I've got an awesome family. Seriously, they're the best thing in my life. There's nothing in the world to me that compares to simply being with them and enjoying the moments that quickly turn into memories as this adventure we know as life keeps speeding up and passing us all by.
I'm also very pleased about the fact that I've got an awesome gig - there's no doubt about it. I mean, I work in the video game industry and often travel all over the place to cover events, interview developers, or create various segments that have me doing things most people don't ever get the chance to do.
I love them and I love it.
The thing that most people fail to realize though is that it has taken an EXTREME amount of hard work and dedication to get to where I am, and to stay where I am, and that "where I am" isn't necessarily where I want to be.
You see, through a rather complicated and quite honestly often miraculous series of events, I have managed to carve out this career from a small town in Tennessee over the past nine years or so. I'm originally from NY, but I relocated to TN quite a while ago, met my bride-to-be when we were just simple teenagers, got married, started a family, and then spent several years taking care of lots of "family situations" that I won't get into here. In a nutshell though, my wife and I have lost three out of our four parents, dealt with a troubling heart condition that I have, and nearly lost our daughter when she was born back in January 2011.
A lot of it has been awesome, but a lot of it has sucked.
Despite going through all of this though, I've tried my best to forge this career while positively impacting the gaming industry that I care so much about. I realize that being in TN has been necessary for my family and UTTERLY HORRIBLE for my career and that, no matter what, nothing I ever do moving forward can take away the simple fact that my wife and I were here to take care of the situations that we've needed to take care of. For that, I'm very proud.
But like any good story, the next chapter in my life is ready to be written. After working E3 2011 for SPIKE TV and GameTrailers, I came away with a sense of knowing what it is that I truly want to do. I want to host. I want to create. I want to innovate and be a part of a team that thinks about the future of our medium and how to positively impact it. I feel that I'm ready to take things to a whole new level.
I've clearly defined my goals and feel super confident in my ability to carry them out. The problem is that it's hard to get things off the ground - especially when you're pretty much in the middle of nowhere TN - but I'm not gonna let that stop me from taking myself, my family, and my career where I feel we could and should be.
This whole adventure started with a single vision, a lot of hope, a good deal of faith, and a little bit of luck. I don't know where the road will take me next, but my desire to create, innovate, inspire, and utilize any of the talents and abilities I have to positively impact the gaming industry and indeed the world around me has reached an all-time high.
I don't know how the rest of this story will unfold, but I do know that I simply won't give up in my pursuit of doing what it is that I feel I was put on this earth to do. In other words, it's often hard to see how your future will unfold, but by working hard, being consistent, and keeping your priorities in order, I truly feel that anyone has the chance to "succeed" when playing the game of life. Now it's time to press continue and see what happens next.
