You'd understand me better if you knew my Aunt Anna.

Fears- 50/50 between needles and stingers or failing at anything

Annoyances- liars 

Accomplishments- math

Confusions- sorry if I offend anyone but affirmative action (the idea)

Sorrows- grandfather, great aunt, godmother, and my dog, all of whom I lost while I was 15. 

Dreams- neurosurgery

Idiosyncrasies- tinkering 

Risks- backstroke

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then- Columbia Alpha Xi Delta bracelet from 1928, my fossil collection

Problems- time

My great aunt, from my mother's side, was born in 1810. She died in January of this year which is one of the sorrows I have as well. My mother’s parents both died years before I was born, and my father’s lived in Mexico (my grandmother still does) throughout my entire childhood. My aunt was like my grandmother, which entitled her to the love and admiration automatically given by young children; however, she was like the “eye of pride” in my family and the wisest woman I have ever met. 

She always made sure we knew who we were: The May, Corbin, Cornett, Lee, Boone, Adams, (and so many more) from the revolutionary times. Not only was the “breeding” as she called it, what made her proud, she also graduated from Columbia university with a masters in Education, a huge feat for a woman in the 1920s (though everyone in my family has been educated for generations, regardless of gender). She was such an amazing person, and taught me more about pride (and causing me to be prided by my relation to her) than anyone else, too much, in fact, to include in this post. When we had to help clean out her house after her death, I found her sorority pledge bracelet. I decided to keep it to have something of her’s close to me and always have a reminder of how important she was to me. 

As for the other possession, I was really dorky when I was little, and my great aunt gave me fossils from digs in which she had participated. I thought they were the best because I had my heart set on paleontology, sadly that has changed, but I still admire it.