About Me

In 1968 I was born to Giovanni and Sara Pasquarelli, Italian Immigrants who came to America in search of a better life. I never heard my father being referred to as Giovanni when I was growing up. His name was John and mine was JoAnn. First days of school were always hard for me because I knew my real name, Giovanna, was going to be butchered by the teacher, and laughed at by the kids. But I was always ready to make a quick correction as soon as their attempt to pronounce my name became obvious. “Just call me JoAnn”. So every year, kindergarten through 12th grade I was JoAnn. At the age of 18 I moved to another state where noone knew me. It was my chance to be Giovanna. To start over…to do it right. From that point on I only introduced myself as Giovanna. Now, I am 39 and ready to find out exactly what that means. I am ready to feel, think, and be Italian. Get ready Italy, cause here I come!