Hi! My name is Jackie Webster and I am from Spencerport, New York. My family consists of: my mom (Liz), my dad (Russ), my younger sister (Holly), and our dog (Buddy). We live in a little house with three bedrooms and one bathroom. We live in a small neighborhood in the suburbs. I have my own room, and so does my sister. My mom and dad both have their own cars, and I just recently bought myself my own car after working my part time job for two years. My sister is seventeen so she is learning how to drive but does not have a car yet. I live with my family instead of on campus because Spencerport is the town next to Brockport. It takes me about fifteen to twenty minutes to drive to Brockport each day. I also save a lot of money living with my parents. My home is small, but happy, and everyone supports each other. My family is loving and wants the best for me.

Two words that would best describe me are optimistic and generous. I try to always stay positive, even in tough situations because it helps you get through them easier. I also think life is more fun when you focus on all of the good things you have and all that you are able to do. My family and friends are the most important thing to me and I would give them the world if I could. I try to be there for my loved ones whenever they need me, and I love helping people out as much as I can.

My typical day consists of me going to school, doing homework, seeing my family and friends, and working a few hours in the evening. I have a lot of favorite foods so choosing just one is hard, but what I eat most is probably pasta and salad. My favorite candy is probably KitKat but my favorite sweet treat in general is ice cream hands down. I love having free time, and when I do, I love listening to music, shopping, and spending time with my boyfriend and friends. I love exploring my city and going on travelling adventures. I have traveled through many states in the U.S. but I have never left the country so far! I can't wait to see other countries when I am able to afford it someday (hopefully soon).

I am excited for my future, I hope it's as great as I imagine it to be. I wish that I had my degree and could start my life and career now (I'm trying to be patient but I feel like I've been in school for ages). The one thing that scares me the most is not being successful.

A Day in the Life - Jolie Saltiel

Hello, my name is Jolie Saltiel. I'm from Staten Island, NY which is a suburban area in the perspective of New York City, but is fairly urban in comparison to Western New York. My family's house has 14 rooms and I live there with my mom, dad, younger brother, and dog named Tyler. I do not share a bedroom at home. 

As a family, we usually drive for transportation within Staten Island and occasionally take a bus, train, or uber if we need to. When I travel from home into Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Queens I'll take a ferry, train, and/or bus. I'd say that I vary my mode of transportation depending on where I'm going and how much traffic there is. 

My home is familiar, comforting, welcoming, and reassuring.

My family is loving, giving, and content.

I'd describe myself to others as outgoing and caring. 

I'd spend a typical relaxing day or evening hanging out with friends and family, cooking dinner or possibly going out to eat, and reading or dancing. 

My favorite foods are mangoes, avocados, portabello mushroom tacos, and any type of middle eastern food....I'm kind of a foodie. My favorite candy is a resses peanut butter cup.

I'm interested in traveling around the world, dancing, choreographing, and curating events. My hobbies include reading novels and non-fiction books, watching YouTube videos, cooking, creating recipes, and dancing. 

I am a hard-working, creative, driven, and friendly individual. 

I wish to always find happiness and stability in my life wherever I end up.

The one thing that scares me the most is deep-rooted hate within communities and individuals, especially when it does not appear apparent on the surface.

Unfortunately, I will not be present in class for the first IP Video Conference due to the observance of a religious holiday but I can not wait to hear all about it and participate in future live streams. 

A Day in the Life - Morgan Sherwood

Hello! My name is Morgan Sherwood. If I were to describe myself to someone else, I would say that I am dependable and responsible. I spend a typical day going to classes, doing homework, hanging out with my friends here at school, and then hopefully having some time to watch Netflix or draw before bed. My favorite food is chocolate covered pretzels, and if those aren’t considered candy, my favorite candy is Sprees. Some of my hobbies and interests include drawing, watching and playing sports, the outdoors (hiking, camping, …), traveling, and the various community service projects I find. I am strong. I wish there weren’t illnesses that could strip someone of their abilities (such as ALS). One thing that scares me the most is how unknown the future is and how fast everything is changing right now.

A little about my family: I have two younger brothers, Jonny (age 15) and Joey (age 14), and a younger sister, Maddy (age 18). I also have a mom and a dad. My family is extremely close-knit and supportive. . We live in a small farm town called Newark Valley that is about 30 minutes outside of Binghamton. Newark Valley has a small grocery store, a pizza place, a dollar store, and a school, but we are about 25-30 minutes away from most department stores in pretty much any direction. We all live in a house that my family and I built ourselves. For that reason, we were able to create something big enough that all of us could live in comfortably and also afford. The main floor has a kitchen, dining area, living room, bathroom, family room, and foyer. The second floor has four bedrooms and two bathrooms. We also have a finished basement that has a bathroom, small weight room, living space, and recently my brothers built a closed off portion for my new bedroom (since my brother took over my previous bedroom the day after I left for college). My home is fun because we host most of the team bonding events and other various events for our family and sports teams. To get around, my family uses a car. My mom has one, my dad has one, and my sister and I each have one as well. 

A Day in the Life- Christina Wildridge

My name is Christina Wildridge. I am from a small, semi-rural town called Dryden, in New York. Most of my family lives in New York. My immediate family is my mom, my dad, and my brother, Collin. We have a eleven year old rescue dog named Cocoa too. We have a decent sized house with about nine rooms, so I never had to share. My family shares three cars, though the two newer ones are mostly for my parents because they work.

My home is comfy. It is where I feel at peace.

My family is wonderful. My parents support me and my brother is really sweet.

Two words that describe me are quiet and studious. I'm quiet because it takes me some time to get used to people and I don't say much at that time and I'm studious because I like to read and I try my hardest to do the best I can on my school work.

My ideal day is dancing and playing on my computer before going to see friends. I would also want to work on my cosplays. My favorite food is volcano sushi rolls and my favorite candy is peanut butter cups.

My hobbies are cosplay which means dressing up and acting like characters at conventions, dancing, singing and drawing.

I am a dreamer.

I wish to be an art therapist.

The one thing that scares me the most is spiders.

Let's have fun and learn a lot this semester!

A Day in the Life - Nicole Zhe

My name is Nicole Zhe and I am from the small town of Dryden, New York. For those who don't know, Dryden is located a twenty minute drive from Ithaca and about a five to ten minute drive from Cornell University. I have family all over the world, including Germany and Ireland (the top two countries on my long list of places I want to visit), but my primary family consists of my mom, my dad, and my younger brother Daniel (age 15). I do have an older half-sister named Ashley (age 32) who is currently moving in to her new apartment also in Dryden. Thankfully, the only time I had to share a room started when I was three and lasted until my sister moved out a year or so later and I took over her room. My family also includes my three dogs. The oldest one is Brinn-dee, she is a ten year old mix. Next is Trigger, who is only two years old (coming up on three in October) and has only three legs due to an accident with his previous owner. The third dog is Zeke, a one year old mix who we just got three months ago. All of our dogs have been adopted from our local SPCA. My mom, dad and I each have our own car and primarily use that to get around, although during the school year my brother and I would often take the bus.

My home is Dryden, New York; it's where I grew up and where I associate the majority of my development into who I am.

My family is made up of those who support me and who are there for me when I need them.

Two words that describe me best are hard-working and kind. I always put 100% effort into everything I do, and I never settle for less. Most of my time is spent studying and doing homework so I can improve myself and learn what I came to learn. I also really care about the individuals in my life and will often go out of my way to make sure they are happy and enjoying themselves, and this kindness often extends to strangers as well.

My ideal day would include exercising, preferably either jogging or playing basketball, going to my classes and completing all of my homework, spending time with my boyfriend, and eating a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, but with chocolate instead of vanilla ice cream. My typical day includes most of those activities. My two favorite foods are my mom's potato salad and her fruit salad. I don't usually eat a lot of candy (ice cream always being my go-to for sweets), but if given the choice I would have to pick M&M's.

Some of my hobbies include learning American Sign Language, writing short stories, painting my nails, reading, playing basketball, and watching a variety of shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

I am happy to have been given the opportunity to take this class and I hope to learn a lot from each person in our class.

I wish everyone could be kind to each other and respect one another.

The one thing that scares me the most is failing.

I look forward to meeting everyone and wish you all an incredible semester :)

A day in the life- Tyler Ihrig

A Day in the Life 

1. Family members: Mother (Joann), father (David), Sister (Caitie). 

2. Do you live in a house/apartment, number of rooms, number of family members in dwelling? I just recently moved to a home in Pittsford after living in an apartment for a few months while my parents looked for a home. In the new house, there are three bedrooms and two full bathrooms. It also has a kitchen, dining room, family room and living room. The family members listed above are the people that live in the house. 

3. Do you share a bedroom? No

4. Transportation used by you/family: Each person in my family has their own car 

5. Finish these sentences: 

1. My home is: Wherever my family is  

2. My family is: Something to cherish   

You: 

1. Chose a word or two that best describe you to others: Funny and respectful  

2. How do you spend a typical day/evening: A typical school day begins with me waking up an hour before my first class, so I have enough time to get out of bed, check my phone for news, shower and then brush my teeth. In between classes I will usually get work done in the library or play on my PlayStation. Once my classes are done I will try and finish up any assigned work that needs to be completed. Around 6 I will go eat dinner with friends and then depending on if all my work is done I will either play basketball or PlayStation. I will spend the rest of the night doing those activities until I go to bed around 11.  

3. What is your favorite food? What about your favorite candy? My favorite food would be pizza and my favorite candy is jolly ranchers  

4. What are your interests/hobbies: I am interested in learning more about ideas/topics that are new to me and could help make me a more well-rounded person. My hobbies include watching and playing sports along with playing video games 

5. Finish these sentences:  

1. I am: Tired 

2. I wish: I wasn’t tired 

3. The thing that scares me the most is: Not finding a job after college

A Day in MY Life

Hi everyone! My name is Katelynn Gierlinger, but you can call me Kati! I am so excited to participate in this blog! I’ve never reached out to anyone outside of my country before. So, I guess I’ll start by telling you a little about myself:

            Well first off, I come from a family of five. Dad, Mom, older sister, and younger sister. Technically I am both a middle child and an eldest child. My older sister is only my half-sister, her biological father not being my own. So, I am my Momma’s middle daughter and my Daddy’s first. I grew up on our small family farm out in the middle of nowhere (according to my friends), which is situated on almost 300 acres of my grandfather land. I know our woods like the back of my hand and wouldn’t trade where I grew up for anything. We raised beef steers, chickens, and goats and always had a garden full of veggies. We also have the friendliest barn cats you’ll ever meet!

            Concerning where I currently “live” (I put this in quotes because I can’t quite call it home), I am a commuter to the College at Brockport. My suite is right next to campus and I share it with three other girls who also attend Brockport alongside me. We each have our own, small room, share a kitchen/living area, and have two bathrooms for each pair of us. My Green Cheek Conure, Fili, also lives with us! He’s the one in the picture. Don’t worry if he looks a little scruffy! He lost his friend this past year, a cockatiel named Angel, and now has a few stress and anxiety related issues. But other than that, he is happy, curious, and in charge!

            Because our campus is so close, I typically walk or bicycle to classes on most days. If I am running late or it is overly humid/the middle of winter, I take the college shuttle bus. I do have a vehicle here but use it only to go to town or visit my boyfriend (he attends RIT, half an hour away from me). I am also the only one out of my roommates who owns a car, so I try to help everyone carpool if needed.

            So, our professor provided these two prompts, “My home is” and “My family is”, and I guess I would fill them in like this:

My home is where I spent my childhood, where I met my best friends, and where I spent my time discovering the simple pleasures in life.

My family is who raised me right, who provided the best they could for me, and who taught me to be my best self.

So, that’s a little bit about my background and current setting, but here’s some more in-depth pieces of my personality:

            The best two words to describe myself would be passion and empathy. I am deeply passionate in almost everything I do, especially in fulfilling my dreams (ornithology for one, ethnoornithology for two). When I have a goal in life, I seek it out relentlessly, learn all I can, and take action. I also say I’m empathetic because of my sensitivity towards the stress and emotions others experience. This is both a help and a hindrance when it comes to being an environmental science major. It allows me to attempt to view both sides of a story, to “be in someone else’s shoes", and to attempt to understand a situation. But, it also can stir up some highly emotional moments frequently. Watching movies with me is a pain.

            A peek inside my daily life would look pretty average. I typically get up early, work out, attend classes, and do homework. I also work on campus at the night café and occasionally go out when I feel I need a break. My favorite food would probably be an egg roll (I love Asian cuisine) and my favorite candy is a plain old Hershey chocolate bar. My hobbies include numerous outdoor activities (kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, gardening, and lots more), tennis, volleyball, video-gaming, drawing, writing, and anything bird-related.

            And again, final two prompts, and then I’m finished:

I am tired from typing.

I wish there was more time in a day.

And the one thing that scares me the most is that I won’t be able to change the world in some way and be remembered…