CURRENT MISSION

Aristotle says that we order our souls by coming to understand the world around us. I want to live the contemplative life; to experience and comprehend as many things as possible is my mission.

ABOUT ME

My mom is American and my dad is Iranian (hence the hair, the nose, and a strong affinity for hookah). I grew up, hootin' and hollerin', in rural Pennsylvania with the gun slingin', deer huntin', apple pickin' Pennsylvania Dutch folk. Although I still appreciate the rambunctious country life, now I go to school at St. John's College Annapolis, MD, where I am training to live the Contemplative Life and learn to learn. I love good food (especially French and Persian dishes), and I love to meet and talk with people about pretty much anything.

PHILOSOPHY

When instructing his students in the art of constructing logical syllogisms, St. Thomas Aquinas said, "Never deny, rarely affirm, always distinguish."

We live in a world where we can't be 100% sure about anything, and every opinion is subject to critique. With uncertainty abound, I try to keep St. Thomas's advice close to the heart, distinguishing where others might contend.

"Respectful inquiry" are my watchwords for every conversation.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I haven't participated in many couchsurfing activities yet, but I hope to have many great experiences in the future!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have not had any couchsurfing experiences yet, but I plan to do a lot of traveling this summer!

Interests

Philosophy
Etymology
Art Appreciation/Analysis
Marching Band (color guard, particularly)
Quantum Mechanics & String Theory
Table-Top RPGs
Writing Research Papers
New & Exciting Food

• arts
• writing
• coloring
• dining
• politics
• video games
• traveling
• pottery
• music
• astronomy
• etymology
• medicine
• physics
• religion
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC:
Anamanaguchi
Cake
Circa Survive
The Clash
The Cranberries
Cream
David Bowie
Django Reinhardt
Flight of the Conchords
Forgive Durden
Gorillaz
Green Day
H.I.M. (everybody has their guilty pleasures...)
Hatsune Miku
Sleater-Kinney
Howlin' Wolf
Innerparrysystem
Jason Mraz
Jonathan Coulton
Kadawatha
Leonard Cohen
Lindsey Stirling
The Lonely Island
Maniac
The Matches
The Moldy Peaches
Moonalice
The Mountain Goats
Muddy Waters
Mumford & Sons
My Chemical Romance (pleasures......plural)
Neutral Milk Hotel
Nirvana
Paramore
The Pillows
Pink Floyd
The Pixies
Placebo
Plumtree
Portugal. The Man
The Ramones
Rush
Shiny Toy Guns
Tenacious D
Tori Amos
Utada Hikaru
Veruca Salt
The Who

BOOKS:
The Man Who Moved a Mountain
The Road
Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages
The Kama Sutra
How to Read and Why
Imagining the Tenth Dimension
The Common Sense of the Exact Sciences

also:
http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/academic/ANreadlist.shtml

Teach, Learn, Share

I like talking about: religion, science (especially astronomy and quantum physics), music, video games, and art.

I'd love to learn: how to work with my hands (carpentry, leather working, pottery, etc), how to navigate big cities, anything about religion or politics, and any new table-top RPG systems.

Countries I’ve Visited

Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States