File Under Grain

I've never been particularly good at bios. There's too much to consider in terms of how I define myself and what other people might want to know. Should I toss out bits of demographic information? A memoir in 1000 words or less? Forging a sense of identity has been part of my life work, and I'm nowhere near complete.

Some Information:
28 years old, soon to be 29. Born and raised in rural, inland Maine. Have since lived in Southern Maine, Prague, Staten Island, Queens, and now Brooklyn for nearly 6 years. My ancestry is mixed Irish-English-German, and possibly other bits that I don't know about. Both of my parents had children in prior marriages, before having my brother and I. This makes me the youngest of eight.

Attended University of Southern Maine off and on for 5 years, studying Geography, Antrhopology, and Theater. Got my TEFL certificate through ITC Prague and have done nothing with it. Graduated from Columbia University School of General Studies with a B.A. in English (and quite a few classes in Czech language and literature). Entered the New York City Teaching Fellows program as a secondary ed Math fellow. Took graduate classes in Mathematics and Education, co-taught summer school for 7th grade, and taught as a classroom teacher for fall semester. Resigned for a variety of reasons, including frustration with administration and Department of Ed policies. Now working at Columbia as support staff while I figure out what I'd rather do.

Ideological and Political Stuffs:

Unapologetically pro-choice: Reproductive choice matters to me, and I support a woman's right to choose, without qualification.

Support same sex-marriage: Marriage is about love and legal privilege, and I dislike religious organizations trying to legislate their own brand of morality.

Anti-racist ally-in-training: This is a struggle, but something that is important to me. I'm working to check my own privilege and to speak out against racism. And I don't deal well with people who use de-railing tactics when talking about racism.

Other Bits:
Been vegetarian since middle school, with a few lapses. At this point it's a personal choice; I don't like to make value judgements related to others' dietary choices and try to keep from pushing my views on others. However, if you want to know more, I'm happy to have a more personal conversation.

Books are important to me. I like to read. I like to read a lot. I like to read variety. Recently I have decided to make more of an effort to read contemporary works, works by women, works by authors of color, and graphic novels.

Knitting is awesome. I spend too much money on yarn and needles. However, I often struggle to actually complete projects. This is something that I'm trying to improve upon, though.

Good beer makes me happy. In particular I'm a fan of nut brown ales and chocolate stouts. Sometimes I like to talk about beer the way that many people talk about wine.

At any given time, I may be trying to pick up a new hobby. Learning new things excites me. And I keep a list of various skills and hobbies that I would like to explore.

So, that's my introduction. It's a little window into who I am and hopefully gives a bit of insight into the views and perspectives you might encounter here. If there's more you'd like to know about or you'd like to suggest that I add something, leave me a comment.