So here I am. Sitting around failing to get onto a sleep schedule that will accommodate all the things I have to do soon. Work, eating, school, exercise routine, and an array of hobbies. I feel a presence nagging at me to give a basis of who I am on this blog.
So here goes...
As far as I can remember I have been in love with Science. In the 1st grade, my first book report was about a book discussing Jupiter's moon Io. Space Science has been the major focus of my passion. Family always patted me on the head and was encouraging in the way that suggested that I was like most other boys my age dreaming of being an astronaut. No one in my family knew what kind of passion I had for Science, except maybe my older brother.
When I was seven, David gave me a very low mag telescope for my birthday. It was all he could afford to get me back then. I remember it cost a small fortune from Radio Shack. It was the last science related gift I would ever receive. I spent a significant part of the next few years looking up at the moon through that telescope.
When I was ten my family moved to the Atlanta area. We had moved before back and forth between Arizona and Oklahoma. This move was completely different though. The culture of the South East United States in the late 80's early 90's was not welcoming of outsiders. I spent the next six years tormented for my lack of accent. One classmate thought I was from England since I spoke so strangely to her. I spent more time in suspension than in the class room. I also learned that it is easy to break your own bones by throwing punches wrong.
Not to go into all the failing of Georgia Public Schools, I left school at sixteen in a decision that was only motivated by survival, and haunted me for more than a decade later. Having dropped out of High School I wrote off all my dreams of going to college and becoming a Scientist. Living on the streets of Atlanta I looked to fulfill my unresolved issues with an array of really bad decisions.
By the time I realized that I was a product of my own design, I was pretty deep in. I began making changes, like getting my GED, and my life began to get better. Just like they say! I got married and lived in a little house in a great suburban neighborhood. Of course like most other marriages, mine ended within the first 3 years and again I faced losing everything. A friend suggested going to college. I didn't think it would be possible for me to go. After some real healthy discussion about it I got charged up about the idea. It seemed like a plausible idea. I enrolled in my local Community College and BOOM! I was off and at it like a man possessed.
All I was looking for was to complete the Associate's Degree. However, my first quarter I received all A's, including my Macroeconomics class! I was instantly challenged by myself to maintain the highest GPA I could. Every quarter I would get extra worried that I would lose my 4.0 GPA, and every time I would blow up the curve in the class. There was one exception, though. Accounting.
I had a great Professor. Ms Trumbo made the material as fun as it could be and was very engaging and encouraging. If it wasn't for her teaching prowess I would not have done as well as I did. I pulled off the lowest A one can get.
During my time at the Community College I had began to change. My passion for Science began to manifest itself once again. Peering out from the many layers of depression I had buried it under. I was enrolled in an Associate of Science, Computer Information Systems, and the first year I loved it. Someone pointed out my passion for Space Science and asked why I wasn't studying in that kind of field. The last shred of sediment I had covered my passion with was swept away. I sat there dumb-struck at how I hadn't thought of it before. Instantly I began looking into my options.
As it turned out I decided to finish my AS before transferring to a school that offered a BS in a field I was interested in. I graduated in June and had several prospects for Universities. I even was offered a $10,000 Scholarship to the University of Arizona. However after all was factored in, I was $13,000 shy of "out-of-State" tuition. So I'm staying in Georgia.
Classes begin August 15th and I'm totally psyched!
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