Kea's Questions
1. What inspires you to write?
2. What do you want out of life?
3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
4. What would you say about your past has shaped who you are the most?
5. What is your favorite flower?
1. I spent my whole life escaping into books, mostly fiction, when things got too tough. I always wanted to write something that gave that sort of peace and escape to someone else. And, possibly because I read so much as a child, I've always been able to write exactly what I want to say or what's on my mind, even when I cant get the nerve to say it out loud.
2. Honestly, I want to make a difference, but I'm satisfied if its on a small scale, in my own town or neighborhood. I want to travel the world and see all of the things I've spent all these years reading and learning about, but deep down I'm rooted to the earth. I want to buy a house, something I can make beautiful and something that is completely my own. I want to plant live oaks in the back yard and I want to have a career that allows me to raise awareness and help other people, especially those who grew up like I did. But, I also want to raise a couple of kids to be the best people they can possibly be and teach them the value of knowledge and education and helping others. I want to leave a quiet but lasting legacy, leave my footprints on the world.
3. If I could live anywhere, it'd be in a plantation house next to a river somewhere in Virginia. Something with a big veranda with columns and rocking chairs and a nice long driveway where I can sit and watch the fireflies flicker at dusk. That was one of the things I always wanted as a kid. I wanted a house with fireflies in the yard, just like my aunt's. But I want to be close enough (within an hour or so) to a decent sized city so that I can see a movie, go out to a nice restaurant, listen to live music, and be close enough to an airport to visit all of you and have you visit me.
4. I think that would be Mrs. Williams. She was my gifted teacher in second-forth grade. She was a teacher not because she needed the job, she didnt, but because she loved it. Every penny of her salary went back into her classroom. Her husband made more than enough to keep them both very comfortable, so she was there only to teach and to give us what we might never have gotten otherwise. She would travel during the summer and bring back a unique gift for each of her students for the first day of class. and we'd share it. there was cactus jelly one time, we had a party and learned about how to survive in the desert by eating cactus and other things. how to preserve water, etc. every tiny thing was a learning experience. she inspired me to try to be that giving, that caring, and that thirsty for knowledge. and she taught me that living was knowledge, that you could pick up so much information just doing the same-old same-old. the taught me to value art, music, culture, dance, language, and so much more. she even organized the field trip that took me out of the US for the only time in my life. given all the other people and things in my life which have not been good or that have been downright terrible, i can still relate a lot of my values down to the things she taught us. I mean, i got them from home too, both before and after I knew her, but she was the one who covered all of the bases with love and respect. thats the kind of woman I want to be.
5. I love long stem red roses. not hot house roses, but ones grown in the garden. hot house roses have no scent at all unless you put your nose IN the flower. I got a rose when I was a kid from the first boy that ever told me he liked me. he gave it to me for valentines day. it was just one rose, but he'd picked it from his mama's garden on the way to school and given it to me. that little rose, just sitting there on my desk in a jelly jar smelled so good. the smell just filled up my room. and, while i didnt like the boy in the least, i loved that rose. i lay awake for a long time just smelling it and feeling happy. To this day, i'd rather get ONE long stem rose than any huge bouquet. I'm also very fond of lilies, daffodils, buttercups, and daisies. I dug up a whole bunch of daffodil bulbs off of the hill near my neighbor's hosue just as the blooms died off one spring/summer and re-planted them next to our house just so i'd get to see them every day as i came home from school the next spring. they've always been a sign of renewal to me.
2. What do you want out of life?
3. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
4. What would you say about your past has shaped who you are the most?
5. What is your favorite flower?
1. I spent my whole life escaping into books, mostly fiction, when things got too tough. I always wanted to write something that gave that sort of peace and escape to someone else. And, possibly because I read so much as a child, I've always been able to write exactly what I want to say or what's on my mind, even when I cant get the nerve to say it out loud.
2. Honestly, I want to make a difference, but I'm satisfied if its on a small scale, in my own town or neighborhood. I want to travel the world and see all of the things I've spent all these years reading and learning about, but deep down I'm rooted to the earth. I want to buy a house, something I can make beautiful and something that is completely my own. I want to plant live oaks in the back yard and I want to have a career that allows me to raise awareness and help other people, especially those who grew up like I did. But, I also want to raise a couple of kids to be the best people they can possibly be and teach them the value of knowledge and education and helping others. I want to leave a quiet but lasting legacy, leave my footprints on the world.
3. If I could live anywhere, it'd be in a plantation house next to a river somewhere in Virginia. Something with a big veranda with columns and rocking chairs and a nice long driveway where I can sit and watch the fireflies flicker at dusk. That was one of the things I always wanted as a kid. I wanted a house with fireflies in the yard, just like my aunt's. But I want to be close enough (within an hour or so) to a decent sized city so that I can see a movie, go out to a nice restaurant, listen to live music, and be close enough to an airport to visit all of you and have you visit me.
4. I think that would be Mrs. Williams. She was my gifted teacher in second-forth grade. She was a teacher not because she needed the job, she didnt, but because she loved it. Every penny of her salary went back into her classroom. Her husband made more than enough to keep them both very comfortable, so she was there only to teach and to give us what we might never have gotten otherwise. She would travel during the summer and bring back a unique gift for each of her students for the first day of class. and we'd share it. there was cactus jelly one time, we had a party and learned about how to survive in the desert by eating cactus and other things. how to preserve water, etc. every tiny thing was a learning experience. she inspired me to try to be that giving, that caring, and that thirsty for knowledge. and she taught me that living was knowledge, that you could pick up so much information just doing the same-old same-old. the taught me to value art, music, culture, dance, language, and so much more. she even organized the field trip that took me out of the US for the only time in my life. given all the other people and things in my life which have not been good or that have been downright terrible, i can still relate a lot of my values down to the things she taught us. I mean, i got them from home too, both before and after I knew her, but she was the one who covered all of the bases with love and respect. thats the kind of woman I want to be.
5. I love long stem red roses. not hot house roses, but ones grown in the garden. hot house roses have no scent at all unless you put your nose IN the flower. I got a rose when I was a kid from the first boy that ever told me he liked me. he gave it to me for valentines day. it was just one rose, but he'd picked it from his mama's garden on the way to school and given it to me. that little rose, just sitting there on my desk in a jelly jar smelled so good. the smell just filled up my room. and, while i didnt like the boy in the least, i loved that rose. i lay awake for a long time just smelling it and feeling happy. To this day, i'd rather get ONE long stem rose than any huge bouquet. I'm also very fond of lilies, daffodils, buttercups, and daisies. I dug up a whole bunch of daffodil bulbs off of the hill near my neighbor's hosue just as the blooms died off one spring/summer and re-planted them next to our house just so i'd get to see them every day as i came home from school the next spring. they've always been a sign of renewal to me.