Embrace Your Culture
Emily was born into a life that was influenced by a mix of many different cultures. Her grandma on her mother’s side is Cuban and Spanish. She believes the warmth of her personality is due to this side of her family. Her Hispanic culture makes her family tight-knit. They often hold family dinners in Tampa (especially big ones for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Mother’s Day). Her father comes from a whole different world, finding traces back to his Irish, Yugoslavian, German, and Russian heritage. He grew up in New Jersey with traditional American values.
What Defines Religion?
Technically, Emily can be identified as a Christian. Although Emily is Lutheran, her family does not actively go to church. Lutheranism was an early protestant form of Christianity that was established mainly during the 1500s by Martin Luther. Aside from this, I also discovered that she believes food is her religion. "Any teenage girl will worship food because their forever hungry stomachs," she told me. Emily believes food helps her both physically and mentally, and she believes a snack can affect her in a supernatural way. Some of her favorite meals include different variations Japanese and Chinese food because these "help her concentrate."
A Family Includes Anyone&Everyone (Even Animals)
Emily was a bright and shining star that only arrived to our school this year. She was born 15 years ago in the heart of our state. Her mom’s name is Mandy and her dad’s name is Jeff. She has lived her life (so far) with no human siblings, but growing up she always wanted an older brother. She said, "I think that the brother-sister relationship is adorable because they always have each others' backs." This girl also lives with many other things. She has 4 horses named Maddi, Whip, Macy, and Pony. Her dogs’ names are Lucky, Annie, Mia, and Puppy. She has many other animals including chickens, rabbits, and a bird. She often barrel races her horses. Her close family is very active, constantly doing things with their horses or boat. In the end of the day, even when her life is busy, Emily finds to make time for her parents and animals.
Outside of School
This horseback rider loves traveling with her family. Some of her favorite places to visit are Montana, Labadie, Colorado, and Tahoe. She loves visiting the beach and going skiing. On weekends, when she doesn’t have a horse show, she likes to go tubing or wake-boarding. Emily is extremely athletic, and she easily learns and excels at new things. She has been playing volleyball and riding horses since she was young, and she recently started playing soccer a week ago(Emily is one of the best on the soccer team!).
Do It Now, Remember It Later
For the rest of high school, Emily hopes to be excelling at mathematics and science in school. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in the medical field. This girl believes that one of the best ways to help people is by making them healthy. The colleges she would like to attend include Auburn, Duke, UNC, Vanderbilt, or FSU. One day, she aspires to have a healthy family and a happy life, and she wants to be surrounded by the people she loves.