PERSONAL DOSSIER

Born in Grand Rapids, MI to a loving mother and an existing father, I was raised an hour north in a town almost no ones heard of unless you've been there specifically for some reason. Being born in 1996, I was raised in what I consider the best of both worlds, we've got the accessibility of the internet taking up the rear end of my aging, but the first half was almost completely analog.

*I'll note that while not everyone's experience mirrors mine, I grew up in an incredibly poverty stricken situation with a less than desirable type of man as my "father figure".

Without going into too much detail (maybe later in some kind of diary that I'll try to keep more private) I was raised to not only be fearful of men, but also that there was no reason for anyone to want to enhance their appearance or change it in any manner, for any reason. Unfortunately for him, my mother disagreed and was incredibly close friends with Mrs. Clairol my entire childhood, helping guide my love for the beauty industry... I think it also helps that I was a near professional dancer for quite some time, starting dance lessons when I was in diapers still and only quitting once I was 16 and the studio owner changed for the worse.

She also raised me in an incredibly spiritually and religiously open household. We weren't forced to conform to the family's Christianity, and she made sure we knew it from a young age. I remember my mom practicing her witchcraft in the living room on weekdays when my sperm donor was at work, the smell of burning sage and tobacco with cedar leaves is burned into my memory; anytime I smell cedar it brings me immediately back to my childhood. Religion was something my mom always wanted us to practice and learn about on our own terms. Church was something other families did that I occasionally participated in if I stayed a full weekend at their house; or if my grandmother REALLY wanted to take me to a specific service at whichever church she and my grandpa went to at the time. My mom tells me that they were some breed of Lutheran; which as an adult has started to help me piece together a lot of what they've done and said to me that never used to make sense.

We did have to respect spirituality in my house growing up though. It was something that helped keep people going and afloat when they could feel like drowning, and there is never anything wrong with that. Fundamentally I believe humans need some form of spiritual belief... something to help them stay motivated when they are feeling less than. Even the irreligious folks I've met in my life tend to be some form of spiritual; whether they acknowledge it's place in their lives or not. There's something beautiful, too, about looking at all of the religions that are and that were and to see how closely they knot together; how much they've pulled and learned from each other... how easily it is to see that at one point we truly were all one specified group; or at least that we were significantly kinder to one another.

There's so much more to my story!

If you're looking for more information on my life or want a more in-depth story, you'll find it I'm sure by browsing my about page.