CURRENT MISSION

After spending four years at uni in a city (Philadelphia), I decided I needed to get back to nature, as it were. :) So my mission is to enjoy my time traveling in beautiful New Zealand before hitting the books again.

ABOUT ME

I am a 23 year old American on a working holiday visa traveling around New Zealand for a year. I've been working with horses the whole way around (from Paihia down to Balclutha at various times) and most recently have been a horse trekking guide in Hanmer Springs for two months. I love animals, feel compassion is probably the most important virtue, and have a lot of difficulty writing about myself in profiles like these because I feel like I always end up sounding stodgy and can't really describe who I actually am. However, I'll give it a go.
I want to be a therapist because I think it's important and I think I'd be good at it. Wow, that sounds silly when I read it over. I want to help gay and lesbian teenagers accept who they are and how they feel, and learn not to hate themselves for being different. Oh, and I'm bisexual, which probably has something (but not everything) to do with what I want to do with my life.
I like card games and board games and talking and listening... I think one of my biggest pet peeves is feeling like someone doesn't really care about what you have to say, and is just waiting for their turn to speak instead. So count on me to always listen to what you're saying... there's nothing I love more than listening to someone talk about what they're interested in.
I decided to join couchsurfing because my trip around New Zealand would have been like, a million times worse if it weren't for all of the amazing people I've met... so I thought this would be a great way to keep that going. Also, my current roommate, the coolest guy ever, told me it was the coolest thing ever, and he'd know, being the coolest guy ever and all. Right. :)

PHILOSOPHY

At the risk of sounding sappy or cliche, I believe in living life passionately... refusing to dampen feeling sadness because it means feeling happiness less fully as well. On this trip I've learned not to let the little things stress me out and to become more easygoing in general. So perhaps I'm mixing passion and relaxation at the moment. I think that relationships (not necessarily romantic ones, but friendships especially) are extremely important, and I put a lot of weight on the close friendships I have.
Also, I'm not really a utilitarian or a Kantian... maybe I hover somewhere around virtue ethics.

Interests

horse riding, books, singing, theatre, beautiful places, interesting people

• animals
• pets
• horses
• writing
• books
• singing
• ethics
• board games
• traveling
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Scrubs (though not a movie) is pretty much the best show ever, in my opinion, and I just bought myself seasons 1-3 at the Warehouse, region specific DVDs be damned. :) Since coming to New Zealand I've watched a lot more TV than I had done before (and, more importantly, had more free time to read!).
So, favorite books... The Secret History, I Know this Much is True (and all other Wally Lamb books), Komarr (and all other Miles Vorkosigan books, or really anything by Lois McMaster Bujold), Ender's Game, To Say Nothing of the Dog (and most things by Connie Willis)... of late, I've really enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale, The Book Thief, The Highest Tide, Little Bee and Incendiary (Chris Cleave is amazing), among others.
I haven't seen as many movies as I should have, to be honest. Up is pretty far up the list of my favorites, though.
Music... I love Sufjan Stevens and Dave Matthews and Joshua Radin, and I tend to get obsessed with songs and listen to them over and over for a while. I also like some (emphasis on SOME) musical theater stuff, like this, for example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pEK8llqjlA

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Your mom.
Couldn't resist.

Teach, Learn, Share

Well, I'm happy to talk about queer theory and my rather idealistic hopes for a new societal structure...

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Italy, New Zealand, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States