Who am I, anyway? A 5-minute autobiography
In which your author divulges too much (and also not enough) personal information in the hopes of better connecting with you, his audience
I was born with half a heart shortly before the turn of the millennium near Milwaukee, WI, USA, Earth. My childhood in a loving home with loving parents and three siblings was uneventful — I spent most of my time reading, writing fantasy books, playing with friends and with Hot Wheels cars, and generally just imagining. We were raised Catholic, and I went to a private school until we moved to the suburbs when I was about 9. From there, I continued my merry life of making armor out of pizza boxes and accidentally injuring myself. I even started playing Minecraft.
A few years after I accidentally hit myself in the back of the head with an axe, I became a high schooler. In between, I was hit by a major bout of depression that plagues me to this day. I have struggled with many episodes of suicidality, but with help from the aforementioned family, the friends I made along the way, and caring teachers and counselors, I’ve learned how to cope (and take daily anti-depressants). Otherwise, high school continued like most school: Easy, engaging, boring, and full of socialization.
When high school began, so did my software career. When I sat down to learn Visual Basic, I thought I’d be typing 1s and 0s into a green terminal — I was never more shocked than when I learned we could write code with regular words.
After the girl I loved found someone else, your 16-year-old author started dating someone who ended up raping him. That was not fun. We broke up.
Before the breakup, though, I started my “volunteer career” as a camp counselor. Turning Rivers will forever hold a special place in my heart. The amazing work that program does for so many kids is beyond magical. I am incredibly thankful for their presence in this world. Unfortunately, with The Pandemic That Shall Not Be Named and my move across the country, this “career” was paused after just a few years.
I went through college as most other students did. My magic super brain gave me good grades, I socialized plenty but rarely drank, I developed PTSD from the aforementioned sexual assaults (and some not-mentioned sexual assaults in college), I built my own apps, and I read about the FIRE movement (though I’ve never identified with it). Just your average college experience. My mom says I dated around* but I maintain I dated asquare. Heh. Moving on.
I knew going into college I would be a software engineer (or industrial engineer, or maybe something else), but it took a few months to realize I loved teaching. Education became my goal, and I’m still exploring more ways to deliver that — with code, with articles, with guidance for teachers and delivering my own lectures to students. This blog has become a great first step. Thank you for reading. Throughout college I was a math tutor, computer science teaching assistant, and coding club leader — all of which were immensely rewarding.
*OK, she said “I dated a lot of girls,” but that doesn’t lend itself as well to my pun.
I studied abroad in France. I speak French. Kinda. It’s kind of a big deal. Kinda. But less importantly, my host mom verbally abused me and I developed a fear of roommates that I didn’t get over until I moved to the West Coast of the United States and didn’t have roommates. Oh and I climbed a mountain a few times while I was there. In France, that is.
I also learned some things in college. My Catholic upbringing and awesome parents instilled a strong moral sense in me, and after some philosophy and ethics courses I resolved to just plain not deceive people. I think that’s wrong. I’m not sure why other people do that. It’s not cool.
I tried to learn why other people do that by studying the brain — biology, neurophysiology, psychology, sociology, all that fun stuff. No luck, unfortunately, but I now know a bunch of cool Latin words for brain parts. Or, well, I did. I’m sure my flash cards are somewhere around here…
Most important, of course, was making friends with a wonderful young woman who was a photographer, as it turned out, and getting this great headshot for free:
I now live on the aforementioned Coast in or around Seattle, working for Microsoft, rock climbing when I can, and doing my best to avoid video games. For over a year, I’ve spent more on charity then I’ve spent on myself — no one should starve — but this may not be sustainable. I eat the same dish of tofu with peanut sauce and vegetables nearly every day for some reason, and it wasn’t until February of this year that I got into AI.
In late 2021, I suffered a major mental breakdown from depression and took two months off work to recover. During that time I developed a renewed faith in God that I’m still exploring. I go to a Bible study of sorts about every week with a bunch of old Catholic men (including my dad), and I’ve learned a lot from them, from my family, and from my personal studies.
Lastly, I’m honored to be a Big Brother through BBBS. I’ve been matched with my Little for over 2 years now and I love playing Magic and Minecraft, watching movies, and just talking about life with him. He’s the best.
I hope this helped you understand the person behind the words a bit better. Remember that every article you read and interaction you have is attached to a story — a person — just like this, except a lot different. Isn’t that amazing? I think it’s pretty neat.
Thank you for reading. What do you want to learn next? How can I help? 🤓
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