CURRENT MISSION

to listen, learn, laugh, and love

ABOUT ME

Right now I'm taking time off from college to learn as much as possible about creating a cooperative, non-hierarchical, loving society. I have decided that I need to take time to learn things through experience, at my own pace, and see more of the world through my own eyes before I finish my academic studies. I am trying to learn by doing things I've never done before, reading lots of interesting books, thinking and writing and reflecting, and visiting different communities and organizations and people that are working towards building a world that is based on cooperation, community, health of all beings (mental, physical, spiritual) and the environment, interdependence, equality and freedom (actively working against oppression in all of its forms), and a way of life that is sustainable and creative and farsighted. So far my journey has taken me to the mountains of North Carolina, where I worked at a learning and retreat center focused on social change and personal transformation; to a community center in New York City where I took an eight-day intensive class on social ecology; to central Virginia where I visited Twin Oaks and Acorn, two income-sharing egalitarian intentional communities; and to a farm and folk-art guild in western NY. Currently I am working on a farm at an ecovillage in Quebec.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that strong, supportive communities are essential to our being and to reaching our full potential. I believe that a more loving, free, ecological, nonhierarchical, and democratic society is possible. I don't believe that people need to(or can) be forced to learn. We learn all the time! I believe that it's not about what you've done, but the relationships and connections you've made along the way. I don't think identity is a fixed thing, and I think it's okay not to know sometimes. Take life seriously but don't forget to laugh and be silly most of the time.

Interests

I love to cook and improvise and ferment, especially bread or anything with vegetables. I love to make things (by sewing or crafting with recycled materials) and plant things. I love to walk and move and be outdoors. I read a lot and I write and reflect a lot too. I love to learn new things and ways of being in the world, from practical skills to abstract ideas. Right now I am especially interested in unschooling, building communities, permaculture and sustainable living, evolution and revolution, social ecology, direct democracy, interdependence and self-sufficiency, and different ways of communicating. I also enjoy playing music (I play the flute and the guitar and attempt to sing harmonies) and listening to music. I enjoy connecting with people and having meaningful conversations. I like to be sarcastic and silly and laugh a lot.

• arts
• writing
• books
• singing
• dancing
• environment
• cooking
• recipes
• vegetarian
• walking
• reading
• music
• guitar
• outdoor activities
• ecology
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Books I like:
Earth Abides (George Stewart)
Instead of Education (John Holt)
The Forest People (Collin Turnbull)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)
Harry Potter (book 6, others)
Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi)
Q & A /Slumdog Millionaire (Vikas Swarup)- the book is even better than the movie, really!
Ishmael, My Ishmael, and The Story of B (Daniel Quinn)
The Dispossessed (Ursula LeGuin)
Listening to the Land (interviews by Derrick Jensen)

Movies I like:
Life is Beautiful, Milk, Forrest Gump, Good Will Hunting, What a Way to Go

Music I like:
An eclectic mix of everything--especially bluegrass, folk, and music of Eastern European influence/origin (I played in a klezmer band and did Bulgarian dance and have Eastern European roots--plus, something about it just speaks to me)
Some favorites: Tim O'Brien and Darrell Scott, Michelle Shocked, Luminescent Orchestrii, Evan Greer and Friends, Feist, The Duhks, TRYO, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Gabriela y Rodriguez, Dispatch, Rhonda Larson, many others...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Watching a goat give birth to new life.

Walking across a college campus with forty other people in super-slow motion.

Watching a choreographed dance take place in the middle of a busy intersection.

Eating vegetables I have grown.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love to cook and I would love to share with you what I know and learn from you what I don't. I have a lot of experience making whole wheat and sourdough bread and cooking vegetarian meals with whole, local foods when possible. I collect recipes, which I someday hope to turn into a cookbook of sorts.

Right now I'm trying to learn as much as possible about living in community, both intellectually and experientially, and about creating a cooperative, non-hierarchical, loving society. Any of your thoughts/experiences about these topics (and anything related to them) would be greatly appreciated! I have a few things to say about them, too.

I'd also love to practice speaking French (which I am proficient at) and Spanish, which I am just beginning to learn.