Natalie
My name is Natalie. And my journey to literacy started with not being able to get that name just right going around in a circle at gymnastics class proclaiming just who we were. My class could introduce themselves by name and I could not get those three syllables down. I would go home and practice and I would go to class and lay dormant, not quite confident enough but slowly building. The day came where I knew I finally had it down. We got in the circle and when my turn approached I stood, radiating that little kid smile, projecting my voice to introduce myself as Na-Ta-Yee. Since then I have perfected that word that I am identified by, and while Yee has stuck around as a nickname, my literacy has expanded and grown into a passion for literature that is fundamental to what I see myself doing in the future as a teacher.
I love language- and reading beautiful writing with social implications. While still being a student of the Spanish language, I am looking to eventually educate others about English whether it is their native language, or they are just learning. I live for the intricacies of grammar and developing that voice you hear in your head when reading your own writing. I am interested in how languages interact across these forms, but I am also fascinated by the etymologies of words and the power structures that are perpetuated over time through language.
I love food and I love cooking- I would come home from elementary school and watch Rachel Ray on food network until I got scolded to do my homework. I have been cooking with my family since I could stand on a stool and hold the spatula to flip a pancake. Now I cook for my family and friends and share that passion with them.
I love learning about cultures other than my own and thinking about having the privilege to immerse myself in the culture of Valparaiso Chile in the near future.
I love dogs, and that seems superficial and stupid maybe, but my dogs are a part of who I am. There is no person who would run laps around the table and wag their tail endlessly after not seeing me for a couple of months and there is no feeling that rivals seeing those perfect animals that love you so unconditionally.
I love stand-up comedy and relating to someone you’ve never met enough to the point where you want to watch everything they have available online. Those moments where you can laugh, being so caught off guard, at something that you know so deeply through experience but have never really thought about with any sort of significance.
I love that my best friend knows me better than I know myself and I love how I hate her for pointing it out, because it is never at a convenient time and it is almost always used against something that I want to do, but I love her.
I love having those people, those people that represent and fit different facets of my life. Who I can tell different everythings to and who I know will love me through it all.
At the end of the day I love people- I love my people that I have found a secure home within. Whether that is found in my family, my team, or my closest friends, people are what matters and what I love is what connects me to them.