Introducing Lauren!

Hello! My name is Lauren, and I am a member of the Telling the Story Queer FYSEM. I chose this FYSEM for a few reasons. First, I am fascinated by human sexuality, and the original course description mentioned reading books with LGBTQIA themes/characters. Second, I happen to be very, very weird, so queerness always draws my attention. Third, I love reading, especially books that are different than your usual run-of-the-mill stories.

I suppose it might be relevant to illustrate why I would call myself "weird." I grew up with two brothers, and, because of that, I have never really fit in with most girls. I'm incredibly introverted and shy, so I spent most of my childhood reading books. I hate almost all junk food. Even though I'm tiny and a girl, I somehow became the Master Carpenter in my school's theatre guild. I find math fascinating. I develop obsessions extremely quickly; if I find something I am interested in, I will usually know every bit of information I can find about that subject within a week. I like anagramming words and phrases. I have always ended up making friends with people who are as weird as I am, which is how I became a LARPer. If you're not sure what that means, watch the movie Role Models. I also have a very strange and slightly obnoxious obsession with the artist Claude Monet.

Keeping with the tradition, some of my favorite bands/artists/composers are: Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Mumford and Sons, The Postal Service, Wakey!Wakey!, Beethoven, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky. I also listen to a lot of musical theatre, my favorite being bare: A Pop Opera.

My favorite books are: To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky), Looking for Alaska (John Green), the Harry Potter series (JK Rowling), A Home at the End of the World (Michael Cunningham), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Mark Haddon), and a five-way-tie between all of Markus Zusak's books. I also really enjoy Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kurt Vonnegut, ee cummings, Raegan Butcher, Charles Bukowski, and Anis Mojgani.

I like a lot of television shows, including: Doctor Who, Merlin, ER, How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural, The Mentalist, Life, Law and Order: SVU, Grey's Anatomy, Six Feet Under, Parenthood, and Project Runway.

I don't watch many movies, but my favorites are: Adam, Milk, Imaginary Heroes, Ink, A Home at the End of the World, Evil Dead, Python, In the Blood, and Quest for Camelot.

I think that fish are the most beautiful and fascinating creatures in existence.
What is/are your favorite animal(s), movie(s), or artist(s)?