My name is Natalie Pearlman and I am currently a senior at the University of Washington, Seattle studying Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. I am from the least exciting part of California (shout out to the Central Valley!) and decided to take the risk and move from my small farming town to the big city of Seattle because of a piece of advice from my Dad: "Do what scares you most. If it doesn't scare you, then it doesn't excite you or challenge you."
To give you a snapshot of who I am, I included my "I am from.." poem that I wrote during the UW Leaders 2018 retreat:
I am from the house in the middle of the cul de sac, with the red door and American flag.
I am from the distinct smell of cow town USA.
I am from “come home for dinner when the streetlights turn on” and the sound of my brothers yelling at me to hurry up or they’ll eat my dinner.
I am from homemade pomegranate jam in the summer and my mom’s secret French meat pie in the winter.
I am from my dad's reassuring “Pearlman’s don’t say can’t” and my brother’s threatening “mess with my sister and we mess with you.”
I am from stumbling over the the letter “r,” forced to to defend my intelligence despite it not being related to my speech impediment.
I am from the small town where my beliefs, ideas, and ideologies always seem to be too big for the people I grew up around.
I am from my mother's curls, my father's laughter, my grandma's tenacity, and my grandpa's sharp wit.
I am from the Pearlman three, forever Nathan and Nicky’s sister.