Chapter 2: The College Years - Leaving Small Town USA...

Howdy Folks. So on to the next significant snippet of my life...

After leaving High School I was fortunate enough to get accepted into the Engineering Program at Lehigh University (Go Mountain Hawks!!). Lehigh is located about 50 minutes north of Philadelphia and about 45 minutes west of New York City. The campus is beautiful and the school is pretty top notch. I guess my grades were up to par, and they liked my extracurriculars, so they let me in.

Entering college - I was pretty naive. I used to be fairly comfortable in my shoes around my hometown, but this was something new. We had kids from private schools like the Peddie School and Christian Brothers Academy with full academic scholarships, and also kids who were valedictorians of crazy top rated public schools from New England - some extremely smart lads and ladies.

So anyways - getting back to the interesting part. College had some great things to offer. New people to meet, new things to learn, and a whole lot of beer. I met a TON of great people, I learned a good amount of interesting things - and yeh I did drink a little beer too when i got the chance. I made friends I will always remember, gained some great "real life" experience, and learned a few hard lessons along the way. (Example: Women are Trouble - Let's just leave it at that...)

So in the end I ended up graduating with a Degree in Business and a Minor in Mechanical Engineering. Not my initial plan - but hey, nothing ever works out the way you plan it.

In May 2006, I said goodbye to my friends - threw my cap at graduation, and began to pack up my things and start my new life in Washington, DC with my Brother and another good friend. We rented a townhouse outside the city and we drove the U-haul 300 miles south.

I was excited, completely broke, and not looking back. Time to "Drink the Cool Aid" of corporate America and see what "Living the Dream" is really all about...

Chapter 1: The Life and Times of a Small Town Kid

Hello World. I guess I've always pondered with the idea of starting my own blog at some point in time. I decided today was the day. So here we are - August 30th, 2010. It's hard to say exactly how I got here - but here's the quick summary:

I was born in small town USA - a little spot in Northeast Pennsylvania nestled in the hills. Growing up in Pennsylvania was great...calm, relaxed, and fairly low key. I participated in sports in school - pretty much all of them. Football, Soccer, Track, Basketball, and I was a tough guy (or so I thought... ) I had some fairy tale dreams that I might actually make it to the next level in Football or Track one day - that was until I destroyed my knee one day in 9th grade at Basketball practice. I guess fate kicked in, and changed the game. One full ACL Reconstruction later and 1 year of intense physical  rehabilitation, and my life went into a whole new direction.

I wasn't the fastest kid anymore, or the strongest, but I was still me. I was still looking for something to be the best at. So I guess I kinda gave up on the dreams of Pro Football or  famous Olympic Sprinter - and hit the books hard. I ended up being the "Valedictorian" of my freshman class. It's funny to think about it now, but  I even got a plaque with my name and GPA on it - 99.7% overall. Looking back on it, that was pretty insane - but I had to focus on something. With a moderately bum leg and no lack of motivation or competition - I turned the classroom into my new grid iron.

High School was good times for sure, but "real life" awaited - and I will use this as my segway into Chapter 2: The College Years - Leaving Small Town USA...

To be continued...