198/365

Name: Michael
Three words to describe yourself: awesome, funny, friendly
Michael is from Brunswick, Georgia/St. Simon's Island but was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I asked Michael if he liked living in Brunswick and he replied, "I didn't really appreciate living there until I left. It's a really good place to be raised as a child," and he said that it is a 10-15 minute drive to the beach. Michael spent his summers as a lifeguard and said that the most dangerous situation he had to deal with was with someone who was having a seizure. Growing up near the coast got Michael interested in working with marine life. Originally Michael wanted to become a marine biologist, and then after spending 20 years in the field, he would become a teacher, but after the first semester of college, however, he decided to pursue teaching first. Now Michael is studying Secondary Science Education and Ecology because he has enjoyed science since middle school and wanted to work with animals. Michael said that when he is not teaching in the summer, he would like to do field work studying animal behaviorisms such as the Antarctic penguins. Michael said that he would like to get married by the age of 25, have kids after, and "live a long an prosperous life." For traveling, Michael wants to go to Africa, Australia, and Italy because his grandpa is Italian. In high school, Michael was involved with the theatre department but stopped participating in college because he wanted to mainly focus on school instead. He also loves every genre of music except for screamo. "If you get a chance to meet me, you'll probably become my best friend," he says.

197/365

Name: Scott
Three words to describe yourself: optimistic, outgoing, friendly
Scott is from Cartersville, Georgia but used to live in McDonough, Georgia. Because he liked taking marketing classes in high school, Scott is majoring in Marketing at UGA. As a career, Scott said that he wants to work for a big corporation like Coca Cola, Google, or Apple. His favorite part about UGA is the people and the atmosphere of downtown Athens. Scott wants to travel to Italy "because of the food," and he has never been outside of the country. He is also taking Portuguese classes. He enjoys going to the lake and his family has a mountain cabin near the Appalachian Trail, so Scott likes to hike as well. If Scott could do anything in the world, he would go to every country in the world for a week each. This summer, he is taking classes at Georgia Highlands and is possibly working at the marina. He likes the quote: "When the time comes to die, just make sure that the only thing left to do is die."

196/365

Name: Sophia
Three words to describe yourself: slow, simple, critical
Sophia is from Columbus, Georgia but was born in Panama City, Panama because her dad was in the military. She also spent some time living in Ft. Hood, Texas. In Columbus, Sophia's parents owned a soul food restaurant but none of her siblings wanted to upkeep the restaurant, so they retired. Sophia is also a twin and she said they made a language with each other growing up. "She's my best friend . . . but it's a blessing being away from her for college," Sophia says. Sophia is studying International Affairs at UGA and she got interested in the subject because after her dad retired from the restaurant business, he started to do a lot of world traveling, especially to Africa with friends. He donated money to help build an orphanage in South Africa. For a career, Sophia wanted to work for the Department of State but now she is thinking of taking more of the political economy route. Her "alternative goal" is to help her friends become successful as she says, "so I can effectively bum off of them for the rest of my life because I supported them in college. I tell my friends this. They understand." Sophia's ultimate goal in life is to help as many people as possible. She has traveled to Mexico and wants to go to Africa, and she says, "I want to see the impact my family has made and experience the history and culture." In her free time, Sophia loves reading autobiographies of political leaders or influential actors who have made an impact on the world, such as Nelson Mandela. She comments, "To have somebody put in captivity most of his life and come out happy is above what most of us would do." When Sophia was 13, she begged her mom to use the car and her mom said that she could drive it. She started to back out of the driveway and accidentally hit the mailbox, making the car light fall off. I asked Sophia if her parents were mad at her and she said, "Not as much as I thought they would be!"

195/365

Name: Chris
Three words to describe yourself: Ultimate Frisbee player
Chris was born and raised in Atlanta, but more specifically in Gwinnett County/Dekalb area. At UGA, Chris was studying Environmental Engineering, but he said that the major was not what he had thought it would be like "with summer classes and 16-hour semesters." Now, he is thinking of Exercise and Sports Medicine to possibly become either a personal trainer or physical therapist. In 11th grade, Chris started playing "pivkup" ultimate frisbee with his youth group, and now he plays for a club team at Georgia. Growing up, Chris also sang in a church choir and they would go on tour every summer. In 9th grade, he went to Scotland for two weeks with his choir. He said that during his visit, he stayed with a butcher and walked on the hills where King Arthur was supposedly buried and the group ended up walking in a sheep pasture. If Chris could do anything in the world he would travel to New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland because his ancestors are Irish. Eventually, Chris would also love to live on the beach. His friends say that Chris has perfect hair that is "like a wig . . . the world should know," and also that "Chris is the chillest, illest bro in the world."

194/365

Name: Mallory
Three words to describe yourself: spunky, funny, sarcastic
Mallory was born in the Cobb County area but is from Hiram, Georgia. She says, "It was a small community . . . I liked it for the growing-up stage of my life, but not for my future." Mallory is studying Political Science at UGA and wants to go to law school. NYU is her number one choice, but she said she would not mind staying at UGA; GSU is her fallback. I asked Mallory why she wants to be a lawyer, and she said in the 9th grade, her literature class had debate and for one of the arguments, nobody in the classroom had a response. Mallory came up with a really good rebuttal and she said she loved the feeling. She is thinking of going into criminal law because she wants "to work with facts and evidence, fit the pieces together, and argue a case."  As a career goal, she would like to either partner in a firm or own a firm. Describing herself as a "very competitive person," Mallory's biggest fear in life is not being good at what she does. "To an extent, I'm a workaholic," Mallory says. When she was in 11th grade, she started a job at a burger place, and after working there for five months, Mallory became an Assistant Manager. As President of the Residence Hall Association (RHA), Mallory says that her favorite part about RHA is meeting the hall councils because she likes the people. If she could do anything in the world, Mallory would have a house that is spelled in the shape of her name. She says, "In the 'O', I'd have a pool!" She also wants to have a library with an oak desk and a ladder that goes around the room similar to the one in Beauty and the Beast. A random fact about Mallory is that she always sets her alarm with a '9' at the end, so if, for instance, she wants to wake up at 6:00 AM, Mallory sets the clock to 5:59. She says that 9 was her softball number and Mallory was born on the 29th of the 9th month (September) in 1990.

193/365

Name: Dani
Three words to describe yourself: energetic, indecisive, Latina
Dani was born in Caracas, Venezuela, but at the age of 11, she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio because her dad received a promotion. During her junior year of high school, Dani then moved to Georgia. In Venezuela, she attended a bilingual school, so speaking English was not a problem for Dani. I asked how she adjusted to living in the States, and Dani replied, "I was allowed to play soccer as a girl!" and "It surprised me how much people don't eat homemade meals." From Venezuela, the food, the beach, and her family and friends are what she misses the most. At UGA, Dani is studying Psychology with a minor in Spanish and possibly another minor in Business. She has wanted to study Psychology since her freshman year and comments, "I had a couple of rough years in my past . . . I want to help people avoid going through what I went through." As far as a career goes, Dani is not sure about what she wants to do. Spain is her favorite soccer team and says, "I am a huge soccer fan! I always have been and always will be." Dani would like to travel to Spain, specifically because one of her friends that lives there is the goalie's niece. Greece is another country Dani wants to visit because she loves its ancient history and the mythology. If she could do anything in the world, Dani would go to Peru because there is a hotel at Machu Picchu where you can watch the sunrise and eat Peruvian food, which is her favorite food. She likes everything except for the drink that comes from purple corn.

192/365

Name: Alena
Three words to describe yourself: always-contemplating, fun-loving, friendly
Alena is from Peachtree City, Georga and has lived there since she was four years old. Originally, she was born in Virginia, but moved to Louisiana before living in Georgia. Her grandparents were born in Italy, so all of their cousins still live there and in Italy, "your cousins are basically your brothers and sisters." Both families moved in the '30s because "they saw the outcome of Mussolini, and came to America." At UGA, Alena is majoring in International Affairs and is thinking about adding another major, possibly religion. Ultimately, she wants to work for an international non-profit organization and says "It would be cool to work with other countries." Alena wants to travel to a lot of different places, but says she wants to do more "backpack travel" as opposed to "tourist travel." This summer, she is going to live in Peru for ten weeks through AISEC and here is her blog about her trip: http://overthehillsnow.blogspot.com/. She has traveled out of the country; to Italy to see family and to Colombia for a wedding. Alena also wants to play an instrument, maybe the mandolin. She likes to read and listen to music with Alice in Wonderland being her favorite book because "it's a statement on how people take drugs to make everything better." She adds, "If Lewis Carroll was here today, he'd be freaked out." In her English class this semester, Alena read Flight and said that she really liked it and she describes herself as a Harry Potter nerd. Since the age of five, Alena has been dancing but coming to college, she decided to take a break for a while, but next semester, she is taking a dance class. I asked Alena what her favorite style of dance is and she said, "It depends on the day, but I like modern-contemporary, but it's a very broad field . . . I also like tap and jazz." Next year, Alena is going to be an "Impact" site leader (alternative spring break) for the "Homelessness and Poverty" trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. For personal philosophies, Alena says, "I believe that love is an action . . . it's a very broad category . . . but if we live a life of love . . . the world will be a better place." She also likes this quote by Martin Luther King: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: Only love can do that."

191/365

Name: Nicole
Three words to describe yourself: independent, ambitious, spontaneous
Nicole is from Atlanta, Georgia, and when I asked her how she liked living there, Nicole replied, "I don't feel like I really saw anything outside of Atlanta . . . UGA has really opened me up." At UGA she is studying Childhood and Family Development because she has "always had a love for children." As far as a career goes, she wants to work in either child advocacy or as a family consultant. For traveling, Nicole would like to go to Africa, Asia, and Italy, especially because she is studying Italian now. Nicole likes learning about different cultures and going on mission trips is on her bucket list. Nicole says that her faith is very important to her, and next year, she is working with a youth group. She is also in a dance ministry through Wesley, and last semester, Nicole was in a show called "Dance Upon Justice" and they raised money for an organization called Exodus Cry, which, from there website is "an international anti-trafficking organization committed to abolishing modern day slavery through prayer and awareness." http://exoduscry.com/ Family is also very important to Nicole and she has a younger sister who is 16 years old. Her favorite part about college has been "finding a really good community with Christian groups." "I wasn't expecting it at all with how big of a party school UGA is," she said. Nicole also likes Hello Kitty, anime, and this quote from Audrey Hepburn:

"For attractive lips,
Speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes,
Seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure,
Share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair,
Let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise,
Walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things,
Have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed,
And redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
You will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands;
One for helping yourself, and the other for helping others."

190/365

Name: Robert
Three words to describe yourself: funny, goofy, musical
Robert is from Dunwoody, Georgia and I asked him how he liked living there, and he replied, "It sucks . . . it's boring . . . it's called 'Funwoody' except there's nothing fun to do." Because Robert loves the woods, he is majoring in Forestry and wants to do "outdoor adventure stuff" and "have fun and make some money." He also wants to hike the Appalachian Trail and go to Yosemite. Through a program called Adventure Treks, Robert has been to North Carolina, Oregon, California, and Alaska. Robert wants to be in a band and he has been playing the guitar for five years. He likes music and his favorite concert that he has attended was for a band called Bootsy Collins and the Funk University. To end his interview, Robert says, "Do what you like. Like what you do . . . and vote for Vermin Supreme . . . free ponies for everyone!"

189/365

Name: Corinne
Three words to describe yourself: athletic, curious, shy
Corinne is from Atlanta, Georgia and when I asked if she liked living there, she said, "I liked the convenience of it all." She has a big family, with step-siblings, half-siblings, and a bunch of animals on each side. Corrine loves animals, and as a result, she is studying Animal Science/Pre-Vet, but she thinks the major will change. I asked her what other subjects she might be interested in studying and Corinne said that she likes learning languages. In high school, she took four years of Chinese classes as well as French classes, and now she is taking Spanish classes in college. Through a program at Emory University, Corrine went to China and she said, "I got to make dumblings!" but that "We only saw the sun maybe once." She wants to travel to Europe, and this summer, Corinne is house sitting for special needs animals and is trying to work for a veterinarian. In her free time, she likes to read a lot, especially "dystopian-style books," and she just got a Nook. Corinne used to read the Twilight series but said that the movies ruined it for her. A saying that Corinne lives by is "always keep your eyes open to the future."

188/365

Name: Michael
Three words to describe yourself: reckless, hardworking, inspirational
Michael was born in Atlanta and his parents are originally from Ghana. They left to raise a family in the U.S. and all of his relatives still live in Ghana. Michael speaks Twi and from the age of 6 to 9, he lived in Ghana and remembers attending primary school and living with his aunts and uncles. At UGA, Michael is a double major in Psychology/Biological Sciences. He took Psychology classes in high school and he thought the material was interesting, and he is studying Biological Sciences because "there's always money in science." Michael is also on the Pre-Med track and is trying to become a hematologist (hematology is concerned with the study of blood and blood diseases, thank you Wikipedia). Michael would like to work with cancer and diabetic patients as well as with blood transfusions. In his free time, Michael enjoys playing football and cross-country running and works out at Ramsey religiously. He also likes living in Creswell Residence Hall because "people can relate here more because they are independent." Next semester, Michael is going to be an RA in Building 1516 and saysm, "Being an RA helps your future career, so I'm excited to make more connections." His friends in the room said Michael is lucky and that he gets away with everything.

187/365

Name: Alex
Three words to describe yourself: determined, simple, "just-a-good-ol'-boy"
Alex is originally from Reynolds, Georgia and has also lived in Warner Robbins, Georgia. Before moving to Athens, he spent some time living in Chattanooga, Tennessee to live with mom. His dream as a child was to attend UGA, and now he is studying Ecology with an emphasis on Agricultural Ecology. "Growing up on the farm, I knew I wanted to do something related to agriculture," he says. Taking AP Environmental Science in high school also got him interested in "what went wrong with the environment." Alex has thought about environmental law, but his short term goal is to get his doctorate in ecology. Alex would like to work with farming, but he wants to focus on the sustainability part of it an "move the nation towards a more sustainable future." Alex has traveled to Jamaica several times for mission trips, and he helped build a house that was destroyed by a hurricane and volunteered at a medical clinic. Alex also has an uncle who coached college football and he invented the "3-3-5 for defensive lines." Alex did explain this to me, but instead of trying to write it down and then make sense of my notes for his post, I just Googled it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3%E2%80%933%E2%80%935_defense In September, Alex is expecting a child and he just got married last weekend to his girlfriend of almost two years.

186/365

Name: Luke
Three words to describe yourself: blessed, purposeful, easygoing
Luke was born in Tucker, Georgia, and at the age of two, he moved to Belgium at the age of two and then to Niger. Later on, he moved back and forth between Africa and America and he said that moving "expanded [his] mind to the world. Both of his parents are missionaries and linguists who made a curriculum to teach the written language spoken in Niger, and from the curriculum, the next step was to translate the Bible. Luke used to be able to speak French pretty fluently and he said that one thing that was shocking about living in Africa was the amount of poverty. "One time, one of my friends found a dead baby in a trash pile," he says. At UGA, Luke is studying Communications because he says, "It's a broad major . . . I don't know what I want to do with it specifically." He does, however, want to help people, maybe for a non-profit organization or a church "seeing how much need there is in the world." Luke is also a drummer, so if that takes off as a career, he will pursue drumming. Someday, Luke would like to write a book, travel to New Zealand, and meet the leader of any country, and "kicking a rabid dog" is on his bucket list. He recently broke his arm longboarding and says, "I think it would be cool to travel across a country on a longboard."

185/365

Name: Nagi
Three words to describe yourself: indecisive, shy, friendly  
Nagi was born in Okinawa, Japan, which is an island of of the coast. Because her mom is Japanese, she was born in a Japanese hospital and her dad was stationed in Japan with the Air Force. Nagi said that it took her parents eight years to get married. Originally Nagi's dad wanted to propose to her mom, but her mom's dad did not approve. Still determined to marry Nagi's mom, her dad went back to the States to get a law degree and then he came back to Japan to propose. Nagi's Grandpa was still against the marriage, but they married anyway. Afterwards, they moved to San Antonio, Texas, where her younger sister was born, and they lived there for two years. Then they moved to Indiana, to Brunswick, Georgia, to Virginia, then back to Georgia. I asked Nagi how moving around the country affected her growing up, and she responded, "I think I've always been a shy person so it's been difficult, but it helped me become more exposed to different cultures even in America." Nagi can understand Japanese and is studying it for her language requirement. At UGA, she is studying Computer Science, but she has not taken the intro level class, so what she does with the major is still "up in the air." I asked why she is interested in Computer Science, and she replied, "Someone told me that if you like problem solving, then computer science might be a good fit. I like logic and math." After college, Nagi would like to live in Japan for a year to teach English. She says, "Japan and America are both my homes, so I think it would be nice to live there for a long period of time." Nagi wants to travel a lot, more specifically to Europe because she has not been there yet. On campus, she is in AISEC, and through the organization, Nagi may be going to Slovenia or Poland this summer to either teach English or promote cultural awareness. Nagi has been to Japan and once to Tokyo. She said the city "was hectic" and that "there's a sea of people everywhere you go." However she said, "In Japan, I like how everyone is considerate of one another."

184/365

Name: Amy
Three words to describe yourself: dramatic, goofy, happy
Until she was five-years-old, Amy lived in Carollton, Georgia and then she moved to Honduras because her dad is from the country. Her dad is one of fourteen kids, and Amy said that because her dad was really smart, he moved to the States to live with his aunt to go to college. She said that living in Honduras "was really different . . . because I couldn't speak Spanish and I was trying to learn." "I feel like half of my family hates me because I can't speak the language," she says. After living in Honduras for three years, Amy moved back to Georgia. At UGA, Amy is studying Spanish and Speech Communications because she "loves public speaking." She used to want to become a motivational speaker but now she says, "I have no idea, maybe help people . . . I just want to talk to people and see how I can help them." Amy is a member of the Lion's Club and is the historian for her hall council. She is also in Collegiate Candidates which is an organization that mentors African-American seniors in high school.

183/365

Name: Marquis
Three words to describe yourself: intelligent, spontaneous, goofy
Marquis is originally from Harlem, New York, but was raised in Atlanta and he likes "the food . . . the weather . . . I don't like the education" of Atlanta. He does not like living in the "small town" of Athens, but he chose UGA for the sports medicine program. Recently, he changed majors because "chemistry got real." Now he is studying Finance because he likes working with numbers and is thinking of starting a business one day. This summer, Marquis has an internship with Coca-Cola, and on campus, Marquis is a member of Lion's Club and A Hundred Black Men. I asked Marquis if he had any goals in life, and he replied, "I want to significantly change somebody's life . . . I want to inspire somebody . . . there are some lost people out here . . . hopefully, I'll bring someone closer to God." In 11th grade, Marquis studied abroad and stayed with a family in Costa Rica for four weeks and while there, he helped feed the homeless and painted a mural. He wants to travel to Australia because "it's an exotic country . . . they have a lot of exotic animals. I love animals! That's what I want people to know about me." Also, dolphins are his favorite animal because "they are intelligent creatures."

182/365

Name: Parker
Three words to describe yourself: Rutherford, Rutherford, Rutherford
Before going to school in Athens, Parker lived in Lawrenceville, Georgia for about nine years, and he is originally from Michigan. At UGA, Parker is studying History and International Affairs because he has always been interested in history. In 1st grade, for Halloween, he dressed up as Abraham Lincoln, and Parker said, "Kids asked, 'Are you an old man?' I was very offended that kids didn't know who he was." Growing up, Parker said that he was not sheltered from movies and he remembers watching Forrest Gump at a very early age. I asked Parker what he wanted to do with his degree and he replied, "I don't know what I'm going to do with life." He does, however, want to work internationally and Parker said that he may go to graduate school for International Affairs. In the Fall, he is taking Spanish but Parker said that he is not very good at languages and "that's probably not good as an International Affairs major." He has thought about becoming a high school teacher but says, "I don't think I could deal with high school kids." If he could do anything in the world without any limitations or restrictions, Parker would walk around naked. He also wants to travel to Fiji and said that he listens to podcasts a lot. I asked Parker what he does in his free time, and he said, "I waste a lot of time on the internet on Tumblr." He would not let me publicly share his Tumblr website, but his blog is very funny, and maybe he will change his mind. He ended the interview by saying, "Any good history student should understand that there is no such thing as real nostalgia . . . I also really hate when people have nostalgia about the '50s and the '80s . . . It bothers me about the stuff online of  'When did this become hotter than this?'"