Warning: The following is extremely long. If you don't care to hear my entire life story, I don't blame you. For a condensed version, Me in a Minute.
Welcome to the Vermont, the place where absolutely nothing ever happens. I have a theory that when people cross the border into Vermont, their mood takes a serious hit. Just looking at this endless sea of snow and boring-ness is bound to make you depressed. They'll be driving along happily, and all of the sudden they cross into Vermont and they're like, "Oh... well, this sucks." I think Vermont is a love it-or-hate it place... Some people like the frigid cold and the country fields. Sure. I, for one, can't wait to get out of here. I have the itch, you could say. I'm just dying to get out of this wretched place, move to a big city and enjoy my life. For now, though, I'm stuck here until I graduate high school. Four years to go. To pass the time and keep from positively dying of boredom, I started this blog!
Whether you've been reading it for months or you just came across it today, I think it's time that we get to know each other a little better...
Let's go back a few years... 14 years.
My name is Dylan Lea Harbison, and I was born in a hospital like most average, nothing-special people.
On June 17th, 1996, I joined the circus. In other words, I met my family for the first time. (In the hospital, like I said.) First, it was my mom, my dad, and I living it up in the great state of Arkansas. WOO-HOO! I went to a private pre-school called the New School. I started school when I was 1 year old... I could read by 3 or 4. I think I should get some sort of reward for this- I mean, I've been in school for 13 years! Can't I skip High School, or something? Seems to me I've already done my time.
Well, I took some time off at the New School when I turned 2. We moved to Wales, in the United Kingdom, so that my mom could take up a teaching job at a university. We stayed there for two years- and yes, I attended another private pre-school. I learned to speak Welsh fluently during this time period, but unfortunately I lost it as I grew older. We moved back to Arkansas when I was 4, and I continued education at the New School for another year. I wish we could have stayed in Wales longer, but my mom got PREGNANT. So, we came back to the States and I began the next chapter of my life... A horrible, dreadful chapter, to say the least.
My sister, Meghan was born almost as fat as me. (She was 9 pounds, I was 10.) Course, we both turned out to be really thin as we grew up. Once Meghan was born, my mom decided that we should move to Vermont. The move turned out to be the worst decision since deciding to have another child. We came in the dead of winter, just in time for the biggest snow storm Vermont had seen in decades. Oh, joyous memories. For those of you who don't know, Arkansas is 100 degrees on a cool day. It was quite a change, and we weren't prepared for it.
Once in Vermont, I started Kindergarten at Union Memorial. My parents, previously professors of law, became full-fledged lawyers. We bought a big house in the country with no neighbors to be found... It was a lonely life, but fun for a child. I spent my days exploring the woods, fishing in the big pond across the street, riding my bike down winding dirt roads, and chasing snakes and frogs in the front yard. (I got quite good at catching them, to my mom's dismay.) I did well at my new school- I was smart. I have a hunch that it is partly due to all of the extra learning my parents put me through... I was reading 800-page books in second grade, and I was positively absorbing information. Those were the good old days, for sure.
We had a big garden, and a fort in the woods, and a great big barn. There were rock walls to climb and streams to play in and big fields to run across. I loved it, back then. This was my "nature-girl" phase. My dad is an environmental lawyer, and was the Vermont chair of the Sierra Club at the time, so I had grown up in with animals and birds. We went camping, went on hikes. It was great! I learned to ski, which is still one of my favorite things to do, and I picked up some other hobbies too.
In fourth grade, I fell in love for the first time. Not with a boy- I had friends at school, but I didn't have any really close friends because I lived so out of the way. No, I fell in love with writing. Deeply, passionately in love. And I still am. I've gone through 4 computers in my life, and if you look through each one you will find countless unfinished stories, millions of poems, and other various pieces of writing. As time goes on, you can see my talent blossoming. You can see the strength of my words developing and the power of my tone progressing. Writing trumps out everything else in my life- it always has, and I reckon that it always will.
I guess anyone who knows me would describe me in one simple word: smart. Now, I'm not a genius. I'm smart, I suppose, but I'm not that smart. My family is smart. I'm almost stupid in comparison. I'm talking musical virtuosos, surgeons, lawyers, scientists, engineers... It's a lot of pressure sometimes but I have an awesome family! I mostly like learning from them. Sometimes I wish I was a genius, but I'm pretty satisfied with the way I am.
If you asked someone to describe me in one word, and they didn't say smart, they would probably say clumsy. I get hurt. A lot. I guess the biggest thing that's ever happened to me was my accident, and it basically changed my entire life. It's a long story, but basically I slammed both of my wrists through a glass window and totally destroyed my nerves, tendons, and completely severed my main arteries. I still can't really use my left hand. If you care to read more, I did a whole post on it.
http://curiositykilledmyboyfriend.blogspot.com/2010/08/story-behind-scar.html
I love reading and writing poetry, which you will see a lot of on here. I'm also really into fashion and photography. I love the water, and I still love nature. I like fishing, and sailing, and windsurfing, and pretty much anything to do with the lake. I also am an incredible baker, if I do say so myself... =) I'm into art: painting, drawing. I play piano, and I ski...
My main outlook on life is just to smile all the time, because I think that life is too short to be sad. I love volunteering and donating to charities, and I love the thought of making a difference in the world. This is why I want to get out of Vermont. I want to move somewhere big, and do something BIG with my life! Basically, I'm just counting down the time until my real life begins.
Mostly, I want to travel the world. Not in a drop-out-of-college-and-go-to-the-jungle kind of way. I want to travel because I'm passionate about languages and other cultures. I want to delve into international affairs, join the diplomatic core. Then, one day, I'll come back and try to make a difference in my own country.
I guess that's all! You probably know more about me than I probably want you to now... Ha, ha, ha. Well, thank you all for reading my blog. For reading my life.
Curiosity kills.
