CURRENT MISSION To combine my love of working with animals with my love of traveling, and animal lovers make the best travel companions if I may say so myself! ABOUT ME Basically I spend my days cramming my cranium with sweet sciencey goodness so I can get paid to do what I already do for free. Ultimately the goal, the precipice, the summation of all my effort and energy is to become a veterinarian, and donate whatever time and resources I have in that capacity towards animal rescue and wildlife conservation. I come from a small town, village, place in Northern NJ, up in the "mountains"... (living in Colorado has made me ashamed to even refer to the hills of my homeland as such). I've spent most of my summers days in a kayak and summer nights at dockside BBQ's, that's how we live it up in Ringwood, the Town of Lakes (oh and if you catch Catching Fire in theaters you'll totally get to check it out... because they filmed all the "Seam" scenes in Ringwood State Park.) Home's as close as you can come to a version of The Shire in the US, and I definitely felt like a bumbling stammering Bilbo Baggins after leaving it at 18 for Fort Collins Colorado. I love hiking, camping, and wildlife which is why I choose to go to college in Colorado. I've got to say, I've met some of the craziest people out here and I love them all dearly. I have a talent for planning some pretty cool stuff, every summer I make it my goal to see at least 1 concert out of state so me and some fellow adventurers can make a roadtrip of it, and do some local camping/hiking in the days before and after the show. I'm not so much of a destination traveler, I prefer staying at one place for a good amount of time before moving on. It is my dream to be able to afford to WWOOF through a couple different countries such as Spain, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Croatia, and through South America and SE Asia. My ideal trip surrounds four main quintessential cultural experiences.... 1. laid back people 2. good food 3. good music 4. basking in the beauty of the great outdoors That's why leapfrogging from farm to farm, and family to family is my ideal form of travel. When I'm not hiking, working with animals or studying I love cooking. Varieties of stir-fry, pasta, and toasted sandwiches are my specialty, and I also make a mean breakfast. I look forward to getting a real job (firstly so I can travel) but secondly so I CAN COOK without being restrained to a budget. PHILOSOPHY If I'm to give any-one-thing credit for my adventurous spirit it boils down to my Catholic upbringing Although I am no longer adhered to any specific belief-system I have a strong sense of providence, grace, the hand of a loving force guiding me through life. Allowing me to face the world with a little less fear and a little more courage. In that mindset I view every person, place, and experience that comes my way as a gift. And in turn, I work my hardest to also be a gift to every person, place and experience I encounter. Because life should be lived as a continuous exchange of love, what better way to describe the music, art, literature, relationships, ans food we create and celebrate together?