CURRENT MISSION

I want to build my community to be full of diversity, full of hope, full of love, and full of people who are hoping for a better tomorrow.

ABOUT ME

I believe that Love in the Movement and support the organization To Write Love on Her Arms.

I wear hats ALL the time. I have over 80 of them. I love hats, especially the crazy ones...ones with ears and bright colors.

I am known as 'the 3 year old.' I am a child at heart and am not afraid to show it. I love carebears, swingsets, blowing bubbles, flying kites and most things that children find to be amazing.

I love to meet people....to sit down and have deep conversations...I love to hear people's stories...tell my stories....People amaze me.

Right now, I am studying to be an elementary school teacher. I really hope that one day I will be able to teach English in South Korea. I also want to get special education certification.

Eventually, I plan to get my masters in counseling and my PhD. in psychology. That is a long time down the road, but I believe that having a background in teaching would help me to work with children affected by mental or developmental disorders.

I play saxophone, piano, and French horn acceptably. I attempt dulcimer, penny whistle, and trumpet. I patiently hold a guitar and mandolin in my hand waiting for music to come...but it never seems to. Oh well. One day, I will learn.

Two of my most prized possessions are my collection of tickets to various events I have attended (movies, concerts, plays, games, etc) and my collection of flower petals, both of which I have kept since I was 9 years old.

I have had a to-do list since I was about 7 or 8 years old. My list has changed throughout the years. I have completed some of the tasks I set out for myself....forgotten why I wished for others...and added tasks to my list. Right now, the most important things I hope to do are:
-go mud riding
-ride on a jet ski
-ride a snowmobile
-ride in a helicopter
-ride a segway
-ride a train
-ride a subway
-go up in a hot air balloon
-take a random person from the streets to coffee
-play rockband
-see a blue morpho butterfly
-pet a polar bear
-touch a penguin
-sky dive
-bungee jump
-go scuba diving
-go couchsurfing

I am a new vegetarian...actually, I gave up meat for lent (even though I'm not catholic.) I plan to stick to vegetarianism though, not necessarily for animal rights, but just because I wish to.

PHILOSOPHY

I live my life to discover who I am and why I am here. I am not particularly religious, though I do believe there is a God. I believe that having faith helps a person to be much more comfortable with himself and others, whether that faith is in God, Allah, Buddah, etc....I believe that faith helps a person to live a happier life. I believe that no person is ever too old to travel, and that a person should say yes to any opportunity they are presented. We only live life once....and I would prefer to be able to look back at what I have done, rather than what I could have done.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I couch surfed on accident in Atlanta, Georgia. I drove to Atlanta by myself for a To Write Love on Her Arms event at a small coffee shop-Community Grounds...It is a coffee shop built with hope for a better future, hopes for a place where people can come together from all backgrounds and enjoy life. You should google the coffee shop and read their description. It is amazing.
I had planned to sleep in my car that night, but when some of the organizers of the tour found out that I was from Mississippi, they invited me to eat with them and told me they would find me a place to stay. That night I ate with the founder of TWLOHA Jamie Tworkowski, Zach Williams, Josh Moore, and some interns and counselors on the tour. I stayed the night with someone's friend. I slept in her roommates bed in the loft of a small duplex house. From my window, I could see the city'd skyline....and it just felt...right....

It felt good to know that there are people in this world who trust others.....and who seek to be trusted themselves.

I attempted to couch-surf in Orlando, Florida, but that experience didn't work out very well. I started to feel that I would be intruding on my host's life, so I mentioned that if he didn't have time for me that I would stay in my car. He actually agreed to that idea, and I was never able to meet him. It was at night, and I was scared because I was alone 14 hours away from home and didn't know what I was supposed to do. That is a very scary feeling. But, things happen for a reason. I understand that people who are hosting can not put their lives on hold for a surfer. Besides, things worked out for the better anyways. I slept in my car at the airport that first night. Because of this, I was awake to see the beauty of Orlando at sunrise and was able to get to Disney World before there were long lines. Because of this, I also slept in a motel alone for the first time. I felt that I grew up that night. I had always been afraid to stay alone. Because I did not have a set place to stay, I also was able to pick some people up at the airport and stay in their hotel room. I got close to them before the conference I was attending started. We had an epic night at waffle house in Cocoa Beach, Fl. We sat on the beach and stared at the abyss in the distance. Perhaps that can be considered 'hotel surfing.' Haha. The experience of not being able to stay at my planned host's house wound up turning in to a few magical days.

Sometimes, it is best to not plan and to just let the world show you were you need to be.

Interests

music, music therapy, animals, photography, videography, hats, traveling, origami, pop up books, writing, Korean culture,carebears, psychology

• animals
• pets
• fish
• culture
• writing
• books
• performing arts
• photography
• beauty
• concerts
• education
• coffee
• vegetarian
• working out
• flying
• shopping
• flowers
• movies
• traveling
• socializing
• origami
• music
• guitar
• piano
• trumpet
• fishing
• camping
• surfing
• jet skiing
• scuba diving
• bungee jumping
• skiing
• teaching
• psychology
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, Once, Mozart and the Whale, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, August Rush, The Happening, Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind
,The Blue Butterfly

Music: Josh Groban, Between the Trees, Zach Williams, The Beatles, DBSK, Connie Talbot, Avril Lavigne, Flogging Molly, The Moldy Peaches, NickelBack, Ingrid Michaelson, The Fray

Books: Inkheart, Inkspell, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Tale of Desperaux, Stardust, Coraline, The Theif Lord, Les Miserables, 1984, Purpose for the Pain, Go Ask Alice

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

-I ripcorded in Michigan.
-I swam with Dolphins at Discovery Cove in Orlando, Fl.
-I snorkled with stingrays at Discovery Cove.
-I volunteered at a camp for disabled girls, where I was able to help a 14 year old hold a butterfly for the first time.
-Parasailed when I was 9 while watching dolphins below.
-Got stung by a jelly fish.
-I played a trumpet for the first time 2 hours before I played someone's solo who had gotten sick. I had to perform in front of around 300 people. I have never felt so rushed...yet also so important in all of my life.
-I owned a pet hedgehog, sugar glider, and sun conure.
-I visited an Amish community...a place where people are so devoted to God that they sacrifice a modern way of life for Him.
-I was able to speak with Angelique Kidjo, Steve Azar, the people form Emerson Drive, Jamie Tworkowski, Zach Williams, Josh Moore, Aaron Moore,Renee Yohe, Rick Bragg, Mark Zupan, and Christine Todd Whitman.
-I have autographs from the people above as well as Bill Clinton and Joe Nichols.
-Besides the singers listed above, in concert I have also seen Rod Stewart, Nickelback, Chevelle, Hinder, Endeverafter, Saving Abel, and Shinedown.
-I went to Disney World by myself and was able to relive some of my child hood memories with enough alone time to really think about them.
- I stayed in a motel room...alone.
- I have picked up 4 people whom I did not know from an airport.
- I went to a conference for the movement To Write Love on Her Arms where I was educated by counselors Aaron Moore, Michelle Moore, and February Johnson. February is a specialist on self-injury and is an amazing individual. At this conference, I also heard stories from Jim Hoyle, an amazing man who has built schools in 3rd world countries and has lived in places I only dream of. I also became closer to 24 people in 3 days than I have been to anybody in my entire life.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you a little about saxophone or piano...

I can talk for hours about the movement To Write Love on Her Arms...I can talk about hopes and dreams and wishes and plans for a better world......

I am willing to learn anything you have to share.

Countries I’ve Visited

United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States