My first name is Steven, but virtually everyone non-work related calls me Michael.
I was born in Ft. Polk, LA and moved around frequently while growing up. No, I wasn’t an army ‘brat’ I may have been born that way but my dad went inactive shortly after…perhaps I’ve started the story too far back.
Throughout childhood I was reasonably happy, but with the frequent moving I had a bit of a hard time making friends. Initially it wasn’t a problem, I was outgoing and friendly…but I suffered a speech impediment and a high voice so I became shy for fear of being teased.
I became a bit of a loner while remaining hyperactive…and so I was given medication for ADD. Things kind of blurred by after that and I was incredibly lethargic packing on massive amounts of weight, and losing interest in virtually everything active.
During Jr. High I stopped the medication, too late. I still had much to overcome and while I reached out and developed a circle of friends I was still not happy internally. That’s not to say I never had fun. I found refuge in Role-Play; always a fan of fantasy I lived vicariously through my own characters. No longer was I the fat stinky kid, I was a bard with a silver tongue, a fearsome Minotaur warrior, a clever and witty rogue, or a wizard in possession of the most powerful secrets of magic. Near the end of this time I discovered the Internet.
On the Internet I was able to fully indulge my fantasy life. I would rush home from school daily and log on to various role-play sites where I would be fully embraced and accepted. I tended towards flamboyant and social characters; the outgoing child had re-established a foothold.
Unfortunately, this obsession with being someone else overrode everything else. I had no ambition or drive to truly improve myself. My grades suffered even more and I dropped out of high school with a GPA of under 1.0.
I was able to make a decent living performing various tech roles. Over time, role-play became less and less fulfilling though and I started to look for something….anything that would make me feel alive. I knew school was the direction I wanted to go but I could never quite bring myself to get my GED or stay enrolled in any college classes. Still, I struggled though….then the tech industry experienced a major downturn and I found it hard to find employment.
I lost virtually everything and started floating from friend’s place to friend’s place mooching off of them and my parents alternatively. I lost my car and began to sleep sixteen hours a day, gaining even more weight.
My friends got tired of supporting me and forcefully helped me locate employment again. I’m not sure why, but I found that I cared again. I really wanted to do well and so for the next two years I worked hard while trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. I was still fat and smelly but, I was making progress!
I saved up some money and went back to school with the help of my girlfriend. I was excited and eager to learn. I somehow found myself with 3.7 GPA and was extended the honor of joining Phi Theta Kappa, I was active in Student Government as well as ‘Connections Club.’ I still kept a fair distance between myself and most people, but I was starting to understand that I had been suppressing who I was for most of my life out of fear of being rejected. That fear was significantly reduced. Eventually I graduated with an Associates of Science and lost 50lbs.
Now, I’ve returned to the workplace and begun classes at university. My wonderful supported girlfriend is now my wonderful supportive fiancée. I’m still building my social skills and working on shedding my massive weight, but I have hope and drive. That’s why I made this myspace. I want to help inspire others to take action. It doesn’t really matter what that action is, the importance is doing something to improve yourself.
I’ll update it with anything I find that might be useful as I find it.
Thank you for reading.
I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
