Who am I | wunderlust

Who am I?

Good question! I wish I knew. In the course of my life I made a gigantic transformation. My life is not a rags to riches story. Money was not a part of my story. I always had great determination (not stubbornness as my distractors would tell you) but I was not the stereotypical self-made man. I did not have a dramatic, St. Paul type, conversion experience. Religion had an important role in my life but I did not wake up one day and discovered that I was a totally new and different person.

Then how should I describe myself? I cannot find a predefined pigeonhole that I fit in. Perhaps I will have to make my own pigeonhole tailor-made for myself. Lets start from a simple description:

My transformation was from an uneducated Amish farm boy to well educated university professor. My horizons expanded from a few miles down the road to around the globe. That transformation was punctuated with many impediments, some of which were meant to prevent just such a transformation.

I speak with somewhat of a "dutchy" accent, so students sometimes asked me where I was from, (hence the cartoon below) expecting to hear the name of a European country. I would surprise them when I would tell them I was from Ohio. Then I would proceed to explain my background.

Who am I?

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Then how should I describe myself? I cannot find a predefined pigeonhole that I fit in. Perhaps I will have to make my own pigeonhole tailor-made for myself. Lets start from a simple description:

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My transformation was from an uneducated Amish farm boy to well educated university professor. My horizons expanded from a few miles down the road to around the globe. That transformation was punctuated with many impediments, some of which were meant to prevent just such a transformation.

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