All About Me

Hello! My name is Athena. I was born in California, in the bay area. When my parents got divorced my mom moved to Sacramento so i grew up in various cities around the Sacramento area. All my life I've been  going back and forth between here and the Bay Area to visit with my family. Now I live in on the Roseville border and yes, I still live at home. :)


My Dad's side of the family is all from Lebanon. So I'm half Lebanese, the other half is just white. haha I do speak some Lebanese but I am not as fluent as I would like to be. I would know more if I lived with my Dad's family. The Lebanese culture is an interesting one. They care way too much about looks but they are also very loving. I can think of 10-12 Lebanese words off the top of my head that is used to describe how much they love someone. They have amazing food and great parties! So for me, I'm kind of an Americanized Lebanese.


What I think is important for teachers to provide young children is a safe environment for them. What I mean by that is safe in every aspect. Safe for them to say and do what they feel without fear of punishment. Also so children from different background feel free to educate us about their backgrounds. And for everyone to learn to be accepting of everybody. 


I define myself as Lebanese/American. I'm both. I do and appreciate things from both cultures and also disagree with things from both. My family came to this country to get away from all the war and turmoil in the Middle East. My grandmother is an incredible woman. She came to this country with no one but her four sons. It was a difficult thing to do but, they all have wonderful lives now that they worked so hard for from a very young age. My dad was the youngest, he was 18 at the time. I really appreciate their hard work and how strong they had to be emotionally to leave their family and move around the world. 


I do not have any children or grand children yet. I have two half sisters and one half brother. They live in the bay area with my dad and step mom. I am unmarried but have been in a relationship for 4 years now. 


I don't have a job with young children, however my mom has been a P.E. teacher for the last 13 years and many times growing up I have helped her with her classes. 


I've always been very interested in learning about different Cultures and Diversity, so I am very excited to be taking this class. 


Currently I work at a Florist and love it! I'm a happy positive person who is also honest, loyal, stubborn, creative, silly, determined, easy-going, kind, friendly, considerate, animal lover, loving, sensitive, and organized. 
With my time I like to watch movies, have game nights with friends, go dancing, do crafts, visit my family, paint ceramics, go to the gym, and I love to travel. My last spring semester I studied abroad in Florence, Italy. It was the most amazing experience and opened my eyes to different cultures in many ways. While in Europe I also spent my spring break in Paris and stayed with uncle, who happens to be currently living there, we went to many towns in Italy, Dublin Ireland, Edinburgh Scotland, and London England. Even now it's hard being home I think about it everyday and am longing to go back. Although this summer I will be going with my family to Lebanon for the first so hopefully I can go to Italy and visit some of my friends who have gone back! Besides travel I also love to snorkel, camp, swim, hike, sing, and play the piano (although I stopped taking lessons years ago I still enjoy playing). 


That's everything I can think of right now. Thanks for reading! :)

Me in Florence!