dustin!

as often as i'm on myspace, one would figure i'd find the motivation, encouragement, or time to change my about me so it's all "up-to-date" and what have you, but in fact, i do no find it all that entertaining. i thought to myself, i better make this one worthwhile.

i decided to start as far back as i can recollect. i was born, that i do not remember, but on the twenty-eighth of april, 1989, there i was; a newborn. now, back as far as i can remember, that brings me to my old home; a trailer in linden, pennsylvania. i remember my best friend, the "neighborhood" kids, and my babysitter. my best friend's name was andy and boy was he a little spoiled child. despite all of that, we got along, sort of; there was always the battle between us--power rangers, or ninja turtles? now, i understand that the more "cool" thing to say nowadays is "GO, NINJA TURTLES!" but what can i say? i was a power rangers darling. my babysitter, she had a name that kind of reminded me of some italian pasta, but for the life of me that is all i can remember. i once got upset with her and put my rc car on her head and pressed the forward control as hard as possible, thus pulling her strands of long hair around and around the axel of my car. she quit the next day.

there was a barn at the end of the trailer park's little drive that was abandoned, tattered, and evidently ready to fall down. it was haunted, we would all say, and that fact is what made me first take pride in having dan as my older brother. we all stood there, straddling bikes, as my brother threw his down and took off towards the rugged barn door. naturally, i followed suit. he turned around, told me to stay back, and sent me to his best friend. we waited for what seemed to be at least an hour, realistically about five minutes, and my brother came crawling out the little whole near the right-side of the barn. he made it.

a lot of people may poke fun at trailer park life, but let me tell you, when it comes to childhood that is one of the closest-knit group you could ever find yourself in; you, and the neighborhood kids. i cherished it, surprisingly, but all good things have to come to an end and we were moving out. i remember the move quite fondly because of the anger it caused in me. it took me awhile to accept the fact that i was moving to a new house, a new town, and a new life, essentially. it did not help to see the new family moving into my trailer start to put their children's toys in my yard before i even left. there i sat, moping on someone's little tikes slide that was not my own when i came to a revelation, a wondrous idea to send this family a "warm" welcoming. with fears of getting caught, i peed down that slide with pride. not a soul noticed. i could fabricate a story about how as we drove away i saw the new family's little girl slide down, but i didn't. however, i could definitely imagine my warm welcoming sitting at the bottom of the slide where you always see puddled rain and the dirt it washed down the slide and how fun it must have been to slide down that thinking, "oh, it's just rain."

i moved to muncy in 1995. i started kindergarten. it was a pretty decent place, i remember. i enjoyed it, but i never really found a "best friend." you see, i've lived in the same place since i moved here, and i live just outside of "town," so i never had that friend you go see everyday by walking to their house and letting yourself in the back door. however, in second grade i found just what i wanted; a friend by the name of josh, the best. i remember when my parents went to see where he lived. they told me all they could, but some things stood out more than others. imagine the smile on a seven year old's face, "A TUBE SLIDE? HE HAS A TUBE SLIDE?" i was thrilled. luckily, i liked him more than his tube slide, but boy, was that a perk or what? we've been friends since, best and have never really drifted far from it. in third grade, i had a hernia operation--let me tell you, that is not fun. fourth grade was a blast, i had a girlfriend for two days, andrea. fourth grade love has always been a joke between us; we're still friends. fifth grade was just another year and i made another close friend, david. unfortunately, our friendship was pretty much destroyed by me because i accused him of stealing my gameboy, so nicely placed in some junk under my own bed. sorry, again. the only thing i remember about my last year in elementary school was our trip to washington, d.c. i got sick in a museum, right outside the gift shop. i tossed my lunch viciously in a trashcan near a few benches. these older kids came to see if i was all right and helped me back to my mom. the trip was ruined for me. it was hot, i was sick, and i had to get back on a bus for the ride home.

in a small school district, there isn't always a middle school. at muncy, there isn't. you head straight into the jr/sr high school with seventh through twelfth grades packed inside. from seventh to tenth, i did not enjoy myself at all. i was the victim of numerous jokes and for the betterment of myself, i'm not going to reminisce over such things. subsequently, tenth grade brought a front of confidence i had never had before. i liked it. one key item from ninth grade was that luke moved here from michigan; eventually, we became great friends. similarly, in tenth grade, i met sarah. we eventually became great friends as well. it's a funny story, she was petrified to sit next to me in chemistry. i wouldn't blame her, it was not like i had an awesome reputation. somehow, though, we hit it off and are still great friends today. i could thank her endlessly for giving me a chance. in eleventh grade i got involved in a relationship i don't wish to ponder over, but it lasted for awhile and was complicated as all hell. we "went out" for about a month in eighth grade and we never strayed too far from each other, until our senior year. the lucky thing is we both matured, for the most part, and i think we're both over it all. accepting a decent friendship and cherishing the moments we once had.

so, i graduated and now what? i sit around, work occasionally, write, draw, and spend time with those i've grown close to. a few of my close friends haven't went to college yet, but most of them have. i miss them everyday, but i knew that the day would come. i am going to school soon. where, i'm not definitely sure but i have some interests here and there. i hang out with josh, my best friend, just about everyday and being the lone youngest child in my family, i've unofficially adopted a little sister, kady. i am not sure how, but i care the world for her. she has an older sister (who i am friends with as well) and a younger sister to look after, but i kid you not, if you mess with my little sister, it's going to be a big deal. just in case any of my friends felt left out in any way, you know that i love you and i care about you. obviously, there was a lot running through my mind while i was writing this, so of course a few things were forgotten. oh, and yes, i left out the sad and troubling stories to prevent you, and myself, from crying.