Everyone has their ups and downs that define their life. Here are some of the top moments and fun facts about me that really make me who I am.
1. I’m a band nerd!
Yep. I started playing the trumpet way back in 2005 as a little sixth grader and kept doing it all the way through my first four years of college. I stopped playing after I left participating in our spirit bands in 2016. That’s 11 whole years! I made so many friends through band that I think the only people I’m friends with that aren’t from band are from work. I’m also very fortunate that my partner is a high school band director; I get to go see local marching bands and concerts and it’s not weird!
2. It took me a long time to get through college.
You may have noticed I said “first four years of college.” That’s because it took me seven years to get one undergraduate degree. I learned a lot during those seven years – how my brain works, what motivates me, how I manage my time…a lot of stuff that I had no clue about when I started. High school was easy breezy for me and when I showed up to college, free will was my enemy. It wasn’t even partying (there was some) but more than anything it was my mentality that I could skip class and be fine. It was not fine. When I started disliking my original major, it got even worse and I ended up taking a semester off to work and figure out what I was doing. I finished up my last 3 semesters with lower course loads and working 25 hours a week. The limited schedule helped me stay focused during my downtime and really helped my grades.
3. I love dinosaurs.
If you’ve read My Favorite Books, then this is something you already knew. I’ve loved dinosaurs since I was a little kid. My favorite movie is Jurassic Park, one of my all-time favorite books is the illustrated version of Dinotopia, and when my band went to Universal Studios in high school, my friends were amazing enough to make going on the Jurassic Park ride top priority. I still have dinosaur-themed decor in my home and my birthday present from my partner this year was a set of fun dinosaur jewelry! I even paid for a dinosaur encyclopedia app once upon a time. It was really cool. None of college friends agreed with me on that point but they loved me all the same.
4. I’m a “gamer girl.”
Another thing I’ve loved since before I can remember. One of my first solid memories was of my anger when I wasn’t allowed to play the video game my mom and older sister were playing. In my wiser years, I understand the importance of not letting a four-year-old ruin your single save file on an NES game. Four-year-old Makenzie did not. My mom grew up playing video games (grandpa worked for Motorola so he was very tech savvy) and she passed that love on to my sisters and me. I’ll never understand memes about parents not understanding playing video games and that’s fine by me. I still play tons of games – something that my partner and I share – and stream on Twitch now that I’ve got a much more open schedule.
5. Atlantis – my other weird micro-obsession
The idea of some lost civilization in the sea filled with incredible art and technology has always intrigued me. The Disney film is in my top 5 favorite films and I’ve acquired quite a few books detailing hypotheses, theories, and conspiracies about the ancient lost city. The possibilities of a civilization sinking beneath the ocean and surviving thousands of years is so exciting to my imagination. What would that culture be like? Finding Atlantis was always one of my dreams, but in a romantic The Mummy kind of way. And yes, I know Atlantis isn’t a real place…or is it?
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