Well, for starters, I'm Aaron Parsons, age 21, male, from Rangely, Colorado, dwelling currently in Leverett House, a house at Harvard University, where I am currently a senior. I'm a Physics/Math major, with Physics being the primary concentration, and Math being the secondary concentration. They go very nicely together, Physics and Math. I like Physics because it's about how the universe works, and that, to me, is like a religion, except it's real and out there, and you can look at it, and sometimes I just look at everything around me, and think about all the physics I know, and how it's all there, and how it's all so interwoven, and I just have to say wow, what an amazing, vast, complex universe we live in. So that's Physics.

As far as hobbies go, I make attempts at playing piano and guitar, and though I am master of neither, I enjoy both, and I guess that's all that really matters. Music means a lot to me, and I aspire to one day be good enough to call myself a musician. My good friend Jose Sandoval is the best pianist ever. I'm also an outdoors guy, and I hike and camp and raft (my family owns a raft, and we go as often as we can), and mostly enjoy the peace and beauty of the outdoors. One of the traits I find most attractive in women, though you might not believe me, is an ability to quietly appreciate natural beauty. I have this theory about my personal happiness: my personal happiness at any given moment is proportional to the volume of my personal-space-bubble. My personal-space-bubble extends out from around me and the people I'm with (as long as the group consists of just a few people, fewer being better) and expands until it hits other people, and/or man-made objects, or, if it doesn't hit anything like that, it goes as far as I can see. I'm pretty certain of the validity of this theory because I'm happier in treeless environments (like Rangely) where I can see farther, and I grow increasingly unhappy as I am enclosed by people. So why am I in the middle of Boston? Trying to expand my horizons, I guess.

These are both from the Green River on the Lodore '99 trip

I also like to be physically active. I play racquetball when I can. When I'm home, I play against my mom, who is an ultra-stud, and still beats me as much as I beat her, despite the 32 years between us. I've also taken up tennis and squash. I think it has something to do with racquets. I like 'em. In high school, I was in football, wrestling, and track. People tell me I look like a wrestler. I tried track my first year at Harvard, and I discovered that I didn't have time, and that I would much rather just play games and keep in shape on my own, so that's what I've been doing. Phil Matchett is my primary racquetball/tennis partner, here at Harvard. We're in Leverett B-11. Another "sport" I've taken up is swordfighting. I make my own swords, and duel with my friend Andrew Hartlage.

This is our '97 4x100 relay team at State. This one didn't place, but our 4x200 (which I am also on) took 3rd that year, 2nd the next, along with the 4x100 team (again with me), which took 3rd, and I personally placed 7th in the 100m dash. Done bragging.

And here is a remarkable photo of the Rangely Panther football team, taken when I was a sophomore. I'm front left, in case you're wondering.

And before I get too longwinded, I'll jump to the end: I like to have fun. Sometimes it means soccer games or rafting trips, or teaching kids, but often it means I'm a little bit wild and mischievous. In high school, I met some guys like that, and we formed a group called The Beaver Clan, and we pulled a lot of pranks. Even at Harvard, I've continued such exploits (I was caught once by the Harvard Police trying to catch a squirrel in Harvard Yard with rope, a stale bagel, and a recycling bin, for example). I might be slowing up a little in my old age as far as number and quality of pranks, but I do try to keep things interesting and exciting, and I always ask myself the question "Will I regret not doing this?" It's a good question to ask, because really, the only things that connect you to your past are the memories and results of your actions. So I try not to ruin my future with stuff like drugs, doing stupidly dangerous things, and screwing off school too much, but it also means I skip class occasionally to make some interesting memories, and do things like run around Harvard Yard naked at midnight (an amusing Harvard tradition).

And this is on the road to my house. Gorgeous.

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Show-Off Section:

I know 100 digits of

and I've made several attempts at peeing on a:

It's harder than you'd think. I read somewhere that cows have almost 360 degree vision. It's virtually impossible to sneak up on them, and it IS impossible to chase one down with your pants around your knees.