This weekend I turn 36 years old. I was thinking about that this evening, and started mentally breaking down this divisible number of years into equal portions. It was alarming how clearly each grouping of 6 years identified a distinct portion of my life and some role Ive played. 1978-1984: Obviously these first six years are similar for many of us. The formative years, the earliest memories, some years too early to be recalled. But I have distinct recollections from those years that impacted who I would become. My first trip to Disney World, the Tigers winning the World Series, hearing King of Pain for the first time from the back seat, the lyrics tickling my imagination even at that young age. 1984-1990: There are a lot of difficult memories tied to these years (bullying, difficulty with school and certain teachers), but very powerful strong events as well. Many of these years saw my times spent with my first best friend, and my life-long hobby of collecting comic books began here as well. 1990-1996: Reading, TV, and music. Some of my greatest passions took over my life. Lord of the Rings, Bob Dylan, Neil Gaiman, R.E.M., and John Irving all made their way into my life in these years. 1996-2002: College, of course. A 4-year BA in Communication and English followed by the Education program put me in greater and more constant social circles than Id ever been a part of before. College will always be the era that drew me out of my shell. Not a lot of those relationships have lasted, though interestingly, the ones that have were not from college itself, but rather from the job I held at a Hallmark store for most of those years. 2002-2008: Teacher, of course. Fall of 2002 saw me starting my student teaching (if any of those students are reading this, youre still a very special group to me), after which I subbed long-term in a media center and eventually moved to Florida and began my actual career. Of course, I got married in there somewhere as well. :) 2008-2014: Its all about the parenthood, isnt it? Wesley was born six years ago, and though Im still a teacher, that role is always impacted first by that of father. Interestingly, though Ive always loved writing, it wasnt until this last stage that I got truly serious about that as well. 2014-2020: Can I even imagine whats in store? I have as many dreams as ever, and more than a few suspicions of what may come, and Im nothing but excited with all my heart. To all of you who took the time to read this, whichever phase above you feature most prominently in, youre here with me now in this awesomely connected virtual space, and Im very glad for that.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 02:15:30 +0000
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