"I may be small, but I've got giant plans to shine as brightly as the sun." - Little Women


Tree by Mike Jenkins

My fifth grade writing teacher told me I was going to become an author. I'm ready to prove her right.

I came into college with the rare determination to do what I love in spite of an economic recession and the inevitable weed-out class (I'm looking at you, Foley).

I grew up in Coral Springs, Fla., a suburban hotbed of middle-aged activity just north of Ft. Lauderdale. I went to theatre camp, did dance and gymnastics for a few years and lead an abnormally atypical childhood. I read a lot of books, punctuated occasionally with the release of the latest Harry Potter, in which case I would cease all human activity and become a hermit for however long it took to finish the book. For the record, my fastest time was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 18 hours.

In high school, I fell in love with forensics (more commonly known as speech and debate) and competed nationally all four years in humorous interpretation, oral interpretation and original oratory, eventually becoming co-captain of the team. High school is also where I discovered the media industry as a viable career path, and I joined the staff of my high school's newspaper as a junior. By the next year, I was entertainment editor and absolutely in love with what I was doing. Late night layouts, eating Pita Pit and Moe's with the rest of the staff, sitting hunched over a finnicky PC that would delete half a day's worth of fastidious editing in the blink of an eye -- it was life on the edge. At my most rested now, I think high school gave me permanent black circles under my eyes.

I'm an avid watcher of the Travel Channel, and I've recently become enthralled with the field of culinary journalism and anthropology. After reading Adam Richman's (host of the popular show Man v. Food) book America the Edible: A Hungry History, From Sea to Dining Sea, I'm likely to start my own food journal (instead of just talking about it like I have been) and see where that takes me. Hopefully one day I'll have a free summer that I could dedicate to driving around the country sampling barbecue.

Besides food, I'm also fascinated by every facet of journalism. While my ultimate goal is to attend law school and study media law, I hope to experience everything there is to do in the media industry -- from broadcasting to public relations, I want to try it all. Live and learn. Hopefully by the end of the semester I will have secured an internship somewhere grand and exciting. Or perhaps even in my own backyard. Frankly, I'll take any experience I can get.