A native of a quaint small town in the Ozarks of northern Arkansas, I've always felt pulled between the comfort of small-town life and the perks of city life. After living in Washington, DC (where I attended George Washington University), Dallas, Tex., and Nashville, Tenn., I moved to the charming community of Sewanee, Tenn., in December 2012. Life on the Mountain is calm and peaceful, a life where the biggest threat is the very real chance of your car being attacked by one of our copious deer population. While the specter of property damage is real, it's quite nice to live in a place where this is your biggest fear. (Plus, it's gorgeous here. Watch this video of my town: This Light Will Guide You.)
In my spare time, I pursue a few leisure interests as often as I can, particularly travel and reading. My book collection is one of my most prized possessions; just sitting and looking over my books immediately calms me. Travel has long been a passion; any time I have a string of days off in a row, I get the itch to go somewhere, even if it's just to Atlanta for a day or the weekend.
My parents still live in my hometown of Mountain Home, and my brother lives in Kansas City, where he works as a computer programmer. After more than a decade of service, my mother recently retired from the City Council in our hometown. Apart from that service, there is no simple explanation for how or why I became so interested in politics at a relatively young age, as my parents aren't particularly political (nor do they agree on many political issues -- at least, I don't think they do; they don't really talk about it).