name: Sam Love
things I have been called: Sammykins, Samela, Samula, Love, Lovey, Samedi, Sissy, Lumberjack, Manna, Mamfy, and, one rare occasions, “Love, my love, Samantha Love”
age: 22
education: B.A. in Sociology, minor in Russian Studies
work: middle management for an SCL service provider
career goals: ultimately, to help people change their own lives and reach their potential
* * * * *
95% of blogs include a list of 100 Things intentioned provide background on the author for their readers. The remaining five percent of blogs are written by pierced, omnisexual, gender neutral, liberal thinking, and sometimes hairy legged women who prefer independent folk-type music to the main stream.* While I, like I majority of bloggers, once wrote a list of 100 things for myself, for the purposes of this blog I will revert to the tactic of the latter group and write a list of my 32 Flavors**… and then some. (This was also a writing exercise for Reading 9R in high school and I am feeling slightly reminiscent.) My 32 flavors are aspects of my life or the way I was raised that influence my perspective on the world.
- I am an oldest child.
- I am a child of divorce.
- I am a CODA, use ASL (though not as frequently as I’d like), and have a deep interest in and respect for Deaf Culture.
- I was raised in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. I attended an LCMS school for K-8 and was baptized and confirmed in the church, but I no longer subscribe to this system of belief.
- I am a social constructionist.
- I am a liberal.
- I am (usually) a Democrat.
- I am a sociologist.
- I am a bibliophile and own close to 500 books.
- I really enjoy linguistics and the physical/technical aspects of language.
- I am a polyglot, including the following languages (at various levels of fluency and/or functionality): English and ASL–my first languages, French–studied for 7 years academically, Russian–studied for 3 years academically, German and Norwegian–studied one year academically.
- I am gay/lesbian/queer/etc.
- I’d consider myself a feminist, but since I’m for equality for everyone based on more than just biological sex, I guess I’m more of a humanist.
- I am a lacto-ovo-pescetarian (meaning I’m a vegetarian that eat eggs, dairy, honey and fish.) This is not necessarily an ethically-based choice, I just don’t like the texture of meat.
- I am a knitter.
- I have a cat named Hanna Kate and one fish named Aloyshus Betty.
- I have a “nurse mom.” This means that I am not grossed out talking about personal health issues or bodily functions.
- I am a reader and a writer.
- I wear glasses, not contacts (tried them once, but didn’t like them).
- I am considering converting to Judaism.
- I’ve spent three years working for the local Upward Bound program and working with those students and teachers has been the most rewarding and life-altering experience I’ve had so far.
- I want to be a parent someday and plan on adopting all my children.
- Articles like this have made me feel disgusted about the way humans are treating the earth. Therefore, I’m trying hard to have a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
- I am admittedly overweight–and we’re not talking by 10 or 15 lbs, my dears. I have been pretty comfortable with my body shape in the past, but recently I’ve been trying to get into some healthier habits. (Keyword: trying.)
- I have not shaved my legs or underarms in 4 years with one exception (dressing up in drag for an Upward Bound dance). I do this because I think that the origins of female shaving in this country were based on the ridiculous premise of marketing and commercialism. Also, it wastes time and I just don’t want to do it.
- Since I was born (with a sort of exception for 3 years in middle school), all of my closest friends have been male. At present, I’d estimate my close circle of friend to be at least 80% male–most of them straight. I wish I could say there was less drama than with girl /space/ friends, but I can’t.
- I strongly believe that, for most people, concepts and expression of both gender and sexuality are fluid.
- I grew up in a rural Wisconsin town of about 8,000 and couldn’t wait to graduate high school and get out of there. I then went to college in a rural Iowa town of about 8,000 and now live there permanently. I guess I’m not the big city type.
- My jobs have brought be into contact with individuals experiencing a variety of physical, cognitive, and developmental differences, including Austism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). I am an advocate for Autism research and education and the individuals that I serve with ASD are some of the most special people in my life.
- One of my career aspirations was to be a detective or forensic scientist. But considering I never want to shoot a gun as long as I live and I am terrible at science, it was out of the question. So, I live vicariously through Law & Order and CSI.
- I am terrible at science because I can’t comprehend anything as big as the universe or as small as an atom or DNA. Words like “quantum physics” make me feel like I am going to throw up.
- I like cheese. A lot. Actually, I am pretty fond of most dairy, but mainly cheese.
I’ve got 32 flavors and then some… (to be continued)
*This information can not be backed by facts and is likely to be entirely made up.
**In this case, the word “flavors” does not refer to the way in which something tastes, but takes on a definition more closely related to that of the word “subjectivities.”
