What are some details about you?
- I was born in Reno, Nevada in 1996. My parents divorced when I was too young to really remember. Not too many years after the divorce, my mom remarried and we moved to Rhode Island following his career. My sister and I spent summers in Reno with our dad. Our step-dad had two daughters that were older than my sister and I, I'm the youngest. All of my sisters and I are really close. We never had that evil-step-sibling drama, though having four girls together gets a little crazy. The good news is that we never lived together all at once. My step-sisters lived mostly with their mom in Reno and would visit us in Rhode Island. We lived in North Kingstown, RI for 8 years in the best neighborhood ever. Growing up there meant playing manhunt and fishing for frogs in the small pond and even chasing fireflies. In 2009 I got my first dog. He is a German Shepard Lab mix named Oliver and he was and is still my favorite anything in the whole world. Not too long after that, we moved to College Station, Texas. If anyone asks me where I'm from, I tell them Texas. I loved it. I was active in theatre all through high school and got a really great education there. I met my current boyfriend while working at Chick-fil-A. During my senior year, my step-dad announced that he would be taking a job at the University of Connecticut. Upon graduating high school, I packed up again and moved to UCONN. My boyfriend followed soon after with our new Great Dane mix pup, Delilah. I am now a History major and Communication minor expecting to graduate in December 2017 and looking forward to the future.
- I don't know too much about my dad's side of the family, but I'll tell you all about my mom's side. My mom's father, John Biaggi, was the last of 9 children to his parents who came to America from Italy. Grandpa John's mother died in childbirth with him and his father followed a few years later. With the exception of my grandpa and one of his brothers, the other 7 children went to an orphanage and were never adopted; the Italian orphanage that they were in refused to let them be seperated. Their family became extremely close because of this. Grandpa John's adopted parents were a doctor and his wife, Dr. Decker and Mrs. Emerson. My grandfather met my grandmother in their twenties. My grandmother, Connie, was originally from Pennsylvania but her parents died in a car accident when she was still pretty young. She talks about it often, I think it really had an impact on her, understandably. She and my grandfather dated for a very shortly before getting engaged and married and they had two daughters. They moved to Portola, California before they had their girls and never left. My Grandpa John passed away the day before my birthday, I think it was 2010. But I try to visit my grandma and my aunt and cousins as often as I can. The only other family I really know well is my step-dad's. It was his father who was the catalyst for this project. His mother lives in New York State, but his step-mother and his dad, Karl, live in Rhode Island, so we got to know them really well while we lived there. They taught me the importance of meditation and music. I learned piano during my time in RI and it was these grandparents that really helped encourage me to keep at it.
- Oh goodness. Well, when I was 16, I went to Ireland with my mom and then my best friend and her mom met me in Paris, France where we then went to Cassis and Switzerland. My favorite part about that trip was that my best friend hates heights and I hate roller coasters and for some reason, we decided to go paragliding in Switzerland. Her guide decided to go the highest and mine decided to spiral the whole way down, but nothing could replace the feeling of flying. There is no one else I would want to have shared that experience with, flying over the mountains that way. It was amazing.
- Another one of my top memories is the cruise I went on with my boyfriend. We went to Mexico, but it was just the most relaxing time ever. The best part is that I pretty much forced him to get a massage, which he found to be too feminine. After getting out, I snapped a picture of him because he was so happy and so relaxed and it was one of the greatest told-you-so moments.
- The last one I'll say today is when I was really little, my cousins and sister and I decided to make a scary movie. My cousin had his first camera so we got all dressed up. It was a disaster. I was the monster and we had done a whole face of makeup and then my other cousin couldn't stop talking in a British accent. Everyone got annoyed and frustrated really fast so my Grandma just took us all, dressed and made up, out to get ice cream, probably to shut us up. We got so many funny looks, but it was still great.
- If I could have it my way, I would want people to remember me for always being sincere. I try to always do what I can to listen sincerely, help sincerely, love sincerely. I hope that everyone in my life remembers me and all the things I've said and done as sincere.
- I would just say pay attention to the things and people around you. Do what you can while you're here to make others' lives a little easier. There is no point in dwelling on anything for too long because it doesn't do anything to help you grow. And lastly, love with everything you are. There is nothing so fulfilling as giving love to those around you and making a difference in someone's life.