My+Story


 * My Story **

Born in Charleston, W. Virginia in 1972. I'm 38 years old. I'm the **last of 9 kids**, I have 5 brothers and three sisters.

Before **8 years** old I lived in: **West Virginia, New York, Mississippi,** then in **Saudi Arabia** a country in the middle east on the **Asian continent**. I lived in Saudi for about two years and in that time I visited, **Morocco** in Africa and **Spain, Germany, and Greece** in Europe.



After we left Saudi I moved to Texas until **junior high.**

Arkansas I went to **Sylvan Hills for 7th and 8th grade** and the summer after 8th grade we **moved to Dallas, TX**.

I went to two different high schools when I was in Dallas including the **alternative school.** I hated school so I moved to **Oklahoma** to try and fix things, but it was even worse, so when I was **17, I dropped out** and **moved to AR** to live with my sister.

So now I’m a drop out and I’m living in AR and I have a **crappy job washing cars and cooking chinese food**, I’m **blaming everyone else for my problems, and I complain,** but I don’t do anything to change my situation. **QUIT COMPRAINING!!!**

I started to decide I may want to **go back to school**, but I concerned I’m somehow **too dumb** because I dropped out so I decide to **read books to gain some knowledge**.

In his book I read about a man that used to be a **total criminal**, and how **he blamed everyone for his problems**, but when he was **in prison, he met a guy** that told him to **quit feeling sorry for himself** and except responsibility for his choices. He did and **started educating himself because he was a drop out too**, so he **read books on every subject** and even the **dictionary**, and through **hard work and self determination** he became the man people consider a **civil rights hero** and one of the **best public speakers in history**.
 * Malcom X-** I didn’t know who he was. **White people feared him** and **black people admired him**, so I decided to read his autobiography.

After reading this I decided I was going to **accept responsibility for myself** so I would read about science for a couple of hours, then some literature, and the dictionary too and I did that every day for about 6 months then **took my GED and passed.**

Next I decided to **go to college**. At the time I was working at a **Pizza Inn in NLR** and this girl I knew was talking to me about school and I mentioned I didn’t know how I was going to pay for it. She said her dad worked at UAMS hospital and needed an employee and if you worked at this hospital they would pay for almost all of your tuition cost. So I went to UAMS and he hired me on the spot. **He said because I had goals and I had a news week magazine I was reading and that impressed him.**

I had a way to pay and all that was **standing in the way** of going to college was **me**. When it came time to go register, I told my boss that I was going to **wait until next semester** and I made some **excuse as to why**. He said **bull** and told me to go down to UALR and get enrolled now, even while I was on the clock. **Sometimes you need someone to kick you in the butt, when you are scared.**

So I did and I started going to school. It took me a total of **7 years of going to school part time while I worked,** to finish my degree.


 * While I was in school** and for about a **three period where I stopped before finishing**, I held **many jobs** and had many **great experiences**. I have worked as a **nurses aid, a secretary, a cook, a dishwasher, a bartender, a bouncer, a waiter, a booking agent, and at a liquor store.** I also **volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, the LR Zoo, and Share America.**

I **published my own magazine, Localist** that I sold the rights of the name to a man in Washington DC for **19K**, I taught **myself how to play music**, played in 5 **different bands**, and went on a **mini tour to Atlanta**, I’ve written about **30 songs and recorded 3 albums**. I started an afterschool program called **hip hop school** and **produced a hip hop CD with high school students, called BLOCKADE**. I’ve been a **techno DJ since 2000,** and have **thrown parties with over 500 people** dancing including two on the **roof of the Peabody Hotel in downtown Little Rock.**





I’ve **traveled to almost every state**, I’ve been to **Peru in South America and Guatemala and Belize in Central America**, I’ve been to **Mexico and Canada,** and I **backpacked in the desert, the mountains, the jungle, and the forest.** I **hitch hiked from AR all the way to California**, I’ve written **dozens of poems and a screen play**.

I have a certificate for **Medical Assistant, and associates degree in arts, a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts where I studied, religion, anthropology and art, and I just finished my Master’s degree in education.** I’ve been **married, then divorced, now I’m married again**. We’ve been together for 5 years and she is also a teacher. We have **one dog and a cat.** This is my **fifth year as a teacher** and **I love this job WAAAY** **more than anything I have ever done for money.**

I have a **black sash in kung fu** (which is the beginners level), I have to **goal to get my PHD** so I can teach college when I retire from teaching in public school, and I still **always read a new book when I finish with one**. I **still make music with my friends**, and I plan on **traveling to the rest of the states** I haven’t been too, and to **many more countries**. I also **survived cancer of the thyroid**, that's how I got the scare on my neck. **I've never been rich, but I've always been happy and done what I wanted to do.** I hold **self improvement as the highest calling of human beings** and this year **I will be an even better teacher than I was last year**. I always make **new goals**, I **continue to learn many things,** and I am **delighted to be here with my new students.**