1) My name is Raven. It’s very unusual, and I LOVE it. I’m not named after the bird, and I take the Native American route of thinking about ravens. They are to be respected not feared. My parents wanted me to be unique and an individual, so they thought they’d give me a head start by naming me a name only a few people have.

2) I’m from Texas. A small-ish town in Texas. I say y’all. I have a drawl, but won’t use it unless you’re family, cause it makes me sound less intelligent than I am. I wear boots. I got my first pony when I was 2. I ride western. My cousins all wear cowboy hats and belt buckles the won competing in the rodeo. My aunt has a ropin’ arena at her house. I eat grits at every holiday.

Pretty much, I AM the stereotype. And I love it.

I’m incredibly proud of being from Texas. It is the best state there is, and I’ll never leave.

3) Sweet tea is the best drink ever. It is hands down my favorite, and nothing will ever compare to it.

4) I’ve had a lot of pets. Like. A LOT. And all sorts. I’ve had your basic family cats (Tinkerbell, I was nine and had just returned from Disney World) and Coal (my sister was four and the cat is black) to the dogs Astro, Ranger, Dodger, Marlin and Padre (a golden retriever, a chocolate lab, a golden and two black labs, all named after baseball teams) and now Polly, my golden retriever (who is actually named Polyhymnia after the Greek muse.) I’ve also had a beta, named Terpsichore (also a Greek muse). I’ve had a hedgehog (Tank), two ponies (Oliver and Pepper) a horse I shared with my grandma (Blue), two rabbits (both named Jack) a box turtle (Princess. Don’t judge.) and some ring necked doves (Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, and Donald.) My sister has had two rats (Esther and Guinevere) and we both used to have goats (Socksy and Spotted Tulip, to name a few).

Along with this massive list of pets I’ve had, I have a ridiculous and horrible list of tragic pet deaths. Like, the rat being discovered with her head stuck between the bars of the cage, strangled to death. If you wanna know, I’ll tell you.

I’ve loved each pet equally, even the fish ( I cried when he died) and feel animals have always been a big part of my life.

5) I still say “when I grow up” because I’m not a grown up yet and I like saying it that way. But I digress. When I grow up, I wanna be a teacher. A middle school (8th grade) science teacher. I love science, and I think that eighth graders need a lot of love. I’m the person to guide them. I’m a bioenvironmental science major. That means I take classes like plant pathology, and soil science. And it’s awesome!

Science is cool.

6) My music preferences are as follows: does it have a catchy beat? I love it. Is it hip hop? I love it. Is it not in anyway slow? I love it. Is it a good one to sing along to in the car? I love it. Is it a good one to conduct when nobody’s looking? I love it!

In summary. I love all music. Seriously. Maybe not every song from every artist ever, but I like all types. Country (Taylor Swift. Duh. Josh Turner. Brad Paisley. Tim McGraw.) Hip Hop/Rap/R&B (Kanye. Jay Z. Chiddy Bang. Nicki Minaj. Lil Wayne.) Pop (Rihanna. Kelly Clarkson. The Black Eyed Peas. Justin Bieber. Ke$ha. Gaga. Britney. Katy Perry.) Oldies (Elton John. The Spin Doctors. Yes. Wham!) and everything in between. (Mumford & Sons. Mika. MIA. The Blow. Morningwood.)

So if I can dance to it, it’s awesome. If I can’t, it better be reaaaaaallllyy awesome.