looking into my kitchen	i was born on 22 april 1978, in walnut creek, california. it was a full moon that night. i grew up in lafayette, california. lafayette is in the east bay of the san francisco bay area, about 5 minutes (by car) from berkeley and around 20 mintues from san francisco. lafayette isn't really an exciting place to grow up in, though it's more interesting than many other places. it's relatively suburban, but not so cookie-cutter-houses, because it was founded in the mid-1800s. i like that there are still old trees, old houses, and some open spaces around. (in fact, the oldest oak tree in lafayette is in my backyard.)
i guess i grew up pretty normally, doing things other children in suburban america do. i was lucky enough to grow up on a hill-side court, with a bike trail running right next to it, and where almost every house had kids around my age. we'd gather for hours in the street, playing kick the can and capture the flag and tennis baseball. nights were filled with games of sardines and flashlight tag. i have extremely fond memories of times in the neighborhood. i even wrote my college entrance essay about it.	we had a swingset in the backyard
val and i in 6th grade	i also spent lots of time with friends from school. we had sleepovers and played truth or dare and formed little groups with names like "dudettes incorporated" (we had wear our jean jackets every day). some of the best friends i have now were my best friends back then, like val and annie. school was always relatively easy for me. i started in the g.a.t.e. (gifted and talented education) program in first grade. in 5th grade, me and some of my friends (including val) were accepted into a pullout program at a different elementary school in lafayette. i didn't want to go- none of us did (i've always had a problem with change). we'd sit on the benches during recess and talk about how our old school was so much better, and we were never going to like it here. but, of course, we eventually loved it. being in a class with all g.a.t.e. students for 2 years was an exceptional opportunity, something i didn't realize until recently. the pace was faster, more was learned. our entire class was quite close, and according to the administrators and teachers at the school, they haven't had a g.a.t.e. class quite like it since. though i realize the problems that accelerated programs can cause, especially for students who are not in it, i am greatful for the benefits i received from it.

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