12 Things You Don't Know About Me
My eyes change color. As a kid, I remember being told my eyes were hazel but didn’t really understand what that meant. These days, depending on the color I’m wearing they’re green, blue or grey and even have gold rings around the pupils.
I love the dentist even though I’ve had dozens of cavities, two crowns, a root canal and all my wisdom teeth pulled. Clean teeth make me happy and although I grew up with tons of sweets around the house, I never really indulged. As I struggled with cavities, a dentist once told me some people have saliva that doesn’t properly neutralize sugar so no matter how hard they try, it’s nearly impossible to keep their teeth clean.
My feet are two different sizes. It doesn’t make finding shoes very easy, that’s for sure. One shoe ends up too tight or too loose.
I’m a bit of a daredevil. Perhaps it’s because I grew up rough-housing with four younger brothers but I do love a good thrill. My adventures have taken me all over the world and I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy so many exciting opportunities.
In the Dominican Republic, I swam with caged sharks in the open ocean. In the deserts of Huacachina, I flew around mountains of sand in a 10-person dune buggy. On the island of Bali, I hiked up a volcano to witness a beautiful sunrise (falling on the way down wasn’t as pretty). In Medellín, Colombia, I ran off the edge of a cliff, paragliding over the valley below. I’ve gone bungee jumping off a bridge in South Korea, solo skydiving and zip-lining countless times (the best was in the jungles of Costa Rica). And in Peru, I had a Near-Death Experience on Rainbow Mountain while hiking it’s snowy peaks (truly a nightmare).
I hate my birthday. And as much as I hate to admit, I have high expectations for the day. Unfortunately though, every birthday falls flat. Friends don’t show up. People cancel. Family forgets to call. To avoid this entirely, I’ve decided to go on an adventure each year on my birthday. That way, the day is mine and only mine.
All of my tattoos mean something special (mostly family or experience related). Funny story though, my first tattoo was with a complete stranger. I flew out to San Diego for work and met a random guy. We ate tacos and I got my very first tattoo. It was one of five stars representing us five kids. When we were tiny, we’d sleep on my grandma’s rooftop counting the shooting stars as they fell from the sky.
I’m strangely obsessed with Korean culture but didn’t even know where it was on a map until a few years ago. After struggling through my move to South Korea and the original adjustment of a strange country, I began to fall in love with the people, food, language, music and culture. I even took a class at Ewha Women’s University to study the language.
I’ve struggled with depression and addiction. In my early twenties, I hit a rough patch and fell into a deep dark hole. At the time, I had no idea depression and addiction ran in my family. I was just a kid making horrible decisions, drinking too much and getting into drugs. I hit a breaking point when I carelessly mixed a number of drugs together and it scared the living shit out of me. I promised myself I’d never mess with them again.
Many years ago, I slept with an actor from Desperate Housewives (sorry, mom). We met at a strip club on 8 Mile in Detroit. I was buzzed enough to end up with his number at the end of the night and completely shocked when he contacted me the next few times he was in town.
I grew up Mormon but I’m not entirely sure I believe in God. I was born in Salt Lake City and though my parents weren’t strict we did center our lives around the church. It wasn’t until they got divorced when I was 17 that we began to drift. Growing Up Mormon was a blessing but things change and people grow. After spending many years away from the church, I’ve learned that no one has all the answers, especially not religion.
Wearing a seat belt saved my life (twice). If any of you know my dad, you’ll totally get this. He’s an explosives expert (and previous medical student) who transitioned into an airbag engineer at General Motors. So growing up, I heard a lot about the safety of seat belts. I knew that if you didn’t wear one, the airbag would likely kill you. An airbag is only meant to reduce injury when accompanied by a properly worn seat belt. And as luck would have it, I always wore mine.
On two occasions I was involved in horrible car accidents. Just after I turned 16, I was t-boned by a truck going full speed (my fault). Years later, I t-boned an ex-officer who parked himself in the middle of my intersection. My light was green so I honked to get him moving but it was too late. We collided and the airbag shattered my wrist; my hand was detached and needed a metal plate to repair it. Luckily, the airbag along with my seat belt kept me from flying through the windshield.
I’ve traveled to 47 countries (and I’m only getting started). Up until my mid-twenties I hadn’t traveled much at all. After I took the leap into teaching English in South Korea, my world unfolded. To date, I’ve traveled to Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Aruba, Jamaica, Curacao, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Cuba, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Czech, Greece, Ireland, Northern Ireland (UK), South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. In just a week, Sri Lanka.
Adding in my most recent travels to Puerto Rico, Japan, Chile, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Guatemala, Japan, Turkey and Morocco. Up next, the islands of Sint Maartin, Saint Martin, Dominica and Antigua in the Caribbean.
