Justine Savage-profile

Justine is a student at OSU with a business management major she also a piano teacher. Her goal is to have her own music business. Piano is her passion, she practices as much as she can, almost everyday. She is going to get a degree in business management and turn into a piano teaching school. However, Justine believes music industry doesn't have more options compared to business management, so that is why she chose to major it instead of music.

Justine gets her best ideas from different places mainly music, other places she gets creativity and ideas are people's approaches and how they do things, then she tries to come up her own ideas out of that.

Justine gets inspiration from her parents, teachers, her friends are also a good source of inspiration. For instance, her teacher inspired her to be a piano teacher.  She uses her imagination in daily life by solving different problems related to her retail job and also by helping customers.

Justine is very confident woman and has high hope that she would easily achieve her goals in the future. 

Peer interview by Sam Fox

Jake Ritzert is young man with a lot of potential and determination. Jake is also a goal orientated individual. In a quest to  see the mental make up of Jake he was asked a few questions.
Question: 1
 Where do you find the most enjoyment in everyday life?
 Response: Upon completion of every day task. He made it very clear that he doesn't like to leave unfinished business left on the daily table. Because that table is where he eats his dinner and that is a very important time in his daily life. Being at the dinner table is his most enjoying part of his day.

Question 2:
Who were your role models growing up, and do you inspire to be a role model?
Response: His parents. His mother gave him his love for health and nutrition, even inspired him to pursue a career in health and nutrition. Jakes father has a work ethic that has also inspired him, leaving him a great example to follow.

As for being a role model? Yes, Jake wants to teach health and nutrition to high school student and the general public.

Question 3: What is one of the most surprising things you have learned about yourself throughout life?

Response: He finds himself being more independent and introverted than he perceived himself in school. He also find enjoyment and peace in being alone collecting his thoughts.

Question 4: What are you most passonate about?
Response: Lifting weights and nutrition, along with a passion to educate people on nutrition.

Portfolio Practice- Aziz Hamid

I first met Jonikka Shepherd in August 2017, on the first day of English class at The Ohio State University Marion campus. Jonikka is not your typical college student. She is a non-traditional student pursuing a career in early childhood education. Jonikka spends her time going to school, working and doing her internships. Jonikka is an extremely creative woman. I had the honor and pleasure to interview her.

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Jonikka Shepherd
Future childhood education teacher

       Dancing is more than just a hobby for Jonikka. “Dancing is a form of art, a form of free expression.” [Smiles] Jonikka started dancing when she was 7 years old. She does ballet, balloon, and clogging. I asked her what kind of dance is clogging?  She said, “clogging is a type of folk dance where the dancer keeps up with the rhythm of the music by hitting the heel on the dance floor.” Then I said so it’s basically tap dancing. [Laughs]  She said “no.”  She said clogging is more focused on keeping up with the beats rather than the melodies of the song. She goes on saying cloggers wear different shoes than tappers. All I can think in my head was both dances involved dancers hitting their shoes on the floor and making some noise. But I guess that’s why she is the creative dancer and not me.  Then, I decided to ask her why she likes dancing? Jonikka replies, “dancing allows me to be myself.”

       At the age 24, she started spending less time on dancing and started focusing her attention on her school work. She wants to be an early education teacher. She is a visual learner. Creativity runs through her body. She loves to create creative posters and lesson plans for her students. “Creativity comes from the inside of your head and onto the paper.” She visualizes her posters and lesson plans in her mind and brings it to life on paper.  She says creativity comes from inspiration from your parents, nature and whatever grabs your intention.  Jonikka explains that looking at the simplest thing can give you the inspiration to be creative.

       I asked her can you learn to be creative? She says, “you can’t learn to be creative. It just comes to you. Creativity must come within.” ⬛

Nuh Issack Profile practice.

                                                 

  Annie wheeler

Annie is an open and friendly person. I had an interesting interview with her. To begin with Annie  loves her parents and now live with them.she has one sibling who is younger than her. Being the fist born of her family she full of optimism and have realistic goal to achieve. she is obedient to her parents too. She has a dream of being close to her parents throughout her entire life. She is creative and hails from a family that is known for creativity. Her father is a carpenter and makes furniture out of woods and mum too very creative.Annie is a dental Hygiene major, something she loves so much. Annie believes that every person is born creative but this talent can’t be exhibited if you feel like people may not support in your creativity. She also loves to disseminate the teaching of the Holly bible.  

         

 

 When I asked what country she would like to visit in case she is given the chance she said " I love to go to Haiti because of its religious environment" nevertheless she Annie is a hardworking person who is passionate about her family and the people around her. she wants to be a Samaritan, something that the Holly Bible encourages to its followers. something that every human being should plan a head and make part of his future plans.

Profile Practice Annie Wheeler

Nuh Issack

NGO (Nongovernmental Organization) is an organization(s) that are "dedicated to advancing an objective(s) such as alleviating human suffering, promoting education, health care, economic development, environmental protection, human rights and conflict resolution" (usip.org).  NGO's are usually made up of volunteers that help cities of people find basic needs like food, water and shelter. 

This is Nuh, he described that the 90 degree
weather that we had on this day is what it is like in
Kenya and he enjoys it! 

When asked what is your passion Nuh answered with NGO.  Nuh explained that he was born in Somalia and moved to Kenya where he attended kindergarten through high school.  This organization helped him at school in Kenya and this is how he learned about it.  After growing up with the organization in his life as a young child, Nuh realized there was something special about it and this influenced him to be a member and help others today.  Nuh declared that NGO is a "fantastic organization to help people."  I could see the light in his eyes as he was talking about this organization.

Nuh described that he plans to use his passion of NGO in everyday life with the help of his degree in the future.  Nuh is majoring in pharmacy and plans to go back to Kenya once he gets his degree to help the citizens.  He choose pharmacy as his major because he knew what he wanted to do in his future: help people that are in a tough spot.  Nuh said he has plans for a short visit to Kenya in 2018 for some volunteer work.

Chuck Robinson Profile- Aaron Jacoby

Aaron Jacoby
English 2367 at 1:30
09/27/2017

Calm and Collective Family Man

I sat down and asked Chuck Robinson a few questions for our English class on September 25th, 2017. He is currently a junior here at OSU Marion and is pursuing a degree in biology. I didn't know him very well before this so I had a lot to learn about him. I started out by asking him what he is most passionate about. He said he had many passions but the main three seemed to be video games, education and family. His value of family seemed very strong. "I care a lot about family. My family takes first priority." It seemed appropriate to then see if his major related to one of his passions, because why have a job that you don't like? He is a biology major and believes that whatever he does with that will closely relate to his passion to learn. After being asked the figurative question of what color best describes his personality and why, his response was very descriptive and philosophical. A color between green and blue, not bright, but rather dark and rich. "Something peaceful, calm, collective, soothing." He is a rather relaxed person who has worries, but doesn't let them consume him.

After being asked if he considers himself as imaginative, he said he does have an imagination, but finds himself uninspired at times. He copes with this problem by divorcing himself from the problem for a while and focus on simple things he enjoys doing. "Read a book, watch tv. Then I'll come back to it(the problem) later." He was finally asked how he uses his imagination in everyday life. He mostly uses his imagination for humor. He will use his surroundings and things that other people say to try and come up with innocent jokes. He just wants to give people a good laugh from time to time. 

Chuck Robinson is quite an interesting individual. His most resounding quality is his passion for family and his desire to learn. He is a rather laid-back and calm person, suggesting he handles stressful problems or situations rather well. It feels good to have gotten to know more about him.

Chuck Robinson, showing his laid-back nature.

Profile Practice---Jake Ritzert

Sam Fox


Sam is a student at Ohio State University Marion and is looking to finish his major in Engineering to further his career choices and allow for more opportunities in his field. Sam has three children and a wife that seems to drive his decision to get his degree. Sam strikes me as a man that comes from a farming background and maintains strong moral principles.

When asked about creativity and the impact creativity has on his life, the connection between creative thinking and his personality becomes evident. Sam believes that creativity and thinking go hand in hand in both good and bad ways depending on the situation. He believes that if there is proven and most productive way to approach a problem then using that system is acceptable, but it takes away from the enjoyment of, as he states, "blazing your own trail." He finds himself using his creativity the most when he is trying to solve a unique problem, and, coming close to completing his engineering program, this benefits him immensely. Just recently he designed his own rock sifter that he uses in his small flower garden at home. Same believes that our current society and education system limits the ability for our younger generation to thrive in creativity. "Kids used to go out and play," this is a very simple response but captures the idea fully. Children in the past used to spend their days with time on their hands, but no way to spend it. This "boredom" leads to children thinking and engaging their thoughts and creative side to fill their downtime. However, nowadays, students are forced to follow certain guidelines in schools and fall into technology that provides these set pathways that the younger generation get trapped into. When asked what sparked his creativity as a kid, he responded "I was not a follower, actually, I was kinda a loner." He had two older brothers and one younger brother, but spent most of his time alone with his thoughts fishing. Being young and with nothing more than himself to keep company fishing, he came up with new and beneficial ways to catch the fish. Same believes that, "lack of individualism" is one of the greatest hindrances of society.

Theodore Persinger Profile Practice

Jeremy spends his life trying to give back to the community that gave him all the hope and prosperity he enjoyed in his years. He does this by coaching people of all ages in basketball, his favorite past time and deepest passion. He works to encourage children by helping them master basketball. In this, he is showing that they can have mastery over a skill they did not know before. This gives them hope for a better future because they were able to be overcome a challenge when confronted. He sits the best player out on the first game to reduce animosity among the team. In doing so, he says that is where imagination grows because the remaining players have to cope and improvise to excel. He says that when confronted with a task he has trouble comprehending or facilitating, he knows that others before him have been able to excel and prosper in the task and this begins the process of imagination and creativity to find the best way to accomplish the task. in a sense he embodies the idea that "necessity is the mother of invention" . This is what he works to instill in the children he coaches. He pushes them to understand that there is always a better way to work or play and that we only need to look or think harder. This lesson is what he works to push forward through coaching. Its his way of giving back. to give hope to those younger than him as well as trying to give more to those far after he is gone.

He stands among the wispy sprouts and roots of what he envisions to be a beautiful orchard one day. In this, he truly shows his intention to leave a better place than when first arrived.

Profile Practice - Lexi Patterson

Zach Smith is an analytical thinker and problem solver. He knows how to resolve problems and anticipate situations in a different manner than most people would. He uses problem solving skills in order to determine the next move he is going to make. This is why Zach is so successful. He realizes that success is not based on “how much money he has or where he lives, success is based off of how happy he is”. This happiness and success has been influenced to him by his parents. He notices that they follow their passion in life and they set a good example by allowing him to do the same. By supporting him, they allow Zach to focus on what he truly wants in life. Which to him, is not one specific thing but multiples things that help him to reach the end goal that he has set for himself. According to Zach, he will be happy and successful when he has accomplished these passions and goals. These include getting accepted into the Fisher College of Business, graduating college with a degree in finance, and go back to school to become a Certified Financial Planner. But Zach knows that when problems arise along the way, and make his dream seem a little more difficult to reach, that he has enough creativity to know how to resolve the situation. These qualities Zach holds are unique and extraordinary and “will help him to pursue his dream of being successful and enjoying life”.

Zach Smith - a problem solver.

Profile Practice_Brent Bennett

Valerie Engwall student at Ohio State in Marion. The first question she was asked was What's your best artistic or creative ability. To which she replied " She isn't very creative" but she did mention how when a problem arises she likes to think outside the box and look for solutions in that way.
The next question that was asked was what are you most passionate about? "Trying to work hard to better my future through hard work." She also mentioned she was passionate about her family and she is going to be a social worker. The next question asked was what's the greatest hindrance to creativity in our society? She answered probably technology we rely on technology to do everything for us. When we were younger we went outside to play not sit in the house on our computer or Ipad.
 Who is your Role Model ? How? Her dad has always put everyone before himself he was a hard worker and willing to give the shirt of his back if need be. She also said she admires the hard work he does for his family. Made sure that they had leisure.What is your favorite book? Why? She said she liked the book and the movie lovely bones- it is a murder mystery where they put you in the shoes of the victim and that the dad never gave up hope when everyone else did.

Valerie hard at work!

Profile Practice- Mohammed Baseer

                                                                   Jo Leienberger
                                                                        Student 
                                                      Ohio State University- Marion

Almost after one month into our semester, I met Joann as part of the English assignment. I interviewed her one fine Monday afternoon in our class situated in the library building.

Joann is extremely talented, this is her Sophomore Year and her major is Agri-Business, she lives in a countryside and avoids going to crowded places.

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Jo changed her school from Findlay University to Ohio State University, in addition to changing school she has also changed her major thrice, the one thing she did and she believed in and she was firm about it. From physical therapy to Education and then finally settling down to Agri-Business, “First time when I was changing my major, it was scary, it took me a lot of courage, I used to tell my parents how I hated my previous Major.” I asked Joann where she wanted to see herself in the future, with a smile she said hopefully a job in Agriculture field.

I continued my interview asking about the thing that Joann is more passionate about, “Honestly, working hard and after all that hard work if you don’t succeed, that’s fine, because you know yourself that you have tried harder and that’s the best you can do.”

Joann’s influence for the passion and creativity came through her parents, she would see her dad walk outside, put all the stuff together and try to do all jobs by himself. 

The one thing that helped Joann to be creative when she was a kid was that her parents were against any kind of gadgets, so for entertainment, she would venture outside the house with her sister and play games. As it is very important for us as kids to be more proactive and participate in activities aside from school and internet.

Aziz profile by jonikka shepherd

The Person I interviewed his name is Aziz.  He was born in Kenya and raised here in America. While interviewing, I found out some interesting things about him. I Found out what Aziz is most passionate about. He wants to give back to people in need.

Since he has been in both Kenya and the United States, he saw the differences in medical care. In Kenya, he mentions that there were no physicians, and no hospitals are in sight, whereas here in America everything was accessible. He wanted to be a doctor so he can make some changes. He wanted people in Kenya to have access to health care. When it comes to being passionate, he says, “whatever you're passionate about you do it.”

He uses creativity to be successful by coming up with ideas to serve because everyone is different. He wants to come up with new solutions to help everyday situations as possible. Aziz also wants to use creativity to save lives. Here are some of his ideas; build info structure like hospitals and schools. The reason is that there is not a whole lot in Kenya.

Aziz also puts some input of what Imagination means to him. His definition is the ability to portray ideas to something constant. Everyone thinks differently than everyone else. Some may think outside the box, and some think inside. It only depends on what you come up with in the spur of the moment.

In today's society with all the discrimination, protest, and destruction I ask Aziz if he sees a conflict of being a doctor. He responds by saying no because in schools today are very diverse. Some people are very accepting of people who are not the same as everyone else. There are obstacles to overcome, but he is ready to face that road ahead.

What kind of physician does Aziz want to be? A General surgeon practitioner. It is a specialization of the cardiovascular ( the heart). He would like to learn more about the human body and how it functions. Aziz has done some shadowing in this particular field: a radiologist, his family Physician, and general surgeon.

By asking these questions, I get to know who Aziz is and what he wants in life. I found him interesting, and very friendly person. I like people who are in diverse cultures. I also wanted to get to know my classmates a little more. I was fortunate enough to meet Aziz.

Peer Interview Tyler Beers

Peer Interviews

     The person I interviewed in our student peer interview was Lexia Wilson.  She is from Cardington, Ohio.  She is 20 years old and she graduated from Cardington.  In our interview, I asked her 5 specific questions about creativity and imagination. 

     Question 1: What are you must passionate about?

     Answer:  Lexia is most passionate about is helping people out.  With the idea of helping people Lexia she wants to become a doctor.  She also helps people out by being a science tutor here on campus.  She is also a bowling coach.

     Question 2: How do you use imagination in your daily life?

     Answer: She is a more of a straight forward person.  So, she doesn’t use a lot of imagination in her daily life.

     Question 3: How will you use creativity to help you become successful?

     Answer: With being a doctor not every single operation will work for all people.  Using creativity, I will have to come up with different ideas on the fly to help the person.  Because not everything works for everyone.

     Question 4: How do you think imagination and creativity will affect the future world?

     Answer: They are already making cars that can drive themselves.  Maybe they will come up with some new technology that will replace humans in the work force such in a factory.  These new technologies will have humans dissolved from the work place.

     Question 5: What is your ideal definition of creativity and imagination?

     Answer: Creativity could be like a new idea that hasn’t been brought up.  It almost a new way of thinking.  Imagination is like thinking outside of the box.  Also if you are working on designing a new car, you could design in person and you could use your imagination by imagining the car to help with small details. 

Lexia future doctor 

Profile practice by Charles Robinson

Recently I interviewed Aaron Jacoby, a sophomore civil engineering major, and posed a few questions about creativity and imagination. I asked him how he uses imagination in his everyday life. He told me he likes to day dream, and that he uses his imagination as a bulwark from stressful situations and to shield his ego. In addition, I also asked him what he is most passionate about. He said he had many passions but , "if I had to pick one it would be travel.".  He spoke about traveling around the U.S. as a child with his family. Afterwards, he expressed a strong desire to see the rest of the world.
When I asked him what or whom is the inspiration to help him be creative, he replied twofold. He responded that Legos helped his creativity. Additionally, he told me that general kindness towards others and friends fuels his creativity and his creative mind. This is further reinforced when I inquired  how his creativity has positively influenced his life. He told me it helped him to make gifts. He talked about a pop-out hibiscus mother's day card he worked on.
The question he had the most difficult time answering was when I asked if his creativity was ever discouraged or ridiculed. He told me that when he was in high school,  he had developed a interest in fashion. He elaborated that some of the outfits he wore did not fit the social trends of the time. "I didn't let that stop me.", is what he wanted me to take away from that question.

A picture of Aaron

Profile Practice- Zach Smith

 Lexi Patterson, is a second-year student, at the Ohio State University at Marion. She is currently planning on becoming a Veterinarian. Lexi’s definition of imagination is “goals you want to achieve”. Which shows, that her imagination helps her envision where she wants to be and ultimately helps her set goals for herself. She also explained that her definition of imagination, is most likely different from someone else’s definition of that word. She imagines what she wants her life to be like and then she chases after that vision, by setting goals.

    When Lexi was asked how might her creativity help her become successful, she responded by saying “you have to be creative to make yourself successful”. She went on to relate this to when she is going to apply for Vet school, at The Ohio State University. She spoke about how she is going to have to show her creativity to help make herself stand out from all the other students applying to the program.  She talked about that  she gets most of her creative ideas from different situations that she might be put in or past experiences. She said personally, she doesn’t feel like she is that creative of a person.  She stated that most of her creative ideas come from herself and not other people.

   Her favorite profile in the book, Holding On is the Tommie Bass profile.  She said she liked it so much because of the person and personality of Tommie Bass.  She felt that he was never in it for the fame or the money.  He was truly helping people out, of the kindness of his heart. She liked that Tommie was creative in problem solving for illnesses. She went on to explain that this was very similar to the reason that she is usually creative.  Relating it to how she uses her creativity to help solve problems that she runs into.

   Lexi demonstrated that she can be creative in her own way, and that just because you’re not good at drawing pictures or painting watercolors doesn’t mean you aren’t creative.  Lexi’s definition of creativity is “coming up with your own ideas”.  This really show’s that just because you are not artistically creative it, doesn’t mean your not creative, in your own way.

Lexi Studding in the library    

profile practice -- heather campbell

Brandon spends almost everyday meeting new people and spending time hanging out with friends. He'll try to become friends with as many people as he can and also tries to make as many connections as possible so that once it comes down to it he'll know who to talk to when he needs certain things.
"What helps you stay creative and involved with all these people," I ask. He paused a brief moment before beginning to speak.
"While I grew up I guess I  just began to see how different situations can change people and if you just start to think outside of the box and ten steps ahead you're able to keep a lot of your creativity as you get older while gaining more professional ties."

Here's Brandon waiting to meet up with some friends

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I nod my head and follow up with another question, "what does imagination mean to you?"
"Honestly imagination can give you almost anything that you want, it might not be the literal imaginative thought you had, it could be something similar though... If I imagine dinosaurs in my house that doesn't mean I'm going to have a T-Rex, but I could paint the walls with dinosaurs as a halfway point."
Brandon believes in finding the shortcuts in life and finding ways to do things significantly faster than how long it's expected to take because the less time he does something, the more time he has to make connections. Together Brandon and I noticed how even though he is not in the upper class he has the a lot of the same values as upper class people according to society. It's all about the people you meet and the connections you make.

Profile Practice by Lexia Wilson

Tyler Beers

Tyler Beers is a 20-year-old college student from Mount Gilead, Ohio. He is attending The Ohio State University at Marion where he is majoring in business. When he graduates from college he would like to open a sports bar called Beers and Friends. He says that a way that creativity will help him become successful in the work force is the idea of using his last name creatively in the name of his bar. When I asked Beers what he want to do as a career he said that his ultimate goal is to be an owner of his own bar. Though he days that if the dream of owning a bar doesn’t work out he would like to be higher up in a business company or the manager of sales. He told me that as of right now he works at Harbor Freight and he has been told that he is good a good salesman.

Since he was a young boy he has always been creative. He told me that he came up with the idea of owning a bar called Beers and Friends when he was only 4 years old while he was in the car with his mom one day. His grandma and great grandma were his prominent support system. His great grandma always was on him about how he was doing in school and was always wanting to know what his grades where. She just simply wanted him to do well in life no matter what he did.  His grandma was also very supportive and she always told him that he could do anything he wanted in life if you put your mind to it.

I asked him what he was most passionate about and he told me the idea of always putting family first. He wanted to make it known that family is so important to him and his family. No matter what they were doing each weekend they would take some time to go and see his grandparents or just do something together no matter what it may be. Another thing they do every year together is go deer hunting in both Pennsylvania and Ohio. The final question that I asked him was if he thought that creativity and imagination are important factors in having a functional society. He said that yes, he believes that with having an imagination and creativity is how we get stuff done. As in new projects, inventions, new companies and so on.  

Tyler Beers, prospective bar owner.

Profile Practice - Justine

Mohamed - Future professional software developer

Mohamed Jama is CSE Major here at OSU Marion. His dream is to become a professional software developer and to build his own website and business. Mohamed's love for coding started with his first job in his homeland where he worked as a technician in at a phone company. Since moving to the U. S., Mohamed has decided to pursue a degree at OSU and "to create something for himself".   Mohamed was encouraged the most by his mother to graduate and earn a degree. After earning his degree, Mohammed plans to work and earn money in order to have a starting point for his business.

      His vision for his business is to start small and grow bigger with more people involved than just himself - "to start locally" and grow globally. His focus will more than just profit, but on expanding his business to other places to help people and open up schools for new and growing technicians.  HIs immediate goals are to finish school and earn his degree, gain experience, and observe others in his field for ideas and methods.

   Mohamed also has a passion for history. He has always had an interest in history and prefers to either experience history physically or browse Google. More specifically, "not books, but seeing or searching"(on Google). He is not interested in any particular genre or era of history, but whatever seems interesting or important. He is very patient when it comes to learning and researching history.

Profile Practice-Cameron Ward

I interviewed Brooke Voisard, who described herself as having an affinity for reading.

When I asked her why she has a passion for reading, she responded, "I like to experience new things and be introduced to new ideas." She was especially adamant about her love of fantasy novels, her favorite book genre. "Nonfiction is boring for the most part (except for Holding On). I like the Twilight series. The books are OK, but the movies are embarrassing."

She talked about how she got into reading. She says that her school played a big part in her falling in love with literature. She first started reading books to get AR points for school. "Sometimes I used to not read the books, and I would just do the tests, but then I got hooked on reading. My idea of a good time is siting at home with a book and some chocolate. My friend and I sometimes will take books out to the park and read." Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, if you ask me.

I asked her if she had ever thought of writing a book herself. She replied that yes, the thought had crossed her mind. She writes poetry sometimes, and says she takes "inspiration" from other books to make her own short fantasy stories. "I don't plagiarize," she insisted.

She had a very poignant definition of the word imagination. She defines the imagination as "a world you can escape to- it can be real or make-believe, but it has to help you escape your reality. Can I tell you how badly I want Harry Potter to be real? In my opinion, Harry Potter is the definition of imagination."

Brooke Voisard, avid reader.

Profile Practice - Brooke Voisard

Cameron Ward - Private Pilot

Cameron Ward of English 2367 at 1:30 has a secret talent that is pretty out of the ordinary in this area. Cameron is a registered and fully-qualified  pilot, and he and his brother co-own a plane for which they rent out a hanger at the Marysville airport. When I asked him my first question of the day about his greatest passion, he answered right away. “My greatest passion is flying,” he said, “I love the way the world looks from above, and I love the feeling of being in the air, away from everything.” This revelation shaped the rest of the interview as I was eager to learn more about Cameron’s secret life as a pilot.

When asked who his biggest inspiration is, Cameron looked thoughtful. “My father,” he answered, “because he’s the whole reason I was able to discover my love of flying. Even though he doesn’t have his pilot’s license, he introduced me to it, and allowed me to discover my passion. He is currently getting his license from my brother, who is a flight instructor.” It seems that Cameron’s passion for flight is a family thing.

Being afraid of heights myself, I expressed these concerns to Cameron, and he laughed and agreed with me. “I’m actually afraid of heights too, but it’s not the same in an airplane. It’s like driving in the sky.” This fear brought me to my next question of whether he’s had any dangerous experiences in the air. His story began with a flight convention in Wisconsin. “My brother and I were flying to a huge flight convention in Wisconsin. We were in our plane together, and our friend was flying with his brother and children in his own plane next to us. We were cruising at about one hundred miles per hour in formation, when our friend comes on over the radio. He explained in his British accent that he was having a bit of engine trouble and was going to have to land. We were in Indiana at this point, with nothing even close by. My friend had to land his plane in the middle of someone’s field on a random grassy strip. Everyone was okay, and it turned out that the farmer who owned the field was going to the same convention as we were. My friend got a rental car and met us there, and it all turned out okay. I’m just glad it happened to him and not me,” he finished with a laugh

I decided to throw Cameron a curve-ball next, and ask him a question unrelated to flying. When asked what color he thinks would best describe his personality he did not disappoint. “Probably orange,” he said, “because it’s the color of a nice sunset.  It’s mellow, but also exciting. It’s my favorite color, and I like oranges, and things that smell like oranges. I feel like people always answer this question with blue, but blue is so sad and boring.”

My last and possibly most important question for Cameron was more of a big picture question than a personality question. According to Cameron, his view of the world has changed greatly due to flying. "The world is very big," he answered, "and the Midwest is hugely spread out, like, so many people just live in the middle of nowhere, miles from anything. That really surprised me. Also, you think towns are pretty big, right? Like Marion is pretty big? Well it takes less than five minutes to fly over it. I also learned that Ohio is basically one big cornfield, which was surprising because I didn't realize just how much of it was farm land."

Talking to Cameron about flying really puts it into perspective how many things there are in the world to experience. He gets to enter into this strange world anytime he wants, and he is really fortunate for that. We all have our own little worlds to escape to, and whether it's flying, singing, reading, dancing, or something totally new and different, it is all important to the variety of life, and it is essential that it is preserved and cherished.

Cameron Preparing to Take Flight