About Me

My Sister and I in Alaska!

My name is Clare Byrnes and I am a Senior at Appalachian State University.  I am an Elementary Education major with a concentration in Mathematics.   I will be graduating in May of 2010 and plan on going to graduate school right away.  I would love to teach abroad for a year or two before I settle down and find a permanent job.

What I like

I really like to do things outdoors like hiking, swimming and kayaking.  I normally swim and kayak when I go to my lake house in PA.  It is on Lake Winola and I have gone there every summer since I was a baby.  I guess since I was raised on a lake I am much more of a lake person than a beach person.  Every morning when I am there I swim across the lake with my dad.

This picture was taken at Lake Winola with my family and close friends.  I was four years old in this picture.

I also love watching movies whether they are good or bad.  Some of my favorite movies are Slumdog Millionaire, Darjeeling Limited and Catch Me if you Can.  I also love comedies, but movies that make me think are my favorite.  I love movies that have surprises and keep you on the edge of your seat.

My favorite type of food is mexican and I get the same thing every time.  I love chicken enchiladas and spanish rice.  I love cheese and rice so I think that is why I like mexican food so much.

I absolutely LOVE to travel and have had some of the best experiences of my life while abroad.  I have been to England, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Honduras and Beliz.  My favorite place was Ireland.  I went there for four weeks when I was in high school.  I learned some Gaelic and a lot of the history about Ireland and its people.  While there I kissed the Blarney Stone and biked around the Aryan Islands.

My Family and I on a glacier in Alaska!

I dislike…

My number one dislike is when a person has a closed mind about subjects or people.   I just don’t really understand how a person could dislike another person because of who they are or how they were born.

I am a clean freak so I really don’t like when people are messy.  The kitchen is my pet peeve and I clean my own everyday.  When dishes pile up or there are spills I feel very dirty and uncomfortable.

I don’t like horror movies, they are the only type of movies that I don’t like.  I hate being scared and horror movies keep me awake at night.  When I watch horror movies I normally make jokes to make myself feel better.

What I look like…

I am a 5’2 female.  I have brown hair that has some highlights when the sun strikes it the right way.    It is cut shorter with bangs that sweep to the side over my forehead.  I have chocolate brown eyes just like my dad and my brother.  I am normally smiling because I love to laugh and am very sarcastic.  I try to surround myself with funny people who make me laugh.  When I am in a casual mood I normally dress in a t-shirt and shorts or sweat pants.  When I want to dress up more I dress in a preppy or conservative style.  If it is a dreary day I normally wear darker colors and if it is a bright day I normally wear cheerful colors.

How I act…

I am a very sarcastic person and I love laughing.  I make a lot of jokes even though sometimes only I find them funny.  When I am with my friends we are normally giggling about something that only we find funny.  I can be very shy when I don’t know a lot of people, so I can be very quiet.  When I am around people I know or friends I normally have a hard time being quiet.  When I am outside I love being active whether it is walking, running, playing a game, etc.  When I am at home I am normally talking to friends, watching movies or reading so I tend to be lazy.

What you should know about me…

This is me with the other seniors in my sorority.

I am in Kappa Delta sorority and even though I am not the most active member I absolutely love the friends I have made from it.  There are friends that I will keep for the rest of my life.  I love our philanthropies which are Prevent Child Abuse America and Girl Scouts of America.  I love working with the girl scouts because it gives me the opportunity to work with children outside of the classroom.  I get to see what they are interested in and hear their thoughts and what is important to them.

I am also a really sarcastic person and sometimes it takes a little while to get used to my humor.  I try to use humor a lot because it helps me make friends and diffuse uncomfortable situations.  If you ever need to relax and laugh a little bit, come talk to me.  I can be sarcastic with the best of them.

My name Clare…

My name is the medieval English form of Clara.  It also comes from County Clare which is in Ireland.  When I looked up the meaning of Clara I saw that it actually derrived from the masculine name Clarus.  It became popular as Clare after St. Clare of Assisi who became a nun and found the order of the Poor Clares.  The name means clear, bright and famous.  I am certaintly not famous, but I do think at times I can be clear and bright.  I try to keep a positive attitude and I really dislike being uncomfortable so I try to make other people happy as well.  I also found out how many people in the U.S. have the name Clare Byrnes.  There are 18,438 people in the U.S. with the name first name Clare and 12,432 people in the U.S. with the last name Byrnes.  I am extremely proud to say that there is only ONE person in the U.S. with the name Clare Byrnes.  I am the only person in all of the United States with my name.