My Early Life

Born in Elgin, IL in 1987, I grew up in Prospect Heights, a Chicago suburb. My early years were typical of a middle-class 1990s family. As an only child, I experienced both the perks and the loneliness that came with it. From about age five to eight, I rode my bike around the neighborhood with other local kids, exploring and playing—just doing dumb kid stuff. Back then, we could enjoy summers freely, our parents not knowing where we were until we returned for dinner. As a Cub Scout and later a Boy Scout, I went camping once or twice a year. My family took annual trips to Disney World in Florida and occasionally visited the mountains of Gatlinburg, TN, or spent weekends in the Dells or Door County in Wisconsin. Besides that, I spent a lot of time playing video games and reading, loving both equally and dedicating large chunks of my day to them. I got deeply invested in stories, watching them play out like movies in my mind. My mom knew reading needed to be gamified for me, so each summer I was enrolled in the library's program where I earned points for books read, redeemable for prizes and free books—a rewarding experience I loved. And that’s about as far as I’m going to take it on this page.