I played varsity volleyball in high school, and I so miss it (there were no sports teams at my college). I made the CAC All-Star team, and helped lead the NST Bulldogs to a league victory in my junior year. I also attended volleyball camps during the summer, and briefly played on the USA Junior Olympic Team.

I swim and ski on a recreational basis. I was taught how to swim before I was even able to walk (at 6 months old), and had swim lessons at Camp Spindrift every summer as a child. Later I got my Lifeguard certification and worked as a lifeguard as one of my first summer jobs.

As you may have noticed from some of my page photos, I also do karate. I have been training off and on for about 14 years, and got back into it after I finished school. I became a certified instructor of my style (Ryuchi) in December 2008, and I have also re-entered the tournament circuit. Last year, I started competing in creative forms and weapons (as opposed to traditional forms and weapons). The weapons I train with most often are the bo staff and the sai. If you would like to see me in action, please check out my YouTube page and my Photo Gallery.

Yeah, I like games. Not the insanely violent ones, I'm more into RPG, adventure games, puzzle games, platformers, that sort of thing. I LOVE Mario games, I've played them with my Dad since I was a child. My all-time favorite one is Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES. I recently beat Super Mario Galaxy, and I'm currently working on Super Paper Mario. The systems I currently own are: N64, DS, GameCube, and Wii. I also like the game Spore, which I have for Mac OS X.

When I have the time to spare, I like going to the movies (and NOT chick flicks either). I like movies with an interesting plot line, and action movies. There's also some TV shows that I try to keep up with on a regular basis, including Smallville, House, and Trust Me. I also like Futurama, Family Guy, and Two and a Half Men.

I listen to music constantly (I get that from my Mom). I'm into modern and alternative rock. Some of my favorite bands include: Nickelback, Staind, Dishwalla, Hinder, 3 Doors Down, Linkin Park, Daughtry, Evanescence, Shinedown, and 10 Years. I like the songs that I can rock out to, but I mostly like the songs with inspirational lyrics that I can relate to.

Songs that inspire me:

"This is your life, are you who you wanna be?" –This is Your Life by Switchfoot

For my brother Kyle: "I would give my life to keep you safe." –Winter Sun by Dishwalla

For my Mom: "I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor." –Dare You to Move by Switchfoot

For my Dad: "I try so hard to tell myself that you're gone." –My Immortal by Evanescence

For my youngest siblings Jacquelyn & Jason: "I wonder what you're doing, wonder where you are. My whole world surrounds you, stumble then I crawl." –Blurry by Puddle of Mudd

"I can't forget that I'm not ashamed to be the person that I am today." –So Far Away by Staind

"Each day's a gift and not a given right. Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind." –If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback

I like all kinds of crafts, including knitting, needlepoint, gimp, scrapbooking, and more. I was first introduced to crafts when I went to summer camp as a kid. If you knew me in college, I was always known to have my backpack decorated with all kinds of gimp patterns.

Another interest of mine since I was a kid is astronomy. Everything beyond our small orbiting blue planet has always captivated and fascinated me. In fact, if I hadn't become an artist, I probably would have been an astronaught (which was one of my career aspirations as a child). At the age of 7, I was able to name every planet in the Solar System and tell at least two facts about each of them. By the age of 12 I could identify most constellations, and map the planets in the sky visible to the naked eye. There's so much we know yet lack the brain capacity to understand (like the immense gravitational power of a black hole or the radiation exherted by a gamma ray burst), which just completely boggles my mind. The mysteries of the universe leave me bewildered, and the question "are we alone?" bugs the crap out of me. How about you? Next time you're outside at night, don't forget to look up into the abys and think about how small we really are.

I love being outside. I like going for walks around my neighborhood (it's so beautiful in Gloucester), hiking through the woods, and of course going to the beach. It's even better when I have someone to do it with! I enjoy being with my friends and family, and I like meeting new people. I used to be the shy reserved kid in high school, but then college life came along and all that changed, thanks to the type of jobs I had like being the Design Studio Assistant at NSCC, tutoring at NEiA and Res Life.