Hello! My name is Emily Manakides, and this is a glimpse into where my journey started.
I grew up on Long Island in New York, where much of my time was spent exploring the streets or hanging out at the beach. After school in the spring, I would come home, do my homework, and walk ten minutes to the water and spend the rest of my afternoon there. The ocean has a way of calming my nerves and easing my mind of any worries I might have. If I was not at the beach, I was probably running or gallivanting with my older brother Chris. From our time together as little kids to the present day my brother and I have been very close. I owe many of the lessons I've learned while growing up to him. One of these is that I do in fact love running! Some people get exhausted just thinking of running around a track or a neighborhood, but it's one of my favorite pasttimes. In addition to my brother, my parents have been monumental in helping me discover who I am. My mother Maryann is a loud and exuberant woman who has always encouraged me to broaden my horizons with different sports and activities that at face value didn't seem like they would interest me. However, by trying different sports I found that I love boxing, and I've continued to become part of my college team at Penn State University. Her recommendation of the guitar when I was kid also became the instrument that I have now been playing for almost 12 years.
