A Little About Me

In this first blog post, I will share five photos with you that represent who I am in a nutshell. These photos depict the people, places, and things that have shaped who I am today. I hope you enjoy these snapshots into my life. 

The first photo is a picture of the place I grew up. Although I was born at Swedish Hospital in downtown Seattle, I grew up on the Eastside (east of Lake Washington) in the Renton/Issaquah area. My parents' house is on five acres of land and has a beautiful view of the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. They have several pastures and even a barn, but no animals, except for Bella, their Australian Terrier. I love the peace and quiet at my parents' house as well as the natural landscape. It is a wonderful escape from the city.

This next photo represents my love of reading. I'm an avid reader, especially of non-fiction. I like reading about historical figures, religion, and politics. I enjoy fiction too, especially adventure stories and historical fiction. The books in the photo are all novels written by Jane Austen, one of my favorite authors. She writes wonderful love stories set in the early 19th century. I never tire of reading her books or watching the films based on them.

This is a photo of my friend Sofia and me overlooking a river in Logroño, Spain. We lived together while teaching English in Zaragoza, Spain and often took weekend excursions to other parts of the country. This is where my passion for teaching English and my love of F.C. Barcelona were ignited. Some of my best memories are from this time of my life. 

My family is another integral part of my life, and this photo shows us together at my wedding on August 23, 2014. My father is a dentist in Renton, and my mother has a small baking business with her friend. They sell cookies, cakes, and every other kind of dessert you can imagine. I have one younger sister named Stephanie, and she goes to the University of Washington. She is studying Speech & Hearing Science, and she hopes to work with young children who have speech difficulties. I have been blessed with a wonderful, close-knit family.

Besides my parents and sister, there is one other very important person in my life--the tall groom in the previous photo. Daniel and I were married on August 23 of this year--right after summer quarter ended! We spent our honeymoon in Cape Cod, Boston, and New York. We are still getting settled at our house in Renton and enjoying our time as newlyweds.

These photos provide merely a glimpse into my life, but, through them, I hope you have learned a little bit more about my family, life experiences, and interests. I look forward to learning more about you through your blog posts this quarter.