Hello there!

I am Ari Himber.

I am very into health, and plan on doing an interdisciplinary major in Nutrition and Exercise Science and Sociology through the CUNY BA program. I wish to work on community-based preventative health systems. My past has formed this desire in many ways.

First, I was born with a non-functional thyroid. I’ve taken a pill every day since I was 7 days old to replace the thyroxine my body cannot synthesize on its own. It made me aware of metabolism and the importance of nutrition at an earlier age than most people.

Second, I have to be careful about what I eat. I am allergic to peanuts and soy, and I grew up eating Kosher, so I have been forced to develop a consciousness of what is in my food and what it will do to me.

Third, I am an “FFK” – a former fat kid. I had asthma and was not nearly active enough in my younger childhood. Finally, in 10th grade, I kicked it: I started biking to school and dropped about 15lbs in around 2.5 months. Since then, I have made sure to keep off the fat and am always working towards a better body.

But anyway… on to other things about me!

I love to debate and discuss issues. I was forced to develop my skills in those areas due to my religious environment growing up. As I am (1) gay and (2) an atheist, I often had to defend myself on multiple fronts to those who did not understand, and worse, to those who did not want to.

I spent much time on music when I was in high school. I sang, I danced, I listened, I played, and I wrote (albeit not so well.) Music was a means for me to stop analyzing and rationalizing everything, and it allowed me to revel in and develop my emotions.

I free reference very well- at times a little too well for my own good. I can be very random and spontaneous. This was my main reason for joining College Bowl (a trivia league) in high school. There, my seemingly-random associations between songs, shows, math, science, writing, etc, were appreciated. In fact, I was one of the four people on our team who competed in a televised trivia competition. While we did not win the competition, it was a great experience 🙂

I am glad to be in college and living on my own, and gladly anticipate the coming years.