My Roadmap

 

New Orleans, LA

I was born in New Orleans on October 8, 1981.  It is an old and beautiful city that is rich with culture.  My family lived in a 100+ year old house on Calhoun Street at the edge of Audubon Park.  I remember I had an enormous magnolia tree outside my window on the second story.  I only lived in New Orleans until I was nine years old.  My memories of this period of time are limited.  Thinking about it and looking at the pictures makes it seem a bit surreal.  Life there seemed to be perfect, but perhaps I am just nostalgic.  I still find time to go back and see friends and the places I remember there.

 

The Northwest United States

Even though I was born in the south and have lived there my entire life, I still consider California and Nevada my second homes.  My mother’s family is from Woodside, CA and my father’s family is from Reno, NV.  I have made countless trips to these two places, and I have friends and relatives in both cities.  My mother recently moved back to Woodside and my sister goes to school in Monterey.  Ideally, I would like to end up in this part of the country but it is terribly expensive to live there and the yuppies have taken over in California.  

 

Lake Tahoe, CA

Luckily, my favorite place on earth is located directly between California and Nevada, and I always find time for a trip up to the mountains when I am with either family.  Lake Tahoe is unbelievably beautiful year-round.  It is the third largest alpine lake (where the melted snow gathers between mountains) and it is over 1700 feet deep.  The water is crystal clear (you can clearly see over 100 feet down) and freezing cold (65° F in the summer).  I truly feel at home here.  My father and his family lived there off and on for four generations and, since  he passed on, I feel a real connection with him and with my ancestors there.

 

Houston, TX

 

When people ask me where I am from, I say Houston by default.  I lived there most recently and I lived there for almost ten years.  However, I have sort of mixed feelings about the place.  I still have many good friends from the area and I still go back to visit (and watch the Astros), but I have no desire to ever live there again.  The weather and pollution are the paramount reasons why I don’t care to spend much time there, but I do have some wonderful memories of growing up there.

Austin, TX

Finally, I arrive in Austin in the summer of 2000.  At the end of high school, I didn’t have a clue about what I was going to do for the next four years.  I only applied to two or three schools and UT seemed like the best one to attend.  I have enjoyed my stay in Austin.  Classes at the University, the hill country setting, the nightlife, and the food have all defined my time here.  However, I am now ready to move on and start the next chapter in my roadmap.