Introductions? :)

My name is Brianna Lapp and I am a freshman at the UAF. My current major is Foreign Languages, with a dual language focus of Japanese and French, with a minor in German.

I was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska but like most kids from here I want to get out as soon as possible. In the winter I like to go to the gym, work as a barista and do school as well as I can. In summer though I skateboard a ton and travel around as much as possible, well around Alaska. I live with my dad whom is a construction foreman which taught me to love hard labor. I actually hope to get a construction job sometime during the summer. One of my life goals is to be trilingual thus my major. One really big advantage to doing language as a career is the opportunity to do some real traveling (real meaning outside of America) considering I have never been to a bigger city than Anchorage, on my own. 

A book that has had a significant impact on my life is Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu.  It is a philosophy piece written by the revered philosopher. It is written in a poetry type style and what I enjoy the most about it is the absolutely infuriating complexity that wears a facade of simplicity and contradiction. The first time I attempted to read Tao Te Ching I was absolutely perplexed by why in the world I would ever try to read something like it. It just seemed to babble contradictorily and I quickly got irritated. After I set it down for awhile and attempted again it was awesome. I actually contemplated what it was proposing and really became entranced by it. I still read it consistently because there is always at least two sections that help me make peace with whatever is irritating me that day. It's an awesome read. :)