so far...
I was born in 1971 in El Dorado, Arkansas and one can read about "The Blacks of Union County" in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Vol 12, 1953. Among the those in the family tree is James Black, silversmith and knifesmith who made The Bowie Knife. I graduated high school in Grenada, Mississippi in 1989 and enlisted in the Marine Corps for five years. I was an aviation electrician on the F/A-18 Hornet and went around the world many times, including Desert Storm. When I got out of the Marines in 94 I attempted to live in southern California and ended up moving back home to Arkansas where I attended a year of college at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Go Boll Weevils! Then I moved to Houston and after two years I enrolled at the University of Houston. Go Coogs! After two years I felt that I needed to move. And so dropping everything, I followed my heart. I gave most of my things away to a local women's shelter and I packed up my car and cat and headed out. I didn't know where I was going... only that I was going to end up in Montana or Alaska or Oregon or Washington. Driving straight, with no time to sleep, I found myself coming into Eugene, Oregon. I drove in a nearby neighborhood and saw a car with lots of liberal stickers on it and knocked on their door, telling them I was moving to Eugene and where would I go to find the center of town. That was the year 2000. For the next couple of years I did a lot of hiking, a lot of looking for jobs, a lot of living, a lot of trying to discover who I am. Finally, after two years I enrolled at the University of Oregon. Go Ducks! In 04, after turning on the t.v. morning after morning and seeing troops (still) in combat I decided to join the National Guard as an infantry soldier. By August I was deploying to join the local unit already in country. When I came back from Iraq I was moved to Portland by my partner at the time and enrolled at Portland State University. Go Viks! I've done what seems like everything. I've painted aircraft, been an infantry squad leader, a bar bouncer, a corporate consultant, a general laborer, an environmental activist, a dog trainer, a DJ, a bar and restaurant manager, bartender, volunteer firefighter, EMT trainee, and other things. Currently I am a Combat Arms instructor at the Oregon Military Academy. I am also finishing up one extra year at PSU for a B.S. in psychology. My goals for the next year are thus; 1. Design a psychology practicum that merges my interests of military experience, mental health, and veterans issues together. 2. Finish a paper on approach PTSD in combat veterans from a Positive Psychology position within a Community Psychology framework and submit it for publication in an undergraduate journal. 3. Finish a paper on social and psychological issues on the false dichotomy between timber interests and environmentalists in the Old Growth Forest debates in the Pacific Northwest. 4. Do writing, research, and advocate work for GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans) issues in pertaining with the military. I have many friends who are of this community. I support the community in all their endeavors. As a soldier, as a person, I am offended that the Army will allow felons to serve beside me in combat, but not a person of deep moral character only because of their sexual/gender identities. I am for the passing of HR 1245. 5. To continue my readings and writing on the myths and meanings of the warrior archetype to aid in the healing of our warriors from their combat experience (see number 1 above). 6. Possible creation of an organization that will allow a means of vets to give back to their community, therefor offsetting any negative bias they may have on their combat experience (I am directly talking about their own perceptions here, not others). 7. To finish a novel that I am writing and begin starting on another. I have lots of ideas. 8. To be a force for help among the veteran population that still stigmatizes mental health help and issues with combat stress. In all of this I hope to still have fun, meet great people, and laugh a lot. Spem semper habemus. I hope to get into graduate school next year... hopefully in Oregon (or the PNW) and maybe Community Psychology or possibly Counselling. |
