When asked to write a 1-page autobiography during an in-class exercise...

I was born on [my birthday] at either 6:37 or 6:43 am. (My parents disagree.) I would eventually be the oldest of 3 girls. One sister (never referred to as a "younger" sister) is 15 months my junior, and Carreen was born when I was 5.

I went to 3 years of Catholic school, and it took until high school to stop feeling like "the new kid" after switching to public school for 3rd grade. After graduating [my high school], I went to Georgetown for undergrad.

My large extended family, few of whom live more than 15 minutes away, were and are a huge part of my formative years (I'm pretty sure the early 20s are still formative years). I'm one of 20 cousins on one side and a paltry 11 on the other. I've often said - and meant it - that I like my relatives more than most people like their friends. (That doesn't mean I don't also fight with my relatives more than most people fight with their enemies.)

College began what have so far been the happiest years of my life. I made friends of a caliber I'd never had before, and started dating my boyfriend just before graduation, when everything else was perfect, too. (I also study museums.)