CURRENT MISSION

Ride my bike across the U.S

ABOUT ME

My siblings include a younger sister who is now 20 and an older sister who is 24. My father has a PhD in physics and my mother is an attorney. They divorced when I was 16. I was actually a freshman in college at the time. I left high school after one year to attend college and now have a bachelor's degree but no high school diploma!

While in college I was on the swim team. I also joined the racquetball team for 2 years. I majored in physics and graduated in May of 2009. I hope to start graduate school for a master's in physics in August of 2010.

I have worked as a landscaper, warehouse shipper, babysitter, swim coach, math teacher, math and science tutor, and IT specialist.

PHILOSOPHY

Only because I do not think I could ever say something more eloquent, I will use a quote from George Leigh Mallory when asked why he climbed Mt. Everest.

"The first question which you will ask and which I must try to answer is this, 'What is the use of climbing Mount Everest ?' and my answer must at once be, 'It is no use'. There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it. We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron. We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted with crops to raise food. It's no use. So, if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for."

It is those last four sentences that sum up my personal philosophy. Regardless of what you're dreams and aspirations and hopes may be, you should pursue them until the end. There is no other way to live your life that will make you happier.

Interests

Cycling and any other athletic activity. And in no particular order: computer programming, adventures, playing guitar and violin, and meeting people who enjoy their life!

• dining
• coach
• aviation
• socializing
• guitar
• violin
• cycling
• rock climbing
• racquetball
• swimming
• teaching
• law
• mathematics
• physics
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
ROYAL ROAD TO ROMANCE - RICHARD HALLIBURTON
Into the Air - Jon Krakauer
Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
Parasite Rex - Carl Zimmer

Movies:
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
Up!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

•