Star Sign: Aries

Despite its name, Morgantown is actually a bustling city of over 28,000 people, located on the Pennsylvania border in the northern part of West Virginia. The city's weather varies greatly from January to August, as there is a lot of snow in the winter, but it gets quite hot in the summer.

There are six of us in my immediate family: my parents, one older sister and two younger brothers. Not only are we a tight-knit family, we're also close friends.

When I was younger we didn't have pets because my older sister was allergic to animal hair. When she moved out of the house, my mum adopted a cat named Thunder who recently had four kittens.

My city is home to West Virginia University (WVU), which has 26,000 students and which provides medical services for the region.

I am studying History, Leadership and Religious Studies at WVU. On top of about 15 hours of classes a week, WVU has a lot of activities students can join or even run themselves, ranging from the Italian American Organisation and Student Government, to Habitat for Humanity.

We also take sports very seriously. We have thousands of fans who attend football and basketball games faithfully.

I love being outdoors enjoying the countryside. I particularly like hiking, kayaking and football.

My favourite sport to play and watch is basketball. I like the atmosphere: the fast-paced action, the crowds cheering and the importance of team unity.

I also enjoy taking photos, scrapbooking, cheering on WVU in sporting matches, reading, watching movies, keeping up with my friends through Facebook, and travelling.

This past year, I took a great leap and decided to head overseas and study abroad for five months at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. It's one of the best decisions I've made at college so far.

I'm glad I made the 'non-traditional' choice and chose Hong Kong, as my schoolmates mostly went places like Spain or the UK. I was hooked on this city from the start. After the first week, I thought, 'How could I have gone anywhere else?'

The adjustment from America to Hong Kong was quite easy because of the efficient transport, friendly locals, wide variety of food, enormous shopping malls, and a night life that never ends.

I'll never forget going to a local student's home for dinner. It was such a blessing to be submerged into a Hong Kong home and just experience a typical evening with her family.

I am also playing on the women's basketball team at Lingnan, so I really feel at home.

I feel teenagers in Hong Kong are very similar to teenagers in America in that they enjoy hanging out with their friends and want more independence from their parents.