An Introduction

About Me
I come from a small, four person family that lives in the Detroit-metropolitan area. In retrospect, it was the perfect place for my childhood. Detroit, being a place of various cultures, ethnicities, and seasons, introduced me to a world of differences. When she was 29 years old, my mother immigrated from São Paulo to Michigan in search of better work... turns out she met her prince instead, got married, and ended up staying for much longer than expected. Learning Portuguese from a young age and being in close contact with my Brazilian family has instilled a passion within me for my own heritage and other cultures. During high school I was blessed to spend a "gap year" of sorts as a 16-year-old exchange student in Hanau, Germany (next to Frankfurt), where I lived with a host family and studied at a Gymnasium among German students. Other than this quick, highlighted synopsis of my life, the events and locations above have helped me to develop an interest in languages and encouraged me to major in International Relations.
This is my first year at BYU, and it has been quite the experience so far getting used to the extremely strange and capricious Utah weather (it can't seem to make up its mind!), as well as everything else Provo-related. But it's grown on me, and I can say that I've met some pretty amazing people and feel extremely lucky to be attending such a great institution! Other things I enjoy include running outdoors, playing the guitar (with my strictly "beginner" skills), cooking for friends, sleeping, and watching Downton Abbey.
Favorites
Movies - It's a Wonderful Life, Titanic, Forrest Gump, While You Were Sleeping
Books - The Giver, The Alchemist, Angela's Ashes, The Book Thief, The Kite Runner, The Great Gatsby, and many others
Music - Coldplay (all day, every day), Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard, Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson, Philipp Poisel, Jack Johnson, Norah Jones
Places - Heidelberg & Frankfurt (Germany), Recife & São Paulo (Brazil), Detroit, Washington DC, Paris, O'ahu

Writing Expectations
This winter I hope to better all aspects of my writing ability -- in structure, propriety, grammar, etc. I wish to develop skills that will assist me in typing up more suitable papers for my classes, but also hope that I will be allowed to practice creativity and prose (if the class structure allots this at any time)! I look forward to receive and act upon constructive criticism, and improve as the semester progresses. I enjoyed my high school English classes, however wish to formulate a writing style this semester that will better expound my ideas and topics -- I believe in the importance of rhetoric as the key to communication and any vocational pursuit. I often read The New York Times and I love the unique journalistic styles writers of the "International" section use -- maybe I'm a bit of a dreamer when I say I will someday write like they do, but Writing 150 just might possibly help me along the way.