who am i .

When you first meet someone, a popular question is always, tell me about yourself. When asked that question, a lot of people may say, oh there's nothing really interesting or anything about me. But come on, why else would I ask if I wasn't interested?

So if you ever wondered who I a, inside and out, consider this part 1. I'm sure I'm not gonna cover it all in 1 post.

I was born in New Jersey, and have lived here all my life. I'm used to the towns that run straight into each other, traffic circles, jughandles, diners on every corner, seagulls in the mall parking lot, and getting tailgated or honked at everytime you drive.

I live about 20 minutes from the beach, though I rarely go. Better get there at 8am if you expect to get a parking spot within 10 blocks of the shore. People use "dts" as their abbreviation to go to the beach if they are from north Jersey. If you go to the boardwalk, expect to see a lot of people. Everything costs money, from parking spots to the arcade games, to even getting a daily pass to get onto the beach (usually about 6 bucks for a day pass).

I like the bustle that is constantly happening, but in a more toned down manner than that of NYC. No matter what the rivalry between NY and NJ, I love both. Though I do admit NY has much better sports teams generally...

I live in a really rich town where everyone drives cars like Mercedes', BMWs, and Lexus', although seeing a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche, or Bentley is not uncommon. I'm used to my gas being pumped for me, and it's always by an Arab, a Russian, or a Mexican.

Growing up I was a sports fanatic. I played soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring. As I got older some interests were lost and other new sports were gained. I played street hockey for years, and dropped soccer after playing on a travel team. I played on my school basketball team for 8th grade (and by played I mean rode the bench) and a travel team for a few years as well. But I dropped basketball after I didn't make the high school team. My favorite sport has always been baseball, but I would say it recently switched to either snowboarding or volleyball. I often played on 3 baseball teams in the spring, and sometimes more (rec league, school team, travel team, all star team). I stopped playing baseball when I got cut from the school team my senior year of high school, and haven't really picked up a ball since.

I have a secret love for cooking; and I am a firm believer that it always tastes better when you cook it yourself. I have no doubt that in a future married life I will be the one to cook dinner every night, and I'd be happy to oblige to do so! So long as I don't have to clean the bathrooms.. haha. For those of you who ever want a home-cooked meal at school... send me a recipe and buy the ingredients, and I'd be happy to make it happen!

I started art classes a long time ago, and though I haven't picked it up recently, still have a great appreciation for it and enjoy doing it. Any yes, movie making and photography is most definitely included in art, at least in my opinion. My favorite medium is charcoal, though I enjoy pastel, pencil, and pen and ink. The hardest thing for me to draw is faces and bodies by far, but that's probably not uncommon. I wish I was more motivated to do more art more often.

I love music, always have and always will. There are a ton of instruments I would love to play, like bagpipes, harmonica, piano, violin, banjo -- the list goes on. If I could buy them all and learn them all that would be amazing, but I don't have the time or money for that. I wish most the I could learn piano -- it's so versatile and you can play anything in any style that you want. Someday, maybe I'll learn. Music is, before almost everything, my passion. I almost wish I was making music for a living instead of training and studying to be an architect. It is a drug that I cannot get enough of, but a healthy one. It is my go-to help-me-in-a-rough-spot thing, whether I'm listening to it, writing it, or playing it. I literally probably wouldn't be able to live without it. Someday, I'd love to put an album of mine out for purchase... someday. I taught myself both guitar and drums, and I love singing, though I'm not really comfortable doing them in front of people (especially singing). I WISH i could sing with vibrato -- but my voice is just not that advanced yet. No matter what people tell me, I'll probably never believe I have a good voice.

I love tattoos, despite what other people think about them. I don't care about being judged, I just wanna do me. They mean a lot, and I see it as another art form on a canvas that is my body. I truly respect the artist that has given them to me, so much that I asked him to sign my body in ink under his work (he wouldn't, and said absolutely not no matter how much I begged). Mad props to you, Nate! I don't think that they are sacrilegious in any way, and I can prove to you that the Bible does not denounce it. I think and hope I've changed a lot of conservatives' minds on it, and a lot of people seem to be blown away at the depth in my reasons for them after they hear about them.

I love nature. I find it sad that people don't go outside as much as simply waste time away on their tvs or computers. I love camping, and just being outside in the woods or hiking or sailing, is awesome. I wish I had more time to be outside. Even rain is cool, as long as I don't have to walk a long time in it. But I don't mind being outside in it as long as I am properly prepared for it.

I have a lot of dreams -- and a lot of them are kind of random. Join the Air National Guard (or even active military, at some point). Spend time working as a truck driver. Sell my house and leave behind a static life and just travel. Snowboard in 6 continents (as in, all but Antarctica). There are more, that I can't really remember right now. Just ask if you're curious about more.

I love religion. I can't understand how people don't believe when you really have nothing to lose. I work so hard to maintain a pure life and a good relationship with God, and I feel that it is 100% worth it. I love going to church, especially by myself. It's easier to have a good talk with Him that way.

I'm scared of death, and scared of endless loneliness. They are the 2 biggest fears in my life. I don't know what's going to happen after death -- and I worry that I am not leading my life in the way it should be led.

There's alot more to be said, but I think that's a pretty good start.

As always, if you want to talk to me about any of this, just ask. I'd be more than happy to.