You know what they say: You will turn into your mother. I have. I believe that it takes a certain special person to be a teacher, honestly. You have to have the patience of a saint, first and foremost (something which Amanda Tyree is most definately NOT blessed with. When God was handing out spiritual gifts, he gave patience to mom and loudness to me.... oh well... I use it to the best of my ability!!). So, when I was thinking about careers that I would best be suited for, I decided to leave the teaching to those who are blessed with the ability, and pursue a career in something where I am supposed to be super vocal.... marketing! :) All my life, I have had people tell me that I am 'so much like my father,' probably because we kind of look alike (except I am not bald) and we have the same crazy sense of humor and are just kind of wacky in a lovable way (love ya, dad!). Very recently, however, I found out exactly how much like my mom that I really am.... to a scary extent! Since I have been in Austria, I have been named the 'smart one' by Greg. I think that is probably because I actually study, and most students on exchange decide to conveniently forget the first 1/2 of the term "Study Abroad." -- With this newfound title, I have recently had several non-American students approach me and ask me to correct the grammar in their essays. I helped Johann with a report about Wal-Mart, Karolina with a research essay on Disney Pixar, Sonia with a paper about her most inspirational family member, to name a few. Most people would help correct sentence fragments for 2 hours just to help out a friend..... but while I was in the middle of making a list of items have a parallel structure, I realized something astonishing...... I like this stuff. gasp! I really am going to come out and admit, in front of God and all these witnesses, that I enjoy correcting essays. I really get a sense of accomplishment out of making an essay flow and sound lovely. If that elevates me from 'smart' to 'big time nerd' status... then I gladly accept the title! -- My mom taught me how to put a comma in the right place, and I am not ashamed to pass that knowledge on to the rest of the world. I am proud to be like Nancy!