So this is it...my 100th blog post...achieved in just under 6 months of blogging. To commemorate the occasion in a somewhat-traditional blogger fashion, I will list 100 facts about myself. I will try to make them interesting/little known, but really, those who read my blog will probably know most of these already. Because I'm somewhat obssessive-compulsive, I will list my facts in categories, with as many facts as I can think of under each heading.
Clothing1. I go through favorite-color phases, when most of the clothes I buy are a certain color. I have many purple clothing items from last year, and many brown clothing items from this year.
2. Unfortunately, my pink phase came when I didn't really need anything, so I only have one pink shirt.
3. I love to wear T-shirts that say things. My favorite of the ones I own says "I live in my own little world, but it's OK--they know me here."
4. The best T-shirt I ever read about came from Japan (I think) and said "Save the apartheid boycott of the lesbian nazi lettuce-growers for Jesus of the nuclear whale." It sold out in one day.
5. For my fourteenth birthday, I received an absolutely gorgeous pair of bright red clogs with flowers painted on. I only got to wear them that one winter because I was hurting too much by the next. I can't wait to wear them again!
6. I find the percentage of Ugg-wearers to non-Ugg-wearers slightly unnerving.
7. I do NOT understand dresses that itch in awkward places. What is the point?? How can people stand to wear them??
8. Speaking of clothing-induced discomfort: I have a much better fashion sense than I display in the clothes I actually wear. This is because tight shirts/dresses bother my stomach, tight waistbands bother my waist, and cute shoes just aren't worth it.
9. Any coat I own must have pockets, and I prefer my pants to have them too.
10. My pockets are good for my cellphone, short notes, a good luck something-or-other, or a tissue.
Food11. My absolute favorite foods are grape leaves and dates. If indigestion and good nutrition were not issues, I think I could live off those foods.
12. I don't like to eat baby carrots without ranch dressing to dip them in.
13. Although I like most sandwiches I've tried, I cannot stand peanut butter, mayonnaise, or tuna salad.
14. Bananas are my favorite "eat on the go" food.
15. My record number of bananas eaten in one day is seven.
16. My record number of cookies eaten in one day is 16.
17. As best as I can recall, my record number of dates eaten in one day is also 16.
18. I can eat seven grape leaves (the size/filling you usually buy in supermarkets) without getting indigested.
19. The best food treat I can ask for is being turned loose in a grocery store with an olive bar, with permission to fill the largest size container.
20. I do not like wine or champagne, and I've never tried stronger alcohol.
Housing/Living Arrangements21. When I was born, my family lived in a townhouse in Houston, Texas, which had gray carpeting.
22. My family moved to Youngstown, Ohio when I was seventeen months old.
23. Our house there was one floor, with wall-to-wall carpeting in a different color in every room.
24. My carpet was pink.
25. When I was almost five, we moved to a townhouse in the same time. This time the carpeting was beige.
26. While we were in that house, I wrote my name in red marker on the carpet in my room. This incident stands out both as the first time I remember writing and the first time my mother yelled at me.
27. A month or so after I turned five, we moved to Vestal, New York. I got the largest bedroom in the house. :)
28. Our house there has a huge forsythia bush (or perhaps several bushes growing close together) in the back yard: big enough to grow different rooms. That bush was my playhouse growing up, and I couldn't have asked for a better one.
29. I now attend a boarding school in Greensboro, North Carolina; I have my own room here, too.
30. I am not allowed to go into the boys' rooms. I am not allowed to go into the boys' rooms. I am not allowed to go into the boys' rooms. I am not allowed...
Childhood31. I was born at 12:09 pm on February 8, 1993.
32. I was 18 and 3/4 inches and weighed either 6.5 pounds, or 6 pounds 5 ounces.
33. One of my earliest memory is being at daycare for one day while my parents had to work and we couldn't get a babysitter, and sitting on the ground beside a green metal playground, feeling lost and abandoned while children played all around me.
34. I wore a pink velour jumper to my first day of kindergarten and felt very mature and fancy.
35. I distinctly remember being six years old and completing my first addition problem with a three-digit sum. The sum was 130-something, and I remember being very proud of myself while wondering when I was ever going to need this.
36. The first book I read to a teacher (while working on reading skills) was
Anne of Green Gables, unabridged.
37. My best friend and I started a "sister-friendship" club in first grade that lasted unofficially until we "broke up" in eighth grade and with which we were actually involved through third or fourth grade. We used to make my mom lock us in the basement so my brother couldn't bother us.
38. The first picture book I actually tried to read and understand in Hebrew was
אגוז של זהב, (
The Golden Walnut), which my dad brough thome for my older brother when I was about four. I couldn't actually understand any of it until seventh grade, and couldn't read it easily enough to make it worth my while until last year.
39. As a child, I took three eight-week impov. acting classes (we came up with a basic plot based aorund the characters we wanted to be ahead of time, but the dialogue was improvised on the spot and new for each performance) at my local JCC. I also sang in the chorus as part of my summer camp's production of
Annie.
40. Some of my happiest childhood memories come from playing in the creek near my home.
Family41. My mother is a psychiatrist. I grew up with words like depression, bipolar disorder, mania, id, ego, superego, and Freud as part of my regular vocabulary.
42. My father is a rabbi. He and I studied mishna and gemara together for most of my later childhood, and he was my Bat Mitzvah tutor.
43. My older brother is a music major at Indiana University' conservatory (James School of Music? Maybe?). He is hoping to be a professional recorder player.
44. My younger brother is hoping to grow up to program robots and computers for the military.
45. I am three years, three months, and nine days younger than my older brother. I am three years, five months, and 27 days older than my younger brother.
46. I have two cousins, both my mother's sister's children.
47. My father's brother was married for two and a half years; then his wife left him.
48. My uncle now owns a car service.
49. 130 (fmaily estimate) of my relatives were murdered by the Nazis.
50. I have relatives with bipolar disorder and CRPS ("cousin" to RND). Both have been major inspirations to me in my fight to live a full, productive, "normal" life.
Friends51. My best, closest, most trustworthy friend is male. And no, we are not dating.
52. The aforementioned friend saved my life last year.
53. I am also friends with his sister and one of their childhood friends. Both are great people and I am honored to be part of their lives.
54. Some of my best childhood memories were made with my "sister-friend" between the ages of five and nine. We used to sit across from each other at the top of the jungle gym and talk about living near each other as adults and our children growing up together, though I think that was when we were a little older.
55. My eighth grade basketball coach, the only person who ever managed to teach me to even semi-routinely shoot a basket while standing still, became one of my closest friends. We still talk regularly.
56. I still remember my best friend from preschool. We left Ohio when I was five; sometimes I like to stop and remember and wonder how my life would be different had we stayed.
57. I have mentioned, I think, ten friends and my mom on this blog in the past.
58. Fourth grade was my best school year before high school because I had two friends and the other kids mostly left me alone. Sixth grade, the year I had three friends, runs a close second.
59. One of my friends is short and redheaded; two are tall and blonde; two are medium height, with dark hair. I am short with dark hair.
60. I consider my younger brother to be a close-ish friend of mine.
School61. For years, my favorite class was English. Now I'm not so sure, but I think my favorite might be chemistry.
62. Hebrew is one of my least favorite classes, which is odd, because I usually enjoy learning languages.
63. I am in a senior English class as a sophomore. Next year, I will take AP English 11; the year after, AP English 12. My school is weird.
64. Teachers here wind up as so much more than teachers: they become our mentors, third parents, and friends.
65. I am taking Arabic and Literary Magazine as my lunch electives this year. Both are year long courses.
66. Over the course of most school days, I spend time honing skills in at least two languages.
67. By the end of this year, I will ave taken eleven years of Hebrew; three years of Spanish; one year of Latin; and one year of Arabic.
68. I read Shakespeare for fun sometimes.
69. I find school interesting and exciting.
70. A lot of the time, given the choice to work alone or with a partner, I would rather work alone. I am learning to work better in groups.
Hobbies71. I love to sew, and I am getting rather good at it. It is very difficult to tell the difference between a seam I sewed by hand and one I sewed on a machine.
72. I have never in my life touched a sewing pattern.
73. I also like to knit, but I only know how to make scarves and other flat things. I could probably benefit from some knitting patterns.
74. I like to read just about anything I can get my hands on.
75. I enjoy researching international and domestic adoption, the modern slave trade, and weird genetic disorders.
76. I absolutely live for the theater. Since coming to AHA, I have played Kate in "Watermelon Boats" and Stephanie in "Pizza with Shrimp on Top"; for the last few weeks, I have been stage managing for our musical, "Showtune", which will open (OK, OK, and close too) on Parents' Weekend.
77. I used to enjoy taking long (hour or two on average) hikes in the woods. It's something I'm looking forward to being able to do again.
78. I love to sing, but I only have a slightly-better-than-average voice: not good enough for the world of musical theater.
79. I enjoy writing poetry, plays, short fiction, essays, and blog entries. I have tried several times to write a novel.
80. I am obssessed with Facebook.
My Future81. One day I hope to adopt an older girl domestically and a younger girl internationally.
82. If living in an area where adequate housing is affordable, I would also like two biological daughters.
83. My future career will definitely involve acting. I'm shooting for Broadway because aiming for anything less is setting myself up for nothing, but it's not a tragedy if I don't make it. I could be perfectly content working at a high school and performing at local community theater shows, and that would give me time and energy to spare for other dreams.
84. One day I want to travel to Israel and pray at the Western wall.
85. I hope to see an absolute abolition of slavery in my lifetime. I know, I know...dream on. Still, as soon as I have a career and my own money, I plan to donate regularly to abolitionist organizations.
86. I will always be an observant Jew, except when it conflicts with theater. Then I will make concessions in order to follow my heart. I am comfortable with this decision.
87. I don't know if I'll end up married or not. I think I want to, but I'm not sure.
88. I am currently planning on getting my college education at NYU Tische School of Acting.
89. I have friends at school with whom I'd be honored to keep in touch for the rest of my life.
90. My children will always know they can be anything they want and that they should stay true to themselves. I will make sure they are safe and in schools where they are happy.
Identity91. I consider myself an American Jew: Jewish first, American second.
92. I consider my ancestors to be Jewish from _________ (Russia, Poland, etc.) They were not citizens, had no rights, and were most likely persecuted by the local population.
93. When I came to AHA, I changed the pronunciation of my first name from Sarah (SAY-rah) to Sarah (SAH-rah).
94. My last name is still pronounce BAron (BA-ron) like the lord, NOT Baron (BAH-ron) or BAron (Bah-RONE).
95. I do not like telling people my middle name, but I might tell you if you give me chocolate.
96. I believe names are an integral part of our identities, as evidenced by the fac tthat facts 93-96 are about names.
97. I am named after my two great grandmothers: Soroh (translated into Hebrew as Sarah), and Gittle (GIT-tl) (translated into Hebrew as my middle name I don't like sharing).
98. Both of their names were originally Yiddish.
99. I am, in this order: Human, female, Jewish, American, a friend, an actor, and a writer.
100. I am committed to living my life as the best person I can be.
I can't believe you actually read this far! Wow! I hope it wasn't too boring.
First is Tia (far left), the amazing pool therapist. She is SO MUCH FUN!!! She called me "munchkin" and "vertically impaired".
Christy was one of the way cool Occupational Therapists. I ended up having "contests" with inanimate obejcts (in a nutshell, keeping score of how many times they interfered with my life vs. how often I managed to save myself) and she would join in on occasion. Christy was the one who tried, very hard, to teach me to jumprope. She is under the impresison that it is possible to teach me coordination. I give her an A++ for effort!
Next is Deb, the amazing nurse practitioner. She was one of two people who asked about my pain level every day (necessary documentation). I called her Raven because she reminded me of one, and she liked it when I patted her head. (She was Tiny!)
This is Kira...Oh. My. God. I. LOVE. HER. There are just not enough words in the English language to sufficiently praise Kira. She is sweet and caring and young and enthusiastic and passionate and interesting and interested and WONDERFUL...just a person-shaped package of Wonderful. Kira was the one who didn't understand how serious I was when I said I was going to throw up all over the floor...but once I did, she supervised the cleanup and let me go wash up in the bathroom. Then she set me back to exercising, but once I told her I hadn't eaten breakfast (too nauseaus), she took me upstairs to grab dry cereal and ginger ale, and sat with me while I ate it to make sure I was OK. Kira usually called me "Goofball", with the occasional "Lovebug" thrown in for good measure. Kira...if you're reading this...I LOVE YOU sooooo MUCH!
Last but most certainly never least: The amazing, the incredible, (the cute, because I know he owuld want me to add that in here), the one and only...Dr. David Sherry. This is a man who has found his calling and is using it to work miracles. There are not enough of those people in this world. He also really, really cares about his patients as individuals: at least 80 percent of the time I spent with him while has making rounds (when he could have just finished the doctor part and left to go do something professional) was spent discussing Judaism, cracking jokes, and trying to outsmart each other with grammar and history. He made me dance with him every day and told me stories from his childhood. He taught me what a synecdoche is, and then I discovered the correct spelling. Oh, and by the way, his beard is naturally striped. Way cool.
Second (only on this post, never in my heart) is my brother, "Leo". I remember holding him in my lap at the hospital on August 4, 1996...loving him as a baby...hating him as a toddler...fighting like cats and dogs because we were so angry at life and then turning around and comforting each other...laughing and playing and swimming together...this amazingly exuberant, cheerful person challenges me to reach new heights..."Leo", here's to you!
Also, thank you so much "Jan" and "Eliana" for visiting me, and "Maya" for the new pair of socks. Thanks also to "John" and "Sasha" for walking me back from school, and "Nina" for getting me to my room...and into bed...and back into bed when I fell off the first time.