Name: Carol Lynn Pickens
Age: 25
Location: New York City
Occupation: High School English Teacher
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Germany and lived there for several years before moving to the suburbs of Columbia, South Carolina, where I spent most of my life until recently.
Describe your ethnic background.
My ethnic background could be described as biracial. My father is African American and grew up in a tiny town in Oklahoma and my mother is Korean and grew up in Seoul.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a kid I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I loved a good story and often times after reading a book I often would say, “I could write that.”
As a high school teacher, what’s one thing you’ve learned from your students?
My students have taught me about Lady Gaga and Twitter, but most importantly, they’ve taught me that no one is perfect and that teacher is not God. I don’t have to know all the answers, it’s OK to live with ambiguity, and tomorrow’s a new day.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Taylor Swift. I feel a little too old to be as into her as I am but I’m a sucker for pop country music about tween love and lost.
If you were on American Idol, what would be your song choice?
“The Winner Takes it All” by Abba or “Out Here on My Own” from Fame.
What’s the last book you read?
This is a great question. I’m an English teacher, but rarely read for myself anymore because I’m always reading books that I’ll teach to my students. I’m currently reading though One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and my all time favourite book is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Do you have any hidden talents?
Hmmmm. I’m really good at memorizing names and facts. Is that a talent?
What’s your pet peeve?
One of my biggest pet peeves is when people don’t move into the center of the subway train when there’s a crowd of people trying to make it through the door. I broke my baby toe late this summer when I was trying to maneuver around a kid who wouldn’t move over two feet. Such is life in New York.
What words do you live by?
“Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.”—Betty Smith
I tell myself this when I get jaded of NYC and what’s around. It’s such a beautiful city but when you’re busy living your life you forget that.
I am KoreAm and proud because I’m allowed to be who I am without having to choose a side.
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Bless you Carol. Thanks for sharing. Your wisdom will touch many KoreAm readers. I am a fan of you now.