My Life
The section below will provide readers with a bit of insight about who I am outside of my professional life, what I do with my free time, and what I really enjoy about life!
My Family
My family has changed a lot over the past five years. In August of 2008, my only brother, Mark, unexpectedly died in his sleep. As far as I’m concerned this shattered the family unit, as I’d known it. Since then my parents have separated and I have moved out to live with my girlfriend, Britt. Despite these changes I still consider my family to be one of the most important supports in my life. They were a formative factor in my life, and continue to influence me in profound ways.
My Parents
My parents, Rick and Tracy, have always been important and positive influences in my life. I remember seeing a very different role of parents in the lives of my friends, one of parental dominance and authority. Contrast this with my parents who I saw more as mentors and friends. I believe this has been essential in forming who I am and how I communicate with them. It taught me that relationship roles are to be formed based upon the merits of the parties involved, and not just because of their titles. While many of my peers were in a constant “battle” with their parents throughout their adolescence, I always considered my parents to be one of my first points of contact in evaluating the challenges of life. I hope to one be as good a parent to my children as they were to me.
My Brother, Mark
Mark and I were very close brothers. Being born only one year and eleven days apart ensured that we were one another’s closest companions throughout our childhood. While this relationship changed as we began to move out into the world, we remained very close friends up until his death. Losing him was the absolute worst experience of my life. I try to be mindful of keeping his memory alive every day, whether through simple acts such as telling a funny story about him or more formally through organizing charity events in his honour. He was one of my best friends and I miss him every day. Mark's death forced me into a deeply philosophical period of my life, where I was forced to reevaluate my priorities. I think my experience with his death can best be summed up by my favourite quote (below).
"Deep experience is never peaceful"
-Henry James
Britt
Britt is my girlfriend of over eight years. I don’t even know where to begin in talking about her – she’s amazing. She challenges me, she supports me, she makes me laugh, and she inspires me. Britt and I have attended school together throughout our lives, beginning in kindergarten, through to our undergraduate degrees and continuing on to both of us attending UWO for our Master’s degrees. She has been and continues to be one of the most influential figures in my life.
My Friends
Aside from the friends I've made in this program, I have a core group of best friends who have stuck with me since we were very young. To put it into perspective, most of us met in kindergarten, while the newest addition to our group joined in grade six. We really are childhood best friends. This a group of guys that I value more than I can put into words. Along with Britt, I truly believe they are responsible for me making it through Mark's death alive. Their support through my darkest days is something I hope to never have to repay in kind; however, I know that if the day is to come, we will rally to support one another.
What I Do For Fun
Music
Sports
Travel
Although I don't get a chance to do it nearly as much as I'd like, I absolutely love travelling. Learning about different cultures and the history of important places is one of my favourite things. Standing out in my mind as one of my favourite places I've visited is the gardens of Versailles, just outside of Paris.