I never imagined what it would be like to spend a 12-hour day crying and covered in blood.

I lived somewhat of a nomadic life, even when I lived in Ohio. We spent time in rural areas, in suburban areas, never really city areas. We rode four-wheelers. We had pigs and ferrets. And creeks. We had a creek in my backyard. It was like 'Huckleberry Finn.'

My dad would take me deer hunting with him, which was pretty traumatic - 'Bambi' was one of my favorite movies.

Caltech was a meat grinder like I could never have imagined.

I didn't grow up a huge fan of the Western genre because there was never a female character to relate to or look up to.

I didn't have a long-term plan or goal. If there would have been a road map showing me the way to my dreams becoming reality, I might have given it a second thought.