My honors project is a collection of personal essays that focus on themes of place, identity, and interpersonal relationships. 'San Francisco: A Love Affair,' looks at the way one special place and cultural era can shape a life. 'Ballet is a Country' examines how an early path isn't always the one ultimately followed. In 'Our Truest Selves' I explore family relationships using the technique of midrash, an ancient form of Hebrew scriptural commentary that augments the main text with added insight. 'Wavelength' is a brief treatise on the profound differences, at least to my eyes, between the east and west coasts, using the ocean as metaphor.