Here's the Friday Five:


1. What was/is your favorite subject in school? Why?

I liked most subjects pretty well. Biology was a big favorite (after all, it's what I became), but I also enjoyed English and French and Art and History. Why? Biology I love because I love the natural world - my toybox and my playground when I was a kid was the vacant field nextto my parents' house. I remember following my mother around when she worked in her garden (she's also a biologist) and asking her lots of questions about bugs and birds and plants and she would answer them - or if she couldn't, she'd take me to the library and we'd find a book with the answer. I also like finding out how things work.

I think I like English, French, and History because I like "stories" (fictional or true) and that's what a lot of those subjects are.

2. Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

I have a lot of good memories of teachers, but I think the one who stands out and who helped make me who I am today is Mrs. Breuker, my AP Biology teacher. Sitting in her class, watching her one day, I thought "this is what I want to do". She was a wonderful teacher - she could keep control over the class without being at all harsh, and she made the material so interesting and showed the connections between it as well.

3. What is your favorite memory of school?

In high school - sitting on the front steps of one of the dormitories with my friends, looking out over the fall leaves and the golden autumn sun, and just talking about stuff. I went to a private high school and it was the first time I really felt accepted in school, the first time I had real close friends.

4. What was your favorite recess game?

In grade school, my friends and I used to bring our little animal toys and play with them at recess. I wasn't a very active child. When I was in high school, either squash or swimming.

5. What did you hate most about school?

In grade school: I hated the way the other kids treated me. I was a little "egghead", I liked my teachers, I came from a family with less money (and a higher value placed on education) than most families in town. I was a real outcast and regularly got called things like "retard" or "spazz" in the halls. I didn't have many friends. I had one good friend who deserted me in 7th grade because she got popular. I'm still working on forgiving her for that.

fortunately, that changed in high school. I didn't become Ms. Popular, but at least I had some good friends who stuck with me.