ABOUT ME

I'm a very driven and enthusiastic person willing to take on whatever life throws at me. I'd like to think that I'm an intelligent person an, for the time being, school is my top priority. I'm a student at Florida State University where I study English and History. My grades are near perfect and I'm currently on the University's prestigious President's List for my academic achievements. After I graduate from Florida State, I'd like to continue my education at Columbia University's Journalism School.
I simultaneously hold a job as a Senior Staff Writer for my university's independent newspaper, the FSView and Florida Flambeau and I ultimately strive to become the news editor for the paper. As of now, I'm the lead news reporter for the FSView, however, I've also covered subjects ranging from sports to arts.
After college I'd like to pursue a career in journalism, hopefully working as a foreign correspondent. Overall, I'd like to do something that will allow me to travel and see the world. I'm a very friendly person and I'm open to new experiences. I truly believe that we live in a beautiful world and I feel compelled to see it and meet different people while doing so.

PHILOSOPHY

In short, I don't know. I can't say what's right or wrong or who's right or wrong at that. I believe that different things work for different people. I believe that all faiths and beliefs preach a similar message and that the individual will select which way they want to receive this message. I believe that people are for the most part intelligent and I have the utmost faith in the individual. I believe that we live in a beautiful world and it's undoubtedly something to take advantage of while we're living. I believe that mankind is special, more special than we often give ourselves credit as being. At the end of the day, we'll never know everything but we'll never stop searching for answers, whether they're right or wrong.

Interests

I love writing of all kinds. Whether I'm covering news for my university's newspaper or writing short stories on my own time, writing is something that I am now and always have been passionate about.
I also very much like to read and I'd like to think that I do a good amount of it. I tend to gravitate toward older literature and consequently my literary idols range from Chaucer to Hemingway (although I do love the beatniks like Kerouac).
Moreover, I'm very interested in the study of different religions and cultures. I like to focus on religious ethics and beliefs systems across cultures and how they relate to historical and modern day issues.
I consider myself somewhat of an outdoorsman and I have an interest in fishing and hiking. Although I've never hunted I'd like to try it.
Sports are another interest of mine and, while I'll give any sport a try, my favorites are soccer and boxing. I go to the gym regularly and stay in shape.
I'm also relatively musically inclined and it's been an interest of mine since a young age. I've played the piano for several years as well as the guitar (9 years) and the trumpet (6 years). Musically I have a large variety of tastes ranging from classical to punk rock, however, my favorites are swing, jazz, ska and generally anything that tends to be instrumental and complex.
Furthermore, I have a deep respect for visual arts, especially drawing and painting. Though it may sound cliché, I absolutely love the impressionist painters of the nineteenth century simply because of their use of color. I'd very much like to spend time looking at and appreciating art on my travels.
I'm very interested in current affairs and I spend a good portion of my day reading newspapers and keeping up to date with what's going on in the world. As an aspiring journalist, I believe that staying informed is invaluable and completely necessary.
History is very important to me and one of the central reasons why I want to travel. I absolutely love history of all kinds and nothing would mean more to me than to be able to see first hand the places where important historical events occurred.
I have an undying interest in travel and though I haven't yet had the opportunity to travel as much as I would like, I look forward to expanding my horizons and seeing the world. Nothing interests me more than meeting new people and seeing what the world has to offer.

• arts
• writing
• literature
• coloring
• education
• ethics
• cooking
• news
• reading
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• jazz
• guitar
• piano
• trumpet
• fishing
• hiking
• sports
• boxing
• soccer
• teaching
• history
• journalism
• religion
• visual arts

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies - The Graduate, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (the play and the film), The Big Lebowski, The Royal Tenenbaums, Midnight in Paris, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, Dr. Who (even though it's a television show).
Music - John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong, Pink Floyd, Chicago, Bob Marley, The Toasters, Reel Big Fish, Streetlight Manifesto, Jeff Buckley, The Killers, The Elected, The 88.
Books - The Odyssey, The Canterbury Tales, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, Frankenstein, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Awakening, Heart of Darkness, The Metamorphosis,The Sun also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Men Without Women, In Our Time, Prufrock and Other Observations, Ash Wednesday, The Great Gatsby, The Beautiful and the Damned, Ulysses, The Dharma Bums, On the Road, Catch 22, Fahrenheit 451, The Catcher in the Rye.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

A few years back I hiked up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain in Maine's Acadia National Park in the fall and watched the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean. Cadillac Mountain is the first location to see the sunrise in the fall and winter and for me to be able to see the sun come up over the ocean was the most overwhelmingly beautiful experience and something I recommend everybody does at least once in their life.
In 2011 I was also given the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. where I went to visit the Washington National Cathedral, an Episcopal Cathedral built in the gothic style throughout the twentieth century. While I'm not Episcopalian, being in the Cathedral was an overpowering experience and I still cannot describe how beautiful a structure it is and how amazing a feeling I got when I went in.
The reality of my experiences is that they're few but I'd very much like to expand them and continue to see new things because I haven't even scratched the surface of what there is to see in the world.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have an extensive knowledge of the English language and writing and I'm more than willing to help anyone out with this if needed. Moreover, I've played the guitar for nearly a decade and I'd be happy to share this with someone whether it's teaching them a few chords or playing them a song. I'm also a bit of fisherman and I can share this trade with anyone who wants to learn. I'm also a bit of a cook and, though I'm untrained, I can cook a great meal for someone.

Countries I’ve Visited

United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States