“I think when people look at me, the glasses imply I am smart, the messy hair that I am carefree and my clothing shows my inner geek. Still, when people look at me they don’t see the hardship and struggle that life has thrown my way nor the endless effort to improve and reach new heights each day.

My earliest memories [were] a blur of new schools, new houses, new places to live- never holding still long enough to plant roots and create a home. When I first moved to Colorado I decided I was done moving and I knew that if I didn’t plant myself I might forever be at the mercy of the winds of life, forever moving to new places. I do not know if I chose Colorado or if Colorado chose me but I do know that while I found a state I didn’t want to leave, the restless desire to move forward never left me and drove me to improve rather than simply change where I was.

The struggles of my youth granted me the strength to know I could survive anything and the knowledge of how to survive, even in the worst of situations. Most people seek calm, I seek struggle for it has always been a part of my life and without struggle I would become bored and stagnate. Colorado is where I became who I am today.“

-Joshua