And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.  ~Confucius

It’s difficult to explain exactly who you are. Quite frankly, a breakdown of the singular view of my own self image would be impractical and useless. No one sees me the way I see me. Actually, who I am depends on who you talk to…I can be a human chameleon, sometimes you just need to adjust to your surroundings. Some of my random aliases include: Bethany Pauly. Central Catholic Paul. Bent Willey’s Pauly. Elementary Teacher Mr. McCormick. Happy Paul. Caring Pauly. Miserable Asshole. Depressed Pric… I think that’s enough. I realize that everyone has their different moods and sides, but I like to explain myself the way Shrek put it…I’m like an onion, I have layers.

Anyways, the best way to get to know someone is to look at their past, because their previous experiences have shaped them into who they are today (that’s why I’m constantly having “life story” conversations). Here’s my story…

To put it mild with just a touch of depression…in the game of life, I hit my prime in high school. I picture myself as a lot cooler than I really was, but it was my peak so I guess I should. I had the hot girlfriend, the cool friends, people’s respect and found success in high school athletics (let’s be honest, I outworked people…which isn’t a bad trait to have, but it wasn’t talent. Believe me.) You know the kind of stuff you see in the movies. My coaches were constantly teaching me life lessons that I still carry with me today, such as “Nothing Good Comes without Enthusiasm!” I must admit that chapter of my life was very good to me.

Then I went to Bethany College and had a hard time transitioning…spent the first year or two depressed about life. I lost the girl. I lost a lot of good friends. No one respected me. And a blown out knee forced a hard goodbye to basketball and gave me excessive weight gain as a farewell present. Add on the constant hacking away at what I want to do for the rest of my life, and I had plenty to be mad/sad/depressed about. Eventually, I got over myself and realized everyone had problems. I started to enjoy college for what it was worth. Met some unbelievably awesome friends, peers, and professors. I won Big Man on Campus because my friend had the money to buy the prize and I supposedly came in second for Homecoming King (what a hoax, damn greek life). I did what I could to make a name for myself at Bethany. I managed to graduate in four years with a Communication-Graphics degree. After listening to the Baseball commissioner, Bud Selig, give the worse commencement speech I’ve ever seen..it was time to move onto the next chapter…

After Bethany, I had no idea what I was going to do with life. So, naturally I did what anyone would do…I packed up, found a roommate, and moved to the coast for a year. I moved to Charleston, SC with nothing more than clothes, my iMac and some money in my pocket. I had no job, I didnt know anyone and I didn’t know what I just got myself into…but I was in one of the greatest cities in the world next to the beach- how could I be depressed? I eventually got a job as a photographer, working 60-70 hour weeks during the holidays. While it was awwwwful working that job…I learned two very important things. I am terrible at sales and I am a kid at heart. Eventually the money well ran dry and my inability to sell people pictures of themselves had me without a job. I moved back to good old West Virginia. I moved to Morgantown and decided to get a master’s in Elementary Education. That’s where I am today, being that creepy 25-year-old, gray-haired student at WVU. It is what it is.