It’s Daunting to Write About Yourself

When I was thinking about what to include on my “About” page, I looked at other people’s personal websites. Some only have 3-4 sentences, typically laying out their business bona fides. Others, hilariously, wrote about themselves in the third person. I’m intimidated to try and write about myself, so I’ll give myself a few broad categories, start typing, and see what comes of it.

Family is Important

As I mentioned, I grew up in a big family (although I remember my dad often using the phrase “our little family”). My family is so very important to me. Although there are a lot of people to keep track of, I put a lot of effort into keeping in touch.

To my family reading this, sorry if even with that effort, it’s been a while since we last talked.

Where I Come From is Important

I have always loved history. In particular, I love learning about the history of my family — the people, places, artifacts, and stories that got me to where I am today. I grew up in rural New York, where my mom’s family has lived for more than 400 years. I’m very proud of this heritage.

We lived less than an hour away from my grandparents’ dairy farm in Canisteo, NY. (You can see a picture of the farm at the bottom of this page.) I spent so much time there romping around the barn with the half-feral, seven-toed farm cats, exploring the woods nearby, and listening to Grandma and Grandpa tell stories about their life. The house was full of interesting things. They weren’t collectors; these were things they inherited or had accumulated over the years. Everything was interesting, and everything had a story.

Many of my Dad’s ancestors were Mormon pioneers. I grew up hearing stories of 4x great-grandpa Shadrach Roundy defending the prophet Joseph Smith from dangerous villains, of the Miracle of the Gulls when the pioneers prayed for deliverance from an unfathomably large swarm of crickets that were eating their crops, and God sent seagulls to eat them all up, and of another ancestor bravely crossing the plains as a little girl by herself, only accompanied by strangers.

These stories give me the courage to make hard decisions — to do my best to “choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong”. As a Latter-day Saint, I love my spiritual heritage.

Seeing Long-Term Outcomes of Choices

I’m the youngest of eight kids. My oldest sister went off to college when I was just five months old. Not only does being the youngest mean that I was an uncle by the time I turned nine, it also means that I’ve been able to observe the results of choices made decades before. To me, this is an enormous blessing.

I think I can honestly say that I’ve learned from each of my siblings at least one situation, circumstance, or aspect of relationships that I want in my future (as well as at least one thing that I don’t want). I think that, as a result, I frequently think about what I want in life, and whether or not my current decisions are propelling me forward or holding me back.

Keeping Up With Friends

I’m often perplexed when I hear about my generation’s anxiety about talking over the phone. That’s probably because I learned how to have over-the-wire conversations as a little boy. I wanted to talk to my big sisters at college, and using the phone was the only way how. I generally prefer phone conversations to email or text.

This familiarity is likely a big reason why, in most of my friendships, I do the initiating. I’m the one who calls or texts first. I really don’t mind. My friends know not to stress about calling back quickly. I tell them that I call as if they had a landline and no answering machine — if they’re not available, not a problem! I’ll call back later. If I really needed to talk right then, I’d text them and let them know.

I usually prefer to hang out with friends one-on-one. Big social groups can be aggravating at times.

Love What You Own

This concept has changed my life. I think it is so very important that I love what I own. I believe that what you choose to own and surround yourself with has a dramatic impact on how you think and, therefore, how you act. This can be taken to extremes, of course, (check out “the Diderot Effect” for one particularly pernicious pitfall), but I’ve found that when I don’t settle and save up for what I really want, I rarely regret it. This means buying fewer things, but what I do buy, I really love.

This isn’t a principle to implement all at once, but little by little, over time, I've noticed that I am more careful with my things and use them for years or decades. When I’m thinking about buying something, I try to ask myself, “Will I be eager to mend or repair this if it breaks?” If the answer is “no”, I usually know that it’s not something I’d really love to own.

Places Have Spirits

I don’t mean this literally. However, I’ve felt that a place has its own unique qualities — a certain spirit that fills the air. Consequently, not every location is the best place for me at any given time.

Rural New York is a place for feeling at home and for connecting to my roots. St. Petersburg, Russia is for expanding my worldview. Provo, Utah is for making connections and learning. Quebec City is for angsty, brooding introspection. Those are just a few examples.

It’s not critical that I’m in the absolute, without-a-doubt, perfect-in-every-way location, but place is something I often think about.

Music

For most of my life, I’ve rarely listened to music with words. As a teenager, I listened to classical music and jazz. As a trumpet player, I like to listen to the kind of music that I like to play. I love the music of Beethoven, Shostakovich, Mahler, Ries, Kalinikov, and Gershwin, and also Harry James, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Benny Goodman.

In the past few years, I’ve explored other genres. I now have quite eclectic musical tastes. I listen to everything from Russian Orthodox monastic chants to pop. (I will clarify that I like certain songs or artists from many many genres, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy the genre on the whole).

More About Me:

I’m not busy — To me, “being busy” means “I don’t have control over my life.” So, I resist saying “I’m busy.” If I’m tempted to say it, it’s a sign that I need to reassess how I’m spending my time.

I love animals — I love animals so much. I always have. I have a goal to pet a dog every day. For my birthday this year, we went to the aquarium, where I got to see sea otters. I was looking forward to it for weeks. I think I was more excited than any of the eight-year-olds to be there.

I’m careful what I say publicly — There’s more I could say here, but I realize that I don’t know who might read this.