Born and raised in South Carolina (United States), I grew up taking care of two disabled parents - that is to say I grew up pretty fast. But it takes great pressure to make a diamond and I’m always striving to make sure that every hardship I face makes me a better person. My childhood wasn’t easy but it certainly wasn’t the worst. Everything that happened to me served to make me the person I am today. I had a lot of responsibility but that gave me opportunities to learn practical skills and develop talents that other people didn’t have until much later (if ever.) Like all children, I also learned a lot about what not to do from my parents. Now don’t think all this early growing, maturing, and learning meant that I put it to use right away - I rebelled quite heavily as a teenager, got into some trouble, and ended up completing high school online. Going to an online school was a fascinating experience and required me to learn and adapt new ways of socializing and making friends. I developed a strong internet presence (heaven forbid you go looking for it) and even had a twitter account with over 8,000 followers at one point. I started several websites including a social networking site for members of my online academy (my institution had a separate “school” for each state.) I dabbled in music and poetry and even tried to write a few novels. Upon graduating high school, which really for me amounted to 3 years of being at home on the computer, I went to a local technical college. Once there I proceeded to completely succumb to the joy of being around people again and very quickly stopped going to class, preferring to hang out with all of my newfound friends instead. I delved into recreational activities and the college became a home away from home for me. Indeed, even after I was no longer a student (because I never went to class) I still spent the majority of my time there for about another year. After a series of events I found myself “homeless” - as in kicked out of my parents because I refused to follow their rules and get along with them. I spent a month living on the streets with a friend (at the time) of mine, which is something I’m sure I’ll write in more detail about at a later date. This time taught me a lot and I consider it invaluable in making me who I am today. Eventually my friend and I moved into a tiny one bedroom duplex that already had two other people living in it. It was a party all the time, especially since I only had a job for a small part of the time I lived there. Before it was all said and done there were 6 people living there, which was absolute insanity. I found myself at 260 pounds and in the full swing of an every day drinking habit. I had totally lost the person I wanted to be, but I had learned a lot along the way. I got a girlfriend, was back at my parents for a while, moved into an apartment with another friend, did a lot more partying, not really improving my situation at all, unable to find a steady job. Finally I got fed up with the whole thing. I landed myself a landscaping job - something that would force me to get up and moving, get outside, and lose weight. I struggled and studied - learning about my body, nutrition, exercise, and what it really takes to be a (truly) happy, healthy adult. I stayed with my girl, got a house, stayed at the landscaping job, moved up in the company, and became one of the best. A few years later, it’s a journey I’m still on. This website represents an effort to take myself to the next stage - I feel like I’m stagnating and I need to do something. My creative side has been stifled for too long and I need to figure out how I’m going to give myself to the world - and find out if the world is going to be interested. I hope to succeed as a writer by making content that people can relate to - specifically for my novel series I hope to create and build a world that people can escape to, the way I escaped into books as a child and young adult. Beyond that, I aspire to learn and better myself in every way I possibly can (physically and mentally.) Thank you so much for being interested enough to read!