I escaped from the darkness of my mother's womb on August 1st, 1986 into a comfortable 80 degree summer day in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was so special my parents couldn't even think of a proper name that would suit me. Finally, on the last day of my mother's hospital stay, they decided to name me after Pippi Longstocking's best friend, Annika.

I was brought home and lived happily among my quirky family of six. As the only girl trying to survive among three wild boys, I wanted nothing more than just to be a boy. I would sit in the boys lines in gym class, sported a bowl cut until fifth grade and didn't wear bras until basketball season...yeah, kids are freaks.

Today, I'd like to think I am slightly less freakish. I have long hair and wear bras because somewhere down the line I admited to the fact that I was a female. I have a job where I buy things celebrities demand for the dressing rooms they sit in for all of 20 minutes. I like to travel (I've been to 26 countries), take photographs and videos, write, bike, hike (I've been to the top of Mt. Fuji, Kinabalu and Fansipan) and tell jokes (even though I need to work on my delivery). I reside in Minneapolis, Minnesota but am searching for a new home amongst the warmth of the sun...or mountains.

I am currently trying to become an adult and have enrolled myself in Miami Ad School in hopes of someday annoying the masses with unwanted advertising.

I also smile when I walk.