My name is Hope and I’m 16 years old.  I live in a small town in West Virginia called Augusta.  I have one brother, Chris, and he’s 21 years old.  He attends Shepherd College.  My parents work at the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind.  My dad is a teacher and my mom is a secretary.

                In school, I run indoor and outdoor track.  I run the hurdles and some relay events.  Running is a passion of mine.  It seems to make problems resolve themselves because you have so much time to think.  I run about one mile everyday.  Another thing I really like to do is sing.  My whole family is very musical.  My mom and dad have a band called The Insinuendos.  My dad writes his own music and goes to a lot of sing writer’s conventions so he can get them published.  And my brother plays the drums in a punk rock band.  I also like to write poetry, so I do that a lot in my spare time. 

                Some of my favorite foods include Mac-N-Cheese, lasagna, fajitas and all Chinese food.  A few thing that I can’t stand to eat are eggs, marshmallows and cool whip.  My favorite car in the entire world would have to be the Ford Mustang.  Sadly, I don’t own one because they are too expensive.  None the less I still want one.

                I do have a lot of hobbies but the one I spend the most time doing is just hanging out with my friends.  I consider them all my second family because they mean so much to me.  I’m always with at least one friend and you can always find me in the middle of the laughter. 

                I like to watch American football.  My favorite team is the Carolina Panthers.  I’m a Christina Aguilara fan when it comes to music.  But, I like everything from punk rock to R&B and rap to country, so I’m very easy to please.  Watching movies is a big thing for my family.  Scary movies are the absolute best by my favorite movie is Armageddon, a science fiction.  I also attend church, Zoar Baptist in Augusta. 

                Since I’ve already hosted two students from Italy I can’t wait to go myself.  I think this trip to Italy will not only be a better way to learn about the Italian culture, but, it will certainly make memories to last a lifetime.