Is it weird to say everything? I loved learning and I still love learning. I’m also an extrovert, so I loved that when I got to school, I would see everyone I knew. I thrive in group environments and in places where I get to just read and learn intensively. The odd thing I miss most about school is having a built-in cafeteria where I can eat lunch. I also envy Silicon Valley kitchens for this. Being able to just show up and have lunch provided every day is solid gold, and I wish I still had this in my life.

Did you play sports as a kid?

I played soccer for eleven years! Soccer was my first love, but I was lucky enough to be able to try (and honestly be bad at) a ton of other sports. There’s a ton of running in soccer, so I ran a lot. I also swam, until swimming required getting up at 5:00 a.m. for practice. (I am not, nor will I ever be, a morning person.) I was also a mediocre field hockey player, a not-quite-good basketball player, and a decidedly terrible tennis player.

I also did a martial art called aikido from ages seven to eighteen. That taught me a lot about discipline and self-control and where my body was in space. I wasn’t actually diagnosed until I was in my mid-twenties, but I’ve got ADHD, so I’m pretty sure all these sports were my way of coping with the sheer enormity of how much excess energy I had. I still need to work out almost every day in order to sit and do my job!

What was your first job, and what was your “worst” job?

First job was selling candied nuts at a market during the holiday season, funnily enough. The market itself helped sponsor the ballet company I danced with, and the stalls were filled with everything people buy specifically for Christmas and Hanukkah and New Year’s. I stood around talking to strangers, attempting to get them to try different candied nuts—I kid you not. It was a great job, though. It taught me to talk to tons of strangers, to be absolutely fearless in driving in new customers, and also that I do well in jobs where I’m on my feet all day.