Ciao!
For my first blog post I decided to get creative and give you a a short and sweet visual of what my life has been thus far!
My story starts with my parents of course! They grew up together in the small town of Zaragoza in Chihuahua, Mexico. My favorite stories of my parents are those of them growing up together and the devious pranks my dad would play on my mom--hard to believe but my mom was not a fan of my dad AT ALL. Funny how the universe works isn't it?
Two years after my parents married, my older sister Gabriela came into the picture! Before I was born, my family moved to Colorado where my dad began to raise and sell his cattle. A short seven years later, I was born. A year or so after I was born, my dad decided to raise his cattle in Mexico and sell in the US and one thing to note about my dad is that he has crazy ideas out of nowhere and is not hesitant in the slightest! Our family moved to Chihuahua which is a northern state in Mexico. Growing up in the country was a blast, I loved it! However a few years later, my parents were ready for a fast paced lifestyle and surprise, surprise my dad had a new venture he wanted to seek out: his own business. So we packed up once more and headed back to Colorado where majority of our family lived.
We moved right around the time I was starting school, for this I will forever be grateful. The reason being that I was able to simultaneously learn Spanish and English! Being bilingual has opened many doors for me, and in my humble opinion the more languages you speak the more music variety you have! Throughout high school I was involved in volleyball, soccer, swimming and student council. Student Council was my pride and joy because I loved my school and our student body. Being heavily involved in Student Council cultivated many of the skills I possess today, the biggest being time management. It was a circus juggling academics, sports and student council but thanks to my extracurricular activities I landed the greatest thing I could ask for: a full ride to Colorado State University. WHAT A DREAM.
Colorado State University is everything I could ask for and then some. Here I found a home away from home and my passions. Here I fell in love with architecture and design, and in the process I learned that I enjoyed graphic design a lot. Like a lot a lot. So much so that I nearly picked up a double major! However that would have resulted in an eight year long bachelor's degree path, so I picked up a graphic design minor! From our freshman year, our interior design professors RAVED about studying abroad but it seemed all too much for my liking. Being more than 100 miles away from my greatest support system seemed unfathomable to me. Being alone in a new country terrified me but today I sit here in my apartment in Florence, Italy surrounded by an amazing support system at SAI (who in my short time abroad thus far have made it feel like home) and roommates who are turning into some of my closest friends and I am in absolute awe. A year ago, I would have never believed anyone if they had told me this is what I'd be doing but then again, its funny how the universe works!
-Aileen