Barcelona, Spain and China. She has been to Spain before and says "it's an amazing country with nice people and a beautiful language". She wants to go to China because the culture is very unique and "the more places you visit, the more you can realize how other people think".

46/365

Name: Phillip
Three words to describe yourself: God-fearing, persistent, spontaneous
Phillip is and international student from Kingston, Jamaica and is studying Computer Information Systems at Chattahoochee Tech in Atlanta, GA. He is on a track and field scholarship and has been running since he was in primary school. Eventually, he would like to run for Jamaica in a national competition "just to have that 'Jamaica' across [his] chest". Though traveling is not his passion, Phillip would like to become a commercial airline pilot and it has been his passion since he was ten. He enjoyed living in Jamaica because it was "fun" and he likes the music, sports and food. "Jamaica is one of the most unique and authentic cultures--no offense to others!". As far as Jamaican food goes, Phillip likes the combination of dumplings, curry chicken, bananas, yams, and potatoes. Phillip lives in Mid-town Atlanta, which is known for being a relatively gay-friendly area in Atlanta. In Jamaica, the citizens are more homophobic, so it was a big culture shock to see how people are more accepting in the United States.

45/365

Name: Trey
Three words to describe yourself: friendly, bubbly, zealous
Voted as "best smile" in high school, Trey is from Tyrone, GA and enjoys it because he likes golf carts. Currently he is studying at Auburn University and says "It's obviously great to be an Auburn Tiger" (UGA beat AU today 45-7...just saying). He works at a veterinary office in hopes of becoming a veterinarian  because he has "always loved animals since [he] was a little kid". He even has a gecko named Gecky. Because of his Italian/Irish heritage, Trey loves to tell stories and shared a few during the interview. A litter of stray puppies was brought to the vet office and some of the puppies had a genetic seizure disorder. Trey was holding a puppy that was seizing and it bit him before these puppies had been tested for rabies, so for a week, he was worried that he may have contracted rabies. To test a puppy for rabies, you need to check the brain tissue, so the puppy's head had to be cut off :( When Trey got the test results back a week later, they were negative, but his friends accuse him of being a puppy killer. He told another story of seeing a mountain lion on his street in Dadeville, AL. Just last night, he almost got arrested. The male restroom is on the floor above us, so he walked toward the staircase on the hall, but he saw a cop standing next to the staircase. He turned around to go to the other staircase, but noticed that the cop had been staring at him through the glass window on the hall door, so Trey ran back to my hallmate's room. The cop came to the door and knocked for ten minutes until they finally answered. The cop asked if they had been drinking, but because it was a big game weekend, the cop "let [him] slide". Trey also has a fraternal twin brother who wants to become a rock star, and Trey missed him the most when he left for school. He likes Lady Gaga and is "officially a Zeta sister".

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Name: Brooks
Three words to describe yourself: introspective, energetic, funny
Brooks was born in Mobil, AL and lived there for the first three years of his life until his dad got another job with a consulting firm in Peachtree City, GA. He enjoyed growing up in Peachtree City because it "was a good environment to be raised in" and the town is "close knit but without the feeling of a small town". "There's not much to do, but everyone says that about their hometown". In his life, Brooks would like to graduate college and he has a few ideas about career paths. Firstly, he would like to write in some capacity because he enjoyed journalism in high school. He is a master procrastinator and writes all of his articles at the last minute. His article about the Westboro Baptist Church one a few awards, and as soon as he gives me the link, I can post the article. Secondly, he would like to potentially work with policy studies or economics and have a job that allows him to travel. Two years ago, Brooks went to Brazil with a church group and really liked it because he studied Spanish in high school for three years, and he thought hearing Portuguese in Brazil was very similar to Spanish. He "enjoyed the fellowship with people and sharing a common bond even though they were thousands of miles away". He would like to travel to New Zealand, Argentina, and Spain and is visiting London and France within the next few weeks. Throughout high school, Brooks played the guitar and drums with friends. Some of his favorite bands/artists include: Foo Fighters, Jeff Buckley, Avett Brothers, Outkast, The Roots, Led Zepplin, and Radiohead, and he loves going to concerts with good friends. The most spontaneous thing Brooks has done was go sledding with friends on a golf course in Peachtree City, who were almost completely naked, wearing nothing but trash bags. They all ended up getting sick.

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Name: Connor
Three words to describe yourself: shy, confused, funny
Connor is from Snellville, GA and he does not like the city because the culture is "not his style" and he "[feels] out of place there". He is more comfortable in Canada because "people are super friendly". Connor would like to play music, but says he lacks the charisma that performers have, so he has never performed in front of people. His dad played the guitar when Connor was little, so he picked it up as well and has been playing ever since. He has written quite a few songs, but again has never performed live in front of an audience. I told him to play in a coffee shop, so there is hope! He is studying Mass Media Arts but does not know what to do after graduation: "we'll all be jobless anyways". As a sophomore, he was able to offer me some insightful advice about college. This is not a direct quote but he said something along the lines of: enjoy college while you can because it goes by really quickly.

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Name: Vincent
Three words to describe yourself: I don't know
Vincent was born in Atlanta, Ga and his dad is from Beijing and his mom is from Pulli, Taiwan. He said that 30-40 years ago there was a massive "brain drain" in which Asians were easily able to emigrate to the U.S. to pursue higher education. His dad studied physics, while his mom studied accounting. I asked Vincent what he would like to do in his lifetime and he immediately replied, "Superhero pirate . . . WHY DOES THAT NOT EXIST YET?" On a more serious note, he likes the idea of getting a PhD in philosophy in order to teach because he "[wants] to change the way we think about everything". He said that he does not commit to any specific philosophy but he likes the ideas of Nietzsche and Deleuze who are both interested in the "re-conceptualization of morality" and "overcoming thought". Vincent does have a personal philosophy: "Never be the same" and also says, "I have a cute smile". I ask Vincent about a travel experience he had, and he tells me a story about staying in a hostel in Hungary. He and a few friends went to a club, had a few drinks, then went back to the hostel. One of his friends asked the hostel manager about swimming in the Danube, but the manager said the river was too cold and dirty, and the current is too strong. Suddenly Vincent's friend goes outside, jumps of the hostel's deck and climbs over a few fences until he reaches the docks on the Danube. Realizing his friend is swimming in the river, Vincent realized he also wanted to jump in the river and knew that if he did not, he would regret it. He decided to jump in and his underwear fell off, so he was swimming in a river that "was so cold and filthy" while trying to put his boxer back on. I ask him if it was worth it and he replies, "Oh hell yeah!" Vincent has done quite a bit of traveling, but would like to go to Morocco, Italy, the Middle East, Croatia and everywhere else in the world--except for the European countries he has already been to.

41/365

Name: Christine

Three words to describe yourself: shy, special, curious

Christine is one of my hallmate's grandmother and she was visiting her granddaughter at UGA. Christine was born in Paris, France during WW2. The German officers were blocking access across the Seine river, but Christine's parents were allowed to cross that night because her mom was in labor. She became a teacher in the Congo during the 60's because she "heard Africa was a lost cause". French was the most difficult class for her in high school, but Christine taught French, biology, and geography classes in the Congo. "It really was an adventure going to the Congo". Christine says she "couldn't recognize people for two weeks" because there were only two or three white people in the village, but she "got to know everybody" and the villagers have a "welcoming state of mind". She also met her husband in the Congo. They decided to marry in France but shortly moved to Kansas because her husband was going to get his PhD there. Christine's husband is an analytical chemist with the World Health Organization who researches causes of cancer. He worked in France until he was 60 (the retirement age in France is 60), but he wanted to keep working, so they moved back to the U.S and have been here for seven years. Together they have four kids and two of them live in the United States. I asked her about the cultural differences between the U.S. and France and she says, "Americans are very welcoming at first" but they often do not keep strong relationships. The French, on the other hand, "will keep their distance for a while until they get to know you better". I also asked her about the differences in wine and Christine said, "Americans like wine that is more acidic . . . they don't know it's bad . . . but they have improved". Christine does love living in America though! She is an animal person and enjoys America's wide variety of animal life and nature-there is a beaver dam in her backyard in Columbia, MD!

40/365

Name: Tyler
Three words to describe yourself: amazing, fun, misunderstood
Tyler was born and raised in Blackshear, GA and describes his small town as being "like a family", but it "wasn't very diverse". As a middle child, he's "not the youngest but not the oldest", which can be difficult at times because "you're overlooked". Both of siblings are right handed, have brown eyes, and have names that start with 'B', but Tyler is left-handed and has blue eyes. He asks himself, "Am I adopted or something?" In his life, Tyler would like to help someone and thinks teaching history might be a career option. He "[wants] to help raise a new generation" and thinks that by teaching students, he can influence the way in which they view the world. European history interests him the most because it's "where [history] all started" with ancient Greece and Rome. Tyler has only traveled around the southeastern region so he wants to travel everywhere. He is currently taking Russian and loves it because "it's beautiful". He also loves to read books and has read the Harry Potter series seven times. Tyler's (appropriate) favorite thing about college is meeting new people and he said he has not met someone he does not like.

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Name: Brian
Three words to describe yourself: creative, kind, cool
Brian is from Norcross, GA and has lived there his whole like. He likes it because he "grew up there and [knows] a lot of people" and a lot of his friends from school came to the University. He is 75 percent Chinese and 25 percent Vietnamese. Both of his parents were born in Vietnam and moved to the U.S. when Vietnam turned Communist. They met in high school and were much older than the other students because they did not know English very well. Brian grew up speaking Chinese and Vietnamese but lost both of these languages when he learned English. He would like to be an animator and "make [his] own cartoon", and this inspiration came from his 7th grade teacher who taught his math enrichment class. Brian wants a job that he's happy with but also something he can support himself with. His life is the most important thing to him because "you can do whatever you want with it and shape it how you'd like . . . you only have one life". One day, he would like to visit Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and China, but he also wants to go to countries in Europe and California. Brian likes to draw, and write poetry and stories. He is a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and loves it more than playing tennis or swimming because he can "just be [him]self".

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Name: Emma
Three words to describe yourself: funny, awesome, good dancer
Emma was "born and raised" in Blairsville, GA, and she liked growing up there, but "[doesn't] want to be there the rest of [her] life". She was on a hip-hop dance competition team throughout high school and enjoys listening to that genre of music, but her favorite band is The Beatles--"Hey Jude" and "Across the Universe" are her favorite songs". She attends Mercer University and likes the school because "it's big enough where I don't recognize people but small enough to recognize ten people" and "everyone's so nice there!" She wants to be a plastic surgeon and eventually open a burn center because "[she wants] to help people live a normal life . . . and not have to depend on others to care for them". When Emma was eleven, her mom got cancer and Emma was the primary caretaker. Her friends and her mom are the most important people in Emma's life because "they're always there when you need them". This summer she worked in a vineyard in Young Harris, GA (the town next to Blairsville) and loved "learning about how much work is put into making wine . . . it makes you appreciate the business [of the wine industry]". She wants to visit Athens, Greece and the Tuscan region of Italy. She met my roommate, Sarabeth, in daycare because of an argument that resulted in Emma biting Sarabeth. They've been best friends ever since!

37/365

Name: Ashley
Three words to describe yourself: scholarly, eccentric, curious
Ashley was born in Fayetteville, but her family downsized and moved to Peachtree City (and yes she owns a golf cart). She says that Peachtree City is "very sheltered" and "people say nothing ever happens there". Peachtree City is "kind of like the Twilight Zone . . . it's too idealistic . . . it makes you forget about all of the problems in the world".  She is studying history and anthropology and wants to be an archaeologist because it is "something [she's] always wanted to do since [she] was a kid". Ashley's favorite thing about being college is "the freedom" and you get to schedule your own time. The worst part is "adjusting to being here and being away from friends". Her favorite place that she's ever traveled to was a beach in Naples, FL, but she "wants to go everywhere". Ashley loves 19th Century British Literature and Oscar Wilde is her favorite author. She is also a Harry Potter fan and says she's "just a nerd in general". Friends and family are equally important to Ashley and she met all of her really close friends through a girl she met in middle school drama club. Ashley is involved in LGBTQ and cares about gay rights: "I feel like it's silly to deny people of their rights . . . people make too big a deal about it when it's not their business".

36/365

Name: Madeline
Three words to describe yourself: energetic, creative, passionate
Madeline is my English professor's daughter and I met her at a banquet for the Creswell Learning Communities. She is in fourth grade and loves to write poetry and stories. She told me about a story she wrote about a Native American girl She aspires to attend UGA and would like to become a Kindergarten teacher. English is naturally her favorite subject, and Madeline enjoys reading historical fiction novels such as Fever 1793, which I have read as well :) Both her and her mom take martial arts classes together and they both earned their yellow stripes. She also loves sewing and knitting and wants to take tumbling classes because she took gymnastics when she was younger. Madeline's favorite trip was to Alaska because "you got to be on a cruise ship" and she saw a lot of marine life, but not any moose. Madeline also wants to travel to London.

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Name: Kevin
Three words to describe yourself: funny, friendly, likeable
Kevin was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and moved to Roswell, GA about nine years ago because of the economic instability that was occurring at the time. His mom's brother-in-law is from Georgia so the family moved to the U.S. together. Kevin is Jewish and his family is originally from Germany. Argentina had an open immigration policy during World War II, so his grandparents moved to Argentina but went back to Germany the same time Kevin's family moved to the United States. His family was one of the few surviving families of their hometown in Germany and are treated very well by the government, but unfortunately his great-grandfather died in a concentration camp. Jewish immigrants founded the school Kevin attended in Argentina, so he learned Spanish as well as studying German. He says that moving to the States was not a huge culture shock, but "the biggest thing was dinner". In Argentina dinner is usually served at 8:00, after the sun goes down, so he found 5:00 an odd time to eat. Also, Kevin, never knew how to use milk cartons that are served in cafeterias, so on the first day of school in the U.S., he had to ask someone to show him how to open the cartons. He did not speak English growing up, so he was placed in ESOL, but only stayed in the class for one year and was able to take honors lit. classes. Kevin "[wants] to have a good job and a good family" and he gets practice by taking care of "fifty grown-ass children". He's an RA in Creswell, and his favorite part of his job is that he "loves interacting with people". He is studying biology and psychology and would like to become a psychiatrist.

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Name: Camilo
Three words to describe yourself: international, mature, logical
I met Camilo during a lecture on Global Leadership and met him by means of one of my hallmates. Camilo was born in Medellin, Columbia and moved to the United States when he was seven years old. His family wanted to give him "more opportunities" and his uncle lived in Marietta, GA, so they moved to Georgia. He liked Columbia because the country was "more family oriented" and people could have a "healthier childhood" and "are more socially active". He wishes he could have spent more time growing up in Colombia, but he has had more opportunities living in the United States. Last year, Camilo lived in Germany as part of a foreign exchange program. For the first semester, he studied German, but the second semester, he had two internships involving City-Works and the World Wind Energy Association. In his life time, he "[wants] to see the world and become more international . . . and be able to help people in [his] country". Camilo is currently studying environmental engineering and is thinking about working with sustainability in Columbia. He is trilingual (English, Spanish, German) but would also like to learn Italian, Portuguese, French, and maybe Russian or Arabic.

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Name: Brittney
Three words to describe yourself: tall, motherly, humble
Brittney was born in Grand Rapids, MI but moved to Dawsonville, GA because of her dad's job as an engineer. Most of her family is still in Michigan and she says it's her home. She would like to someday have a family of her own (preferably two kids) and live near her family. Brittney "loves artsy things" like collaging, drawing, and painting and she would like to have a job with a creative element involved. She is a Resident Assistant (RA) in Creswell Hall and "loves [her] residents . . . they are fantastic!" She also works at the Front Desk of Creswell and always has a smile on her face! Brittney also has two siblings and loves to read The Great Gatsby and anything by Jodi Picoult.