A VERY Belated "introduceyourself"

I browsed through my posting history this morning and realized something. I have never properly introduced myself to you all as an individual! I have talked plenty about my business, Brown's Greens, but I haven't written anything about my own story. Time do to so!

That's what I look like! Most of you already knew that. But ok, here's my story in brief, hopefully not too boring terms.

I was born in Washington DC and had my early childhood in Dale City, VA. My Dad was in the Air Force and he moved us out to Colorado in 1999 and that's where I went to middle and high school. I tried to balance my time in school between WAY too many extra curricular activities, track/cross-country, music (playing in rock bands, teaching private drum lessons, etc.), annual trips to an orphanage in Russia with my church, summer jobs, Taekwondo lessons, and the occasional attempt to blast through some homework and studying as well. I grew up in a down to earth family, full of love and support. Two older brothers, (one of which is actually a MASTER steemit blogger, @biophil, and I owe him a lot for showing me this amazing community) and two musician parents. My family has always been hard workers and I followed suit from a young age, for better or worse. I was a driven kid, constantly feeling responsible to succeed and constantly stressed.

Because of my innate sense of responsibility and work, I found myself looking in some wrong places for relief from the stress I was causing myself. In late high school I tried shaking the weight off my shoulders by rebelling against my own expectations for myself. I stopped going to church with my family and started staying out nights with friends to try and find parties and places we could drink under age. I practically lived with three friends in a van we bought together and lost steam in my running career. The rebellious stage thankfully didn't last forever, but tasting the freedom from the release of responsibility left a long lasting affect on me. I developed a VERY strong sense of wanderlust. I thought of traveling constantly when I was still "trapped" in school, of getting out of my town and away from the anchors of relationship and commitments. When high school finally ended, I decided to succumb to my wanderlust, and I almost immediately left home and started experiencing the world.

For three glorious, challenging, dirty, wild, eye opening years I traveled, vagabonded, and lived free. I spent 4 months in Uganda, a month in Russia, 5 months in Canada, and a month in Germany, doing a myriad of different things but mostly missions work and attempts at starting university study. I spent all told about a year traveling all over the United States, mostly by hitch-hiking and freight train hopping. I was a hobo through and through, playing music on street corners, sleeping homeless, constantly moving around. I worked on farms, made a lot of friends, saw a lot of crazy stuff, and learned some hard but good lessons.

I wouldn't change a thing about my years as an adventurer, those three years hold some of the best memories and experiences of my life. But it had to end sometime. I couldn't sustain the transience forever, it caught up to me. I remember the first time I was gripped with the desire to let go of my wanderlust and settle down. I had been attempting to hitch my way across Canada and had gotten stranded about half way. I was homeless out in the hot summer, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, I couldn't get a ride, and I was out of money. I had some change to call home on a payphone and got through to my parents. Even after all the pain I put them through with all my dangerous wanderings, they delivered me from that situation. They purchased me a greyhound ticket (the town I was in was miraculously the last greyhound stop before leagues of farmland and small towns) back to Colorado, the bus ride was a 72 hour ride. Three days and nights on a bus! But the whole time I rode, I was feeling at peace to leave my wanders at home. I was ready to settle down and give life in community a shot again. That was in 2013, and I have stayed in Colorado since.

Somewhere along the way, I caught the gardening bug. Maybe when I was baling hay and doing farm work in the midwest. I worked for a multitude of trades since I moved home, mostly in the green industry, but last year I bucked up and started my own business gardening business, Brown's Greens.

And got my folk band back together with my best friends in the world! We're called Smith House, I've got another page actually for the band @smith-house

It's been a rocky road coming home, adjusting to life in community and growing roots, but I am SO GLAD I did it. I am calmer and happier than ever now, and eternally grateful for the blessings that settling down has given me. One blessing in particular that I would have been devastated to miss, my sweet sweet wife Brittany! We are having so much fun setting up our life together, growing food together, playing music together, and eventually having a family together.

That's some of my life to date, at least. Thanks so much for reading!