Alex, Myself, and I

 

I was born and grew up on the shores of the great Lake Lanier in Gainesville, GA. Lakewater runs in my blood (and it’s not very clean). I have awesome parents, and couldn’t ask for better ones. They raised me up pretty well, no matter how hard I tried to be a troublemaker. I also was engulfed in soccer. I watched it, reffed it, and played it. I can’t wait to get to know it internationally as futbol! I grew up under three older sisters. They picked on me a good bit but taught me how to treat girls too. I love them and will protect them the rest of my life.

 

During my sophomore year in high school I moved down to Winter Park, FL (basically Orlando). I got to know the joys of the beach, what clean air smells like, and the value of having a pool. Other than that, I got myself into a lot of trouble. That trouble led me back up to Gainesville after graduating high school. After jumping from job to college to job to another college.. I’m finally settled at the Art Institute of Atlanta studying Web Design and Interactive Media. I love it! I have a passion for graphic design, photography, and web site design, so to have the opportunity to study it and have a career out of it is such a blessing!

 

Ok, so that was just a locational, brief tidbit about where i’ve been. I’d like to describe now the start of my journey with God.  I first prayed to accept Jesus when I was young with my Dad around age 7 or 8. I grew up at great church in Gainesville, called Free Chapel.  It has an incredible pastor, is spirit filled, and taught me a lot. Unfortunately, striving to be a professional teenager, I was naturally rebellious and stopped going church. I didn’t really have a relationship with God anyways so for me at the time, it wasn’t a big deal.

It wasn’t until after high school that I came to know God as my father, redeemer, and friend. I started to understand that a relationship could be cool,  and was actually VERY beneficial for my life. God broke my heart for Him and I started to fall in love. He started to teach me about relationships, discipleship, and leadership.

Now, 3 years after high school, I’m trying to pursue Him everyday for what he will have me do. I desire to get to know his personality, his face, and his humor. I’m trying to learn responsibility, while giving myself away in compassion.  I get to be a part of Water’s Edge, the college ministry of 12Stone church, in Lawrenceville, GA. It’s unlike any other ministry i’ve seen, where the focus is on giving ourselves away, and not just about us. With W|E, I get to help out with graphic design, environment, small groups, and our missions ministry in New Orleans!

 

That’s just a little about me. Here are some bullet points for those of you (like me) that don’t like reading paragraphs:

• 20 years old (21 August 3rd!)
• Love soccer, beach volleyball, and frisbee!
• 1.25 years left until I get my bachelors at the Art Institute of Atlanta
• Feed me: Hibachi foods, sushi, anything off the grill, or zaxbys!
• I’m a self-proclaimed professional movie critic and here are my top 5: The Godfather, The Village, American Beauty, Star Wars (no shame!), and Gladiator.
• Top 10 Music Artists: Muse, Nickel Creek, David Crowder, Coldplay, Hillsong, Cake, MuteMath, Switchfoot, Linkin Park, & Dave Matthews.
• Passions: Mac, Adobe Software, graphic design, web design (yeah i’m a computer guy.. it’s cool), photography (Go Canon! boo Nikon!)
• Outdoor stuff gets it’s own category: climbing (trees, rocks, buildings), hiking, camping, kayaking, and i’ll just go ahead and say it: I like long walks on the beach.
• Being in front of the computer all day leads me to keeping up with people via: facebook, 2 email accounts, twitter, and skype. I can’t wait to get away from all of that!
• Various positions I’ve had: Soccer referee, pool boy, pizza driver, pizza chef, smoothie maker, grill cook, fry cook, graphic designer, web designer, summer camp counselor, summer camp program director, non-profit intern director& non-profit marketing director.