Where should I begin? I guess at the beginning...

The first significant event in my life was on February 23, 1979- the day when I had my first encounter with the world (remember the date and send me a birthday card if you feel like it). The only thing that I managed to do at that time was give a powerful cry which must have summarized all emotions that were in my head- fear, happiness for finally seeing my mom and eagerness to explore that whole new world.

This momentous event happened in the capital of a small Eastern European country- Sofia, Bulgaria. I guess most of the visitors of this webpage haven't even heard about Bulgaria, so I feel I should give some background on my native country. In short, I might characterize it as one of the most beautiful countries with some of the most hospitable people and unfortunately, with one of the worst economies. Anyway, it is a wonderful place to visit with its exquisite seaside and numerous mountains so you should definitely include it in your travel list.

After this small digression, let me go back to myself. I can say that my childhood has been as good as I've ever wanted it to be. I firmly believe that the main reason for that is my lovely family. My joyful childhood was quite busy as well, because I already had the syndrom of participating in all extracurriculars in which I had some interest- mostly connected with art and music. I know the people who have checked my possible choice of majors in college will be surprised that I've had to do a lot with art, because they'll think that I am a hard core science girl which is not the case. As much as I LOVE most of the natural sciences, I've always been the artistic person in the family. So, when I was still a baby, I loved to sit next to the radio and try to sing with it. Having such a predilection for music, I started playing the piano in first grade and ended up in the Children's Choir of the Bulgarian National Radio in second grade which I didn't leave until the end of high school. In my 12 years in the choir I have had both joyful and painful moments but as a whole, it was an experience which has contributed a lot to building my personality. In addition to going on tours in many foreign countries (Mexico, USA and twice in Japan), I learned a few extremely valuable things: how to sing, to win, to lose and get over my losses. Also, my preparation from there helped me get the Garrigues Scholarship for voice lessons in Swarthmore College for 3 semesters in a row and to win a trip to Italy during spring break. Other artistic hobbies that I have are drawing and photography. In eight grade my passions for natural sciences and art combined in doing my Human Anatomy Notebook which is one of my biggest art achievements.

As much as I love my extracurriculars, academics have always been a very important part of my life. I can say that I've been quite lucky about my education so far. I went to one of the most prestigious high schools in Bulgaria- The American College of Sofia where I made some of my best friends with whom I had 5 unforgetable years. I can say I was lucky in my college application process as well. In fact, 3 years ago I had NO idea that I would come to study in the US. However, as I mentioned earlier, I've always been eager to explore the world, so I decided to do something that sounds impossible to some people- to come to study in America where I have no family at all. I was both very excited and a bit scared,but I got the full support of my mom, dad and sister for which I just want to say, "Thank you!:)" I guess here is the place to thank one more person who made possible my coming to Swarthmore- Pepi Kimov. In a time when my family, along with my country, was experiencing a significant financial hardship, he was exceptionally nice and generous to give me a financial start for my education in the US.

So, now I am a student at Swarthmore College, a small Liberal Arts College just outside of Philadelphia. Though I'm not sure yet, I'll probably major in Chemistry and Economics (wish me good luck). If you are looking for a college, come here. This place is wonderful!!! I can say that my freshman year here was awesome. I think I had such a wonderful first year mostly because of the people that I lived with, a lot of whom became some of my best friends.

What can I say as a last sentence except that I try to always remember that I've been quite lucky to have great friends, an amazing family and to be getting a really good education at the #1 Liberal Arts College in the US. So, I should just go ahead and bravely fight back any problems that I know I'll inevitably encounter on my way in the future...