The Best Part of Maryland: My Family

I would like to dedicate my finally blog post to my favorite part of Maryland, my family. Without them Maryland would be just another place but my family helps to make Maryland my home.

My immediate family consists of my mom, my dad, and my sister. My mom, Cheryl, was born in Maryland and I love hearing her describe the way things were when she was younger. She describes the ups and downs of Baltimore over the years and pleasant memories of the Maryland beach towns. After completing high school in Carroll County she went on to study at University of Maryland earning both a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree. She became a pediatric nurse practitioner and was eventually appointed as an instructor at the University of Maryland’s School of Nursing. This program is consistently rated among the top ten in the country. Although she no longer teaches, she volunteers at my old high school, provides nursing services to my elementary school, and gives flu shots to children at inner-city schools. My mom has taught me to be compassionate and sympathetic towards all people and to always lend a helping hand.

My sister, my mom, and myself in Germany. 

My dad, Vince, grew up outside of Pittsburgh and worked in the steel mills during the summer in order to make enough money to attend Penn State. He went on to graduate school and earned a PhD and is now a prominent neuropsychologist.  I hope to follow in his footsteps and I hope that I can be as hard working and determined as he is.

My dad and I at my junior prom.

My sister, Anna, is a sophomore in high school and although she’s younger than me, she teaches me a lot. When she was just five years old, Anna was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes, an autoimmune disease that inhibits the pancreas from working properly. My sister is 16 years old and has had diabetes for eleven years. I am amazed by how well she handles this condition. She never lets it get her down. She has taught me to be brave and to have strength even when things get tough.

My sister and I at my senior prom.

Thankfully, all of my family, including my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandma, live within a five-mile radius each other. I absolutely love that we all live so close and are able to do so many things together. Whether it’s attending an Oriole’s game or just dinner at our favorite restaurant, spending time with my family is something I really enjoy and cherish.

My favorite thing to do with my family is to spend our summers at the beach. Our whole family comes along and it is a great time to just relax and enjoy quality time with the people I love. Whether we’re soaking up the sun, splashing in the waves, or heading to the boardwalk to get ice cream, it’s a happy and heartwarming experience that I am thankful for. I hope one day Anna and I can bring our children to the beach.

My family and I at Bethany Beach.

Just writing this post reminds me how excited I am to return home for a week and spend time with the people I love. I guess it really is true when they say, “Home is where the heart is!”

My Second Homes

As we are winding down to our last few passion posts, I thought I would dedicate the remaining ones to my favorite parts of my hometown. For this post I'd like to focus on the two places that have helped me develop into the person I am today: Trinity School and Mount de Sales Academy.

From kindergarten to eighth grade I attended Trinity School, where I managed to make some of my best friends and experience some of my best days.

Trinity is an independent private catholic school located in Ellicott City, Maryland. It was founded by the Sisters of Notre de Namur, who are still heavily involved running the school.

One of my most important role models in my life is Sister Catherine, a nun who has spent the past 45 years serving as Trinity’s president, helping to shape the lives and touch the hearts of every person she meets. One of my favorite events hosted by Sister is the annual, fall Turtle Derby. In honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, Sister allows students to bring in their pet turtles to race against each other for a trophy and other prizes. Even after I left Trinity, my friends and I would return to take part in the annual Turtle Derby and celebration of the life of Saint Francis Assisi.

Myself, Sister Catherine, and my friend, Lauren, at our First Communion.

At Trinity, I made life-long friends and I learned a lot about myself. I developed a deep love for literature and writing, I learned that I enjoy cross-country and track, and through my many volunteer opportunites at Trinity, I learned how great it feels to help others. My personal favorite service event was the toy drive for Parents and Children Together (PACT). This organization provides medical care and aid to disabled children, whether mentally or physically, as well as mothers who may not be able to take care of their babies on their own. From kindergarten to my senior year in high school, my mom would organize groups of my friends to collect toys from our classmates and bring them to the children at PACT. We would wear Santa hats and decorate the building with holiday cheer, bringing a smile to all of the kids’ faces.

My dad, my mom, and myself being honored for our work with PACT.

 Through Trinity I was able to develop as a person and learn about what the things that are most important to me. These values continued to stay with me throughout the next step in education at Mount de Sales Academy.

Mount de Sales Academy is all-girls, private, Catholic school located in Catonsville, Maryland. It was founded in 1852 and originally served as a convent for the Franciscan nuns. However, today it is an amazing school and a place I would call my second home.

At Mount de Sales I was able to grow and thrive and gain a better sense of who I really am. I ran cross-country, indoor track, and outdoor track all for years and that was certain ally one of my favorite experiences. I made lasting friendships with my teammates and learned to push myself even when things got tough.

The Varsity Cross Country team poses for a picture after we one our meet.

Another one of my favorite memories is the annual Spirit Day. All of the classes dress up in their class colors and take each on in games such as dodge ball, football, and tug-of-war. My favorite part of the day is twisted tunes. Each class picked a song and rewrote the lyrics to describe their time at Mount de Sales. We worked on the lyrics and the choreography all year, building up to the final competition.

My friends at I dressed in red for Spirit Day.

My friends and I wearing the traditional white dress on graduation.

Of course, I love Penn State very much but Trinity and Mount de Sales Academy will always hold a special place in my heart and I will be forever grateful for the friendships, values, and sense of identity that they have provided for me.