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WHO IS SCOTTSKI? I feel like I have accomplished a great deal in my 30+ years on this planet. I've traveled here and there; met hundreds of wonderful people; experienced love, life and death; and even picked up a college degree along the way. I have also endeavored to learn as much as possible...not only from my education, but from LIVING. I know I still have a lot to learn, and I am looking forward to every opportunity to do so in the next fifty years! Enough of that. I assume you would like to know more about what makes me tick. Why would you be here, otherwise? BloodlinesI've admitted to myself that I'm a mutt. I can accept it, really. I have a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, and it all adds up to one big ScottSki! Let's see...from my father's side, I have some Polish blood and some Dutch. From my mother, I have Irish, Scottish, German, and American Indian. I've also learned that I apparently have some British blood, and possibly some Italian. This, of course, screws up my previous formula, which was:
Like I said...I'm a mutt. But I'm a PROUD mutt! And I'm STILL a proud mutt, no matter what else I have in me! =) The Birth of a LegendI was born in the waning months of 1970, on Long Island in New York State. I was a BIG baby...I think I was over 8 pounds when I arrived. At one point, the doctors even thought my mom was going to have TWINS. But there's only one of me. Thankfully! My father was in the Navy, and my mom was a Navy retiree, so I spent the first few years of my life living with my grandparents, mother, and my older sister while my dad was on duty. I remember a great deal about my grandparents's house...the slightly-wound staircase to the second floor, my grandfather's BIG chair where I used to sit in his lap and listen to his stories, the backyard where they had a HUGE peach tree growing...so many vivid memories! We eventually moved to Virginia (briefly), and when my Dad retired after serving on the great ship the U.S.S. Nimitz, we moved to Goose Creek, South Carolina (outside of Charleston) in 1975. Home, Sweet HomeAs I mentioned, my first home was in New York, with my grandparents. At one point, I also know we lived in an apartment somewhere in New York, in a quad along with some people who became some of our closest family friends (they directed us to South Carolina when Dad retired). I know this because Dad used to tell a story about how, one night while everyone was partying in the quad, I was in my bedroom, supposedly because I was asleep. However, even at that age I HAD to be at the party, so I was trying to scrape myself out of the bedroom. Dad said he found me with my little fingers stretched out underneath the door, out cold. Then he laughed at me. Frequently. Not that I minded, of course! From Virginia, where we lived for less than a year in an apartment (and survived a hurricane or tornado or some wind-related calamity by stuffing ourselves in a closet), we moved down to South Carolina, where our family friends had moved. Our first house in South Carolina was a three-bedroom rancher, down the road from Navy housing. I had some very cool baseball wallpaper, but what I remember more was the UGLY furniture and green shag carpeting. Hey, it WAS the 70s...I don't blame my parents, since there really wasn't much else available! I also remember planting a tree in the backyard one time when my grandmother came to town. The last time I checked, it had grown to over 20 feet, and sprouted a beautiful spread of leaves and shade. We only lived there for about a year, though, until we moved into my treasured boyhood home two streets away. THAT house was filled with love and fond memories. We had a pool in the backyard, installed when I was almost 10. We built a den where the carport used to be. We engraved our names in the cement walkway in front of the door in 1980 (they're STILL there!). I had this groovy western-style wallpaper in my bedroom (my Mom was way cool when it came to decorating!), and enjoyed growing up there, learning about life and family and the world around me. While living in this home, I met my best friend John, who lived three streets away from me. Back then, that seemed like a TREMENDOUS distance, especially when you had to walk or bike over there. Once I was old enough to leave the street, that is! From there, we moved into a brand new home on the other side of town in 1986. THAT was exciting. I'd never been a part of something so fresh and new, as we watched them build our home from the ground up. Mom and Dad were proud of themselves, watching their dreams unfold in front of their eyes, and we were definitely blessed in that home. Over the years, we had three or four storms that were severe enough to chop down some of the large pine trees that surrounded our house. Amazingly, NONE of them ever hit the house! We survived Hurricane Hugo, losing only our chimney and a few shingles to the severe winds. We had great neighbors, a beautiful view, and once again, a LOT of pleasant memories. Whenever I get back to SC, I go by to see the old girl, just to see how she's doing. Just being there brings me warmth and happiness. 1996 rolls around, and my parents decide that they want to escape the hurricanes and allergy HELL of South Carolina. Where do they look? Las Vegas, Nevada. On the OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY! Talk about a major move! Mom planned the perfect trip, and we drove across the country with our entire household in the truck, and two dogs along for the ride. We moved into a beautiful duplex on a golf course, and immediately started looking for a new home to build. After nine months, that dream was also realized, and we moved into our new, permanent home in the desert paradise of Nevada. Once again, the pride and joy on my parents' faces made the entire trip worthwhile. Of course, from 1988 on, I was only an occasional at-home guest. Being away at college keeps me in apartments and dorms, instead of at home where I'd love to be. But every time I return, no matter WHERE the family may be, I AM at home, and that's what matters the most. Move forward to 2006. It's time to move again, and now the family home is here in Knoxville, TN. Another cross-country trip brought everyone closer to where I've spent most of the past decade and a half of my life. From Ankle Biting to LegalityMy parents discovered at an early age that I am an EXTREMELY curious lad. I started speaking (babbling!) at around 11 months old, according to Mom, and started reading for myself soon thereafter. I was lucky enough to have parents who read to me, as well as my grandparents. Mom told me that, while sitting in my grandfather's chair, I started reading the newspaper with him. My parents ended up putting me in a private preschool when I was around three (Ms. Scott's class, ironically), either in Virginia or New York. Somehow they determined I was already reading at a 3rd grade level (hey, I don't remember if I was tested, or anything), and from then on, I couldn't be stopped! =) I started kindergarten when we arrived in South Carolina (my parents fibbed about my birthdate so I could enroll early!) at Holy Spirit Day School. I had my first girlfriend (the lovely Heather) and enjoyed the new environment immensely! I suppose this is when one of the unfortunate side-effects of my curiosity finally reared it's ugly head. I was an EXCESSIVE talker. I got bored easily by the slow pace at school, so I would try to amuse myself. This followed me through high school, although I eventually tempered my yakkity tendencies. Of course, that depends on who you ask. Elementary and middle school were a lot of fun, as I recall. I learned a great deal, worked at an advanced level on some subjects, and was involved in various Gifted programs. I also discovered that I LOVED music and singing! I was involved in the middle school music program, where we would put on a show every six weeks or so. My sister used to laugh at me because I was SO LOUD! I liked having the attention, I suppose. =) Of course, I also had my share of trouble in these years. In first grade, I ran away from school because I was upset about having detention. I was suspended in fifth grade for talking too much (see? there it is again). From there, I moved on to high school... High school was an interesting time for me. I had been going to local youth dances for a while, but when I got to high school, the game changed slightly. Where little crushes used to be fun, I suppose I matured and got more serious about dating. The hormonal kick may have helped! =) I also had to move from one high school to our cross-town rival when we moved in 1986, which was pretty traumatic at the time. My sister was the Captain of the cheerleading squad at my first high school, so I heard a great deal about going to the "enemy." It was a good move for me, though, as it turns out. During my sophomore year, I had met and fallen for a girl while on vacation with John in Myrtle Beach...and she dominated my thoughts and time (Hey, I was young!). Unfortunately, she lived out-of-state. As a result, my grades...well, they sucked. I didn't fail anything, but I came close enough that the change in atmosphere did me some good. I ended up graduating 16th in a class of 406, and was ready to leave for college and continue my education. I had learned a hard lesson! College Life 101Ah, college. A time to sow your wild oats. A time to meet your future spouse. The best time of your life. Or, at least, that's what they told me. I had a choice between six schools (the only six I had applied to, incidentally), but I decided to enroll at a small school in the Southeast called Francis Marion University (it kept me close to home, and they offered me a scholarship!) I spent four-and-a-half years there, switching majors from Psychology to Business to Education and back to Psychology in less than a year, and eventually earned a (how appropriate!) B.S. degree in Psychology (Summa Cum Laude, With University Honors!), with a double minor in Sociology and English in 1992. I also spent my time at school singing in the Chorus and developing my vocal skills, arguing with the EXTREMELY religious and rigid President (I wanted a campus Counseling Center, he called it a "bottomless pit of money"), and participating in various campus groups (Student Government, Psychology Club president, and numerous honor societies). I was also the school mascot for the last year-and-a-half of school! Yes, I am a collegiate athletic letterman! I made a few friends, dated someone for almost five years, and learned a lot about life during my undergraduate years. While some of the relationships I developed didn't survive after graduation, I wouldn't change any of it. Finally, I ended up in Graduate School at The University of Tennessee, working toward a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. I finished my degree in December of 2007, after working through major changes in my committee and dissertation. The satisfaction of having my family and best friends there to witness my hooding ceremony was worth all of the struggles! Loving My Odd JobsDuring my graduate school years, I was lucky enough to embark on a career as a musician. I had always been a bit of a singer, and after my undergraduate experience I decided to connect with some of the more popular musicians in Knoxville at the time. Thanks to the immense patience of some of those musicians (thanks for putting up with my annoying habits, Dave!) I was able to start enjoying live performance in October of 1995, sitting in with friends whenever possible. In late 1999, I decided with my friend Matt Woods to form the acoustic act Absolute Wood, and we played together for close to a decade before I moved away from Tennessee. In 2004 I also formed The Graceful Failures with my friend Jean-Louis Lawson, another acoustic act that allowed me to branch out from what Matt and I were doing and start writing some original tunes. Both of these bands helped me to meet so many wonderful people, and I am thankful that I had a chance to spend almost 15 years in Knoxville connecting with people through music. The Last WordSo, here I am, now living in Statesboro, GA and working at Georgia Southern
University. I've been here since July 2008, and while I miss Knoxville, I'm
happy to finally be applying my education to something more than a hope and a
dream that I would one day graduate...I'm here!! |
