Joel Shields:  

Life I was born in Illinois. Don't remember much about that state, except that Illinois is a very brownish-grey place. I still get that impression driving through it. I lived in Texas and Oklahoma for a while, then I moved to Carthage, MO. I went to Mark Twain Elementary off and on - moved to Arizona a couple of times -- long story... Then we moved to Marble Hill, MO. The day I arrived, the first resident I saw was a pig running across Main Street. Fortunately there were people there, some of them were very nice to the new kid some of them weren't. I was a bit of a jerk myself in those days, but remember I was 13, so that should be worth something I would think. I eventually made a few friends, though I only managed to keep in touch with one over the years. There was laughter, there were tears, etc. Also I never saw the pig again. After high school, I moved to Springfield, MO. Tried college -- loved the college life, but the classes not so much. Floundered a bit, one semester on and one semester off, etc. Eventually I got it together and made the grades, and in 2000 they gave me a piece of paper saying I was done. But I started to like school. After graduation I married my college sweetie (whose encouragement helped me stick with my studies). We moved to Washington, DC so she could attend grad school. I worked in nonprofit fundraising, but I missed school (those of you who knew the younger me are scratching your heads I'm sure). So after she finished up her studies in 2003, we loaded up and moved to Kansas City, where I earned a Master's in Sociology from UMKC. We just bought a little house in the 'burbs, and I have been indocturnated into the cult of Home Depot. That's my life in fewer than 4000 words. School Biggest Crush: don't remember - there were too many. Teacher that inspired me the most: again, I had some great ones there too, so it wouldn't be fair to select just one. If I could do it all over again, would I? Hmm... probably not, altho...Expand for more