My story is a generally happy one, having had good, stable parents who provided for me and my brothers, teaching us well. I'm telling this story, not as a tale of how to live one's life better - there are shelves of books for that - but as a simple adventure story that has had some twists and turns. Most happily, my life has been blessed with beautiful, wonderful, interesting people from whom I've learned many lessons along the way. Further, along with the intriguing people I've met, I have been able to see remarkable beauty in various places.
As a child, I've chased pigeons in London, sledded down snowy streets in Colorado, lived with an Iranian family in Tehran, run through the Virginia woods pretending to be Pocahontas, and fished the Gulf of Mexico for cobia, miles off the coast. All this before starting high school.
Life can be filled with challenges and new things to experience, whether one travels the world or stays in one small town their entire life. In this world that appears to be a mess, in which there is really nothing new, there is exquisite beauty.