A very brief overview of my 21 years.

I don't exactly know where to start.

So I'll just start at the very beginning.
When I was 7 years old, my mom, older sister and I moved 895 miles away from Connecticut; from everyone and everything we ever knew to start a new life in a tiny town called Fruitport, Michigan.

My sister and I in Connecticut, 1991

We lived in Michigan for ten years with my step-dad Jerry, whom I love as if he were my natural father. My house was surrounded on three sides by what seemed to be at least a mile of woods, and I spent countless hours frolicking there, listening to the pure silence of nature, punctuated only by the calls of cardinals, crows and robins, the wind through the leaves and branches and the occasional car passing on the empty road nearby.

Junior prom, 2006. That was my backyard!

When Jerry wasn't waiting for the railroad to call him (he drives trains!) he would teach me everything he could about the woods. Save for my family, I spent a lot of my time alone- drawing, crafting, reading, or just laying out in the yard watching the clouds go by.

When I graduated high school, my mother moved back to Connecticut. Not being entirely sure what I wanted to do with myself at that point, I went back with her.
I hated it.
My sister was living in Chicago, going to college. She convinced me to move into an apartment with her. I was only in Connecticut for three months, and in September of 2007 I began the next chapter of my life in Chicago.

For the first 2 years or so, I mostly hung out with my sister and her friends. I was studying Graphic Design so I figured I should be among other artists. But it never felt quite right. I felt I lacked the passion and drive that my peers had. Then I was required to take an Art History class.

I found that I already knew about or was at least familiar with most of the stuff we were being taught- I realized immediately I was in the wrong field. Looking at it now I go, "duh." I enjoy drawing but designing is completely different. And history has been a part of me from day one- I don't remember the first time I went to a museum because I was a baby. One of my most prized possessions is a blue scarab necklace I bought in a museum gift shop about 15 years ago. So I switched schools, switched majors, and the rest is...history. ^_^

I always was, and definitely still am, a nerd. From my earliest days I remember Sailor Moon being my idol, my ideal. The concepts of truth, love and beauty are deeply ingrained in my moral code, and I will always point to Sailor Moon as the source. In fact, I think Sailor Moon was a source of most of who I am today, but that is another story for another post. :)

Meeting my boyfriend Joe in January of 2009 really brought that part of me to the surface. Truth be told, I had only been on a few dates with other boys prior to him. I was really naive and very, very quiet. But he did something nobody had ever really done to me- he pushed me. He pushed me to try new things, taught me the immense value of experiencing the world for yourself, not through a proxy like books or the internet, like I'd done my whole life. I grew in leaps and bounds in the first 5 months or so of knowing him. And despite a rough spot in our relationship (rather, because of it), we're happier than ever. He continues to astonish and challenge me on a daily basis.

Meeting him also introduced me to the best friends I have ever had. Sam and Greg are the most intelligent, delightful and functional couple I know. They live in Utah while Sam goes for her Master's in Anthropology, and I miss them daily. but they'll be home soon enough.

I feel like I've written too much about myself, but I keep forgetting that that is the sole point of this blog. Myself. time to be a little narcissistic for once! Besides, it's purely for my amusement and my heart. I doubt anyone will ever really want to read this much about some stranger, but who knows?