Nick Kern

Name: Nick Kern
Age: 19
Major: Chemistry
Hometown: Santa Cruz, California
Hobbies: skimboarding, swimming, troublemaking, “Stumbling”
Favorite foods: strawberries, olallieberries, fro-yo, bagels, and parfaits
5 things I can’t live without: Clear starry skies on a cold night, autumn leaves, a city to explore, the Pacific Ocean, and Explosions in the Sky (a band)  
Where I see myself in 5 years: “Hopefully up to some kind of chemical research…workin’ the labs.”
Best relationship advice: A lot of people refuse to acknowledge the weight of their own feelings in a relationship or spend their time worrying about what their girlfriend/boyfriend is thinking so they are afraid to completely adress the problem at hand; I always say just talk to him/her and be honest with your feelings, you’ll save a lot of time and trouble and never have to worry about being untrue with your emotions.
Biggest fear: Growing old and boring and losing that peculiar spark which makes me who I am.
Happiest memory: Riding camels around the Pyramids at Giza with my mom and dad while eating a Pizza Hut pizza.
Most embarrassing moment: Brilliantly deciding to belly flop off of the deck of my friend’s cabin in Tahoe into the three feet of snow and instead, clipping the railing with my foot and landing head first into the snow as my lower body bent into a nice U-shape. That one hurt for quite a while.
Favorite music: Phoenix, Daft Punk, Vampire Weekend, Röyksopp, the xx
Favorite place I’ve traveled to: Wandering thousand year old corridors and overgrown trees of Angkor Wat, making my way to the nearly vertical stairs that led me to the top of the 700 ft tower at its center.
Favorite pick-up line: Do you believe in love in first sight? Or should I walk past you again?
Ideal date: Dressed up for a delicious dinner, regardless of how fancy the dinner is, then running off to the top of a hill or even the middle of nowhere just to spend time with her and embrace the stars and the silence.
Favorite article of clothing: The letterman jacket my grandpa gave me from the 1940s.  It’s so worn in and atypical it goes with everything, relaxed or formal.
Proudest moment: The day I finished the final draft of a full five-page paper on a single painting, albeit with the help of a friend. I never thought I could write so much and dissect a single image with so much depth.
What’s the first thing you notice about a girl: Her eyes