| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My family took me to theme park when I was a child. It was mid-afternoon when I finally worked up the courage to go on my first roller coaster ride ever! As we slowly climbed the first hill and I slowly got more nervous, I looked around far below and noticed that all the other rides were shut down. This confused me, and the height was freaking me out, so I looked up instead. To my surprise, the once blue sky was turning dark grey, and green, unlike anything I had ever seen. Speeding through the dips and turns and twists, I saw lightning strikes on all sides like strobe lights in a haunted house ride but a bit more realistic! As we got off the ride, I felt the strange sensation of the wind blowing as hard as it was on the ride. Over the howling wind, I heard the sounds of park staff ushering us all indoors, my mom yelling at my dad for letting me go on the ride, and a wall of rain falling so hard we could hear it approaching. The park only had a few small shops that qualified as indoors. My dad ushered the family into a small ice cream parlor that was already packed with 30 or so other people. The parlor had no tables and only three walls so everyone huddled close to the counter and watched the chaos of rain, wind, and lightning. Within less than ten minutes, the rain had flooded the streets and water had poured over the steps and started seeping into the parlor. Lightning struck a big tree right in front of us and I watched it fall over into a concession stand as my jaw seemed to mimic the fall in amazement. It was such a chaotic scene! It was so scary watching my parents and these strangers getting nervous. People were standing on the counters as the water started getting ankle deep. The wind and thunder kept getting louder and louder. Eventually, it stopped, though I don't remember that part. The last thing I remember was my face pressed against the car window and my eyes fixed at the distant fading storm. Lightning was arcing in every direction out of the clouds and across the sky in the distance. What was once so chaotic was now quiet and beautiful, though still menacing. My most memorable childhood experience still turns me into a kid everytime a storm approaches. I can't get over the chaotic beauty of a thunderstorm: as soon as thunder rolls, my eyes are fixed to the sky. From time to time, my jaw still drops and I start saying "ooh" and "ahh" and "woah" like when I was a kid. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I think I identify most with my sister because of how passionate and idealistic she is: she's always chasing a lofty goal and always dreaming up new ideas and things she wants to accomplish. She is a free thinking spirit and we get along well with each other for that reason. We both like working on big projects with big challenges and aren't too afraid to fail. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | The character traits I admire most are those that can only be proven over time and, consequently, only those closest to you would be aware. Responsible, committed, loyal, sincere. Those who possess the raw stuff necessary to sacrifice in small, largely unnoticed bits through a daily grind for the sake of the ones they love. I'm also a big fan of passion, courage, wisdom, and idealism. But, the traits that are earned and assigned by those who know you best are the ones I most admire. I am impressed by the one who lovingly gives day after day instead of by the one who gives all in the heat of the moment. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I was overseas for a concert and we just finished what turned out to be the biggest show of our tour in front of well over a thousand people. The turn out was way more than we expected and the response was amazing. I was feeling pretty awesome so I headed over to the merchandise booth where there was a stampede of fans and I could soak in all the adoration. One by one, each hipster leaned in, grabbed a CD, handed me money, and said some variation of "you guys were amazing" or "that was so beautiful." Time after time, I sheepishly said "thank you" to every person who came up to me. In the middle of this ritual, I hear a lovely voice about 30 feet back yell out, "you are so amazing!" I look up to find that the owner of this voice is stunningly gorgeous. I respond, "you too!" She says, "I could kiss you right now!". So I smoothly say, "well come here then". She starts moving towards me and I'm thinking in my head, "I can't believe this is happening to me! This only happens in the movies!" So I move towards her ready to lock in an epic embrace. At the moment that I think she will jump into my arms, instead she says "excuse me," pushes past me, and walks into the arms of this attractive, model-esque guy who is standing right behind me. I was so shocked but I tried to act like I knew she was talking to him and not me. Sadly, at least a half dozen of our fans saw the whole thing and everyone was cracking up. Oops! |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | I am not a fan of allowing time and money to be an issue, so I have creatively carved out ways to travel extensively throughout the Middle East and Europe. I'd still love to travel to the Caribbean and maybe to the Mediterranean, I love the beach. Or on a less frivolous note, I would like to spend more time with tribal cultures, particularly nomadic ones. The last outposts of pre-industrial life are being squeezed out in our life and the nomadic culture is nearly gone. Places like Algeria, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan are all places that I would like to spend more time in because of the cultures that are still present within and across their borders. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | Generally speaking, I would seek to instill in them a fundamental passion for justice and the character necessary to responsibly live that out day-to-day. Other than that, I would just hope that they always feel loved and respected for the people they become. |
