Hello .

My name is Thais Pareja Blumenthal de Moraes (Since you probably have a migraine after trying to pronounce that, here is a phonetic version: TYeeese PArehha Blumenthal de More-ice). Thai Thai for the few intimate and treasured friends; Tmoney for the ones who are yet to graduate from the Thais ladder of trust. Born in the Brazilian“jungle”, raised in the Arizonan desert, and educated in the heart of America. The runner, the yogini, the artist, the writer, the student, the sister, the daughter; Yes, I am a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

My artistic perception, and my global view, has allowed me to develop a keen eye for creativity and innovation. I am a passionate apprentice of the mind and of the soul. An undergraduate student at the GW School of Business, I am currently seeking a Bachelor in Business Administration with a Marketing and International Business dual concentration and Communication minor. Academia has taught me the laws of human nature; Time has taught me the physics of between the I and the me. Two years have passed since I first cruised across the country to the infamous Washington D.C. Time flies. Spring closes its curtains announcing the start of yet another summer. It is time for another move out.

After a five-hour flight and a good thirty minutes of anxious nail biting, they arrived.

My heart thumps as my suitcases slowly roll down the baggage claim. Seventy –five pounds of memories, style, and class slowly approached me. Relief, a feeling only a worried mother would understand, or Gollum - Uuuuhhh yess yess yess myyyy precious uhhhh!!

I am a late, I will pick you upcurbside, Go to the North exit ok?, Oh wait detour ok ok go to the South exit. I will be right there, I got to go love you.

Wait Dad! beep beep beep.

North, South, curbside, What? Sleep deprived and confused; I was a human U-haul truck driving twenty miles below the speed limit on a one- way road. After one too many phone calls, and mistranslations, my dad finds me battling with the enemy (Evil oversized duffle bag one, me…zero). Wow. He has white hair. Am I really home?

Rock. Cactus. Rock. Rock. Cactus. More rocks. Sweet home Arizona. A place where parking is determined by shade, and 98 F is considered a relatively “cool” day. A place where I have gone to high school, played sports, engaged in childish play, and essentially grew up. Although my family has been living here for eight years, the explorer-me has always awakened a drive to be somewhere new. It was by moving away from Arizona that I began to understand and appreciate the charms of its mountains and the value of its dryness. The sun rising behind the guardians of the valley illuminates a balanced harmony between Architect and Desert. Today, I look beyond the flat horizons, in a search for inspiration, a search of who I am and who I am yet to become.