My name is MacKenzie Aries, although most people call me Kenzie or Kenz for short. I am currently a
senior at San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas, California.
I went to K-8 to St. John's Catholic School, where I was voted
"Best Athlete" in the school. I also was on the Academic Decathlon team. We
placed first in San Diego County and we went to the state
play-offs to see which Catholic school was the smartest in the
state. We finished eighth. Before volleyball, I played soccer recreationally for 9 years. However, when I discovered volleyball in 8th grade, I realized that it was a much more entertaining game. Thus, I play volleyball.
INTERESTS
In addition to volleyball,
I enjoy fishing, making web sites, and playing videogames.
Before I played volleyball, I went fishing at least once a
week and up to five days a week. My friend and I take my
kayak down to the beach, paddle out, fish, and then return
home with supper (hopefully).
KINDA' GEEKY
My
San Dieguito Academy high
school girls volleyball site was the web site of the month
in Volleyball Magazine for January 2007. I am starting an
online volleyball site site
as well as a volleyball
blog I
have set up for this site. I am planning on making a
Cat Directory animal
welfare site to help the needy feral and domestic cats of the world.
I am also starting a site on "How
To Save The Planet," an intended resource for the
environmental movement - it currently operates as a "green
blog" for now. I also hate to admit that I am a total nerd. Yes, I play World of Warcraft. Sad, isn't it?
I LOVE ANIMALS
I have many pets, including 8 cats (3 of which are feral which we feed), 3 rabbits, 2 mice, and a 55-gallon aquarium which I keep in my room. If you ever wonder why half of my shirts have holes in them, look no further than my rabbit, Star. She much prefers cotton over carrots.
I EVEN SOMETIMES WORK
I work part-time doing HTML
editing and I also occasionally referee volleyball matches for
local volleyball tournaments. I also am a "cat mom" where I take
in kittens from the humane society and keep them until they are
healthy enough for adoption. For the month or so that I have
them, I have to get up during the middle of the night to feed
them.
JUST HOW DID I GET THE
NAME KENZILLA?
I get called a lot of
different names - Kenz, Kenzie, Kenzer, MacKenzie, McKenzie or
worse... My last name is often spelled incorrectly, Aires, Ayres
and other permutations. I get weird looks sometimes
when people see my email address or hear my web site name. I am
often asked just how I came up with the name Kenzilla. Well,
here it is... We were playing in a tournament and I had quite a
few blocks in a match that we won. One of my teammates said,
"You were like Godzilla on the net." Another teammate overheard
that comment and replied, "No, you were like Kenzilla."
COLLEGE & COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Some things I am interested in include dinosaurs and paleontology as well as marine biology. (My favorite movies include Jurassic Park and Deep Blue Sea.)
I know I want a Master's Degree in Business, but beyond that
I am not sure where my life will take me.
As far as college
volleyball, I would probably prefer a smaller academic school.
The most important factors for me are the coach, team chemistry,
academic standing and geographic location... probably in that
order.
"Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard."
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