Day 2: Nicole

My book choice was Lost In Choice by Mark Salzman. In the first few chapters Mark reveals a lot of information about himself, his family and fantasies he had when he was a teen. I find Mark to be a very interesting person. As a teen, he realizes he is different and copes with it in different ways. He fantasizes about various things such as becoming a Kung Fu Ninja or NASA spaceman. He goes to his fullest extent to try to make his fantasy reality. To poetry the ninja image, Salzman attempted to dye his green robe black, this turned out to be olive purple. And to poetry the NASA space image, Salzman would sit in a card board box for hours and would pretend it was a spaceship.
When I was much younger I would also have my own little fantasies. I would dress up as a princess, sit behind the huge piano, and play tea party with my favorite stuffed animal. Although I quickly grew out of that fantasy stage, Salzman seemed to hold on to that trait for quite some time which caused friends, classmates, and teachers to keep a distance.
Today, if Mark Salzman showed up at my door I would most likely invite him in and comfort him. I think he is an interesting person and I would like to get to know what he is thinking, and if he has had any other obsessive fantasies.
The reason why I chose Lost In Choice is because the title of the book captured my attention. I wanted to learn more about his choices. As a young adult you have to make many important choices in life. You have to be very careful about those choices because they make up who you are. Maybe this book can help view others people objectives and different choices that they have to make.

Nicole Athanas

My name is Nicole Athanas, I am 18 years old and I am from Round Lake Il. After completing the bridge program, I am going to be a dance major here at Columbia. I have decided to come to Chicago because unlike the suburbs, here, there are many opportunities to engage in, healthy competition, and many things to do. Despite the hard work, I consider the Bridge program a blessing. It gives me the opportunity to get to know the area better and learn convenient techniques and study habits. As Denis Waitly would say "The results you achieve will be in direct proportion to the effort you apply."

Im a very out going down to earth person. I get most of my qualities from my mother, who is my hero. My parents are separated but I have a close relationship with my father as well. I grew up with three younger sisters so im doing my best to set a positive example for them and show them that you can achieve anything you work hard for.

My goal in life is to inspire people to dance, keep dancing, or to learn about the deeper meaning of dance and dance cultures. Get to know me!