Lawrence Schemelia:  

Life Umm.. let's see..Where to begin..(ahem) Being an awkward misfit (to put it somewhat mildly, of course -smile) throughout high school, ironically enough, had some considerable benefits. First of all, it enabled me to better understand another side of people from a relatively safe distance. I recognize now that I was extremely fortunate in meeting and, in some cases, actually befriending some truly wonderful people (students, teachers, and coaches alike). Unfortunately, it took me several years to overcome a crippling social phobia and its concomitant health effects. I do regret now that my shyness and odd behavior may have been misconstrued by some terrific people that I genuinely liked and respected. But forgoing the conventional pharmaceutical and "self- medicating" paths that many others have resorted to, I immersed myself in a rigorous health and fitness regimen to gain some confidence and improve my appearance as much as possible. There's not too many 20 year-old athletes right now that have my dichotomy of stamina and strength. (Athletically speaking, I do all us old, bald guys quite proud; I'm happy to say.) As a matter of fact, a confrontation I had with a "nerd-hater" served as a catalyst for my lifelong diet and workout program (i.e. I came oh-so-close to getting my ass kicked by a gir...Expand for more