To be given the assignment to write about who you are probably seems like the most straightforward and uncomplicated story to tell. Of course there are factors that contribute to the ending product of who you actually are but what if you don't know who you are? However, I figure that through living seventeen years on this terrain, I have been given a humor filled pessimistic outlook on life. When I say pessimistic I do not at all mean negative. The only way I can describe my position is if you've ever flipped through Rolling Stone Magazine. The writers' scrutinize their assignments with a downpour of detailed and exanimate eyes. The writing always has a clever upside on the downside. This is the way I face the world; I use things that I have gone through, no matter how small, and fold it up into one giant satire that is my life.
All of my life, I've been forced to entertain myself. Being an only child gave me individualized attention but often left me alone. Instead of brothers and sisters I grew up mostly around my parents and other immediate family members (all of which were much older than me). Throughout the years I've been exposed to a lot of in depth conversations that a lot of kids probably would have been shielded from. My parents always felt that I was mature and that I could handle listening to issues that I was probably going to find out about eventually. There really wasn't any subject not covered by my family. It gave me the opportunity to develop my own ideas even though they weren't the same as my parents. The ethical values that my parents have provided me have molded me and made me a stronger person. There is no way of knowing how I would have turned out if I had had a sibling but I think that being an only child has made me be able to be alone and be okay with it.
I have lived in three states and moved twice in my life. The first time was from New York to Florida and I was five years old. We adapted to Florida and stayed for almost nine years. About three years ago, my father's job was transferred and I was told we were moving to Woodstock, Georgia. I would have to say that the name of the town scared me more then anything. The only thing I knew about a Woodstock was the acid fueled party up in upstate New York during the sixties! Where I lived in Florida it was all tanned Ralph Lauren Polo players and when I moved here, it was the polar opposite. I became acquainted with kids that had their own demons and discovered vices that I only saw in movies. Up until that point I realized I had been sheltered in Florida. I had never met dead end kids with guitars there. I had never met the other Courtney Loves' of the universe.
I have to be honest and say that it took me a long time to find a good group of friends to have fun with. I did my part in the punk rock crowd but realized that I was more for the music then the drugs and the loss of a future. I was different then a lot of kids, I knew that. I cared about my grades and I cared about college. My experiences with people from different places I have lived have shaped me and showed me the only outcome of it all; I have an identity. Everyone I have ever met has shown me different things. Some I would like to be and some that frightened me more then anything.

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