1. What has been your favorite course of study in or out of school? Why?
My favorite course of study in my last two years of high school was history. I particularly enjoy studying specific events or characters.
2. How many pages was the longest paper you have written? Did it include endnotes and bibliography?
The longest paper I have written was about seven double spaced pages including a short bibliography.
3. Which was your favorite paper? Please tell us about the topic in a couple of sentences.
My favorite paper was an encomium I wrote on a political leader in South Africa: Nelson Mandela. Mandela dedicated his life to eliminating not only the apartheid regime, but also the prejudices that remained in his country after its fall.
4. Is there a particular kind of writing you love to do?
I like writing research papers on history or literature. As I’ve said before, I like to do in depth study of particular events and characters.
5. Which books have you read lately: art, fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi, poetry, environmental, film? Any comments are welcome.
Most recently I The Last Full Measure by Jeff Shaara, Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brian (I love historical fiction J ), Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens, and Not Without My Daughter by Betty Mahmoody.
6. Which artist or writer really impresses you? Why?
I have always been impressed by the Russian authors Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky. I love the way they get into the minds of their characters, follow their thoughts, and often twist the world inside the book to fit the character’s beliefs and moods.
7. What is your main interest besides writing, art, music, (i.e., the humanities)?
I am planning to declare a minor in math. Math has never been my forte, but this makes it all the more satisfying for me when I finally conquer a difficult concept.
8. Please describe briefly an article in a newspaper or a magazine that got you thinking lately.
I suppose it’s not really an article in a newspaper/magazine, bu I found C.S. Lewis’s speech The Inner Ring a fantastic read. He describes the phenomenon of what we might today call a ‘clique’ and the actions and reactions to this unofficial hierarchy which forms in communities of all kinds.
9. Which recent cultural event has really impressed you? This can be a museum, a concert, or anything like that, but also a sports game (if you consider this a cultural event, for which there are good reasons).
My siblings and I were recently able to go and see the King Tut exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. Each artifact had a detailed description of its role in the pharaoh’s burial, and I am certain I could learn just as much again as I did that day if I went again.
10. Is there another, non-cultural event that has affected you deeply?
Hurricane Irene will be making landfall this Saturday near Virginia. My older brother and many family friends live there near or on the coast. I have seen other hurricanes on the news rolling over the coasts, but this is the first major hurricane in my memory that has hit the coast near so many people that I know.
11. Please share with us a thought or an idea that really widened your intellectual horizon. If possible, give a source for this idea so that those who are interested know where to go.
One of my favorite places to go during vacation times is a women’s monastery in Arizona. I love the monastery for many reasons, but most of all because it is so peaceful—free of bright lights, loud machinery, advertisement, and electronics. It creates a stark contrast with the world I am used to. While I do greatly appreciate phones, cars, and computers, it makes me realize how much calmer and quieter life would be without them, and how much peace there is to be found in living simply.
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