The Real World Questions:

These are what MTV makes you fill out if you want to be famous. It only took about 5 days to fill out. In total it is 25 pages, and just short of 10,000 words.

WHERE DO YOU WORK? DESCRIBE YOUR JOB HISTORY:

I have had a few different jobs. I worked for three and a half years at a golf pro shop, and was subsequently fired for insulting a member of the country club and refusing to apologize. To make a long story short, I had witness’ say that I did nothing wrong, but my boss who wasn’t even there thought otherwise. I figured that someone who I had worked for, for three and a half years would have enough respect for me to take my word. I was wrong. I was fired. I worked for my Uncle’s construction company, he didn’t fire me and had respect for my hard work. Next, I worked for a discount party store, and was fired/laid off after three months because of the following reasons: I asked someone how much they got paid (apparently they thought I was some kind of wage revolutionary), I “had a bad attitude” (how you can have a good attitude, and smile stocking paper plates on shelves for hours on end is a total mystery to me), and it was just after Christmas time and they didn’t need another part-time worker. Next, I was a junior golf camp counselor for a summer, which went great. I didn’t get fired from that job. Finally, this past summer I worked for the Department of Public in my town in New Jersey, where I cut municipal laws and picked up garbage at a town park all summer for $8.50 an hour. I also did not get fired from that job. I think that leads up to now.

WHAT IS YOUR ULTIMATE CAREER GOAL?

One day I want to be able to go to Barnes and Noble, walk down the fiction isle of the store, find the "M" section, and see a fiction novel written by Jason Mills. That is my ultimate career goal, to have my writing published. To have someone actually go out and buy my book and read it and be able to relate to it. My ultimate career goal is to be an author. Even though it sounds like a dream, I really hope it comes true. I want the reader to feel the same joy after reading my book as I feel when I read an authors book. That would be the ultimate, a dream come true.

WHAT KIND OF PRESSURE DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR FUTURE? WHO'S PUTTING THAT PRESSURE ON YOU?

Everyone, including myself, is putting pressure on me to make my decisions about the future. When I think about it logically, it’s crazy. I am 19! I am 19 years old, and there is pressure on me to make decisions on what I am going to do for the rest of my life. I still feel like I am a boy. I am still thinking that I am not even close to “being grown up.” But, the pressure is there. Get a good job. How do I get a good job when I am not even sure what I want to do with my life, yet I have decide that in the next two and a half years what I want to do for the next 40 years of my life. There is a lot of pressure there. I want to make something of myself and I want to make my parents proud. Most importantly, I want to be happy.

WHAT ARTISTIC TALENTS DO YOU HAVE (MUSIC, ART, DANCE, PERFORMANCE, FILM/VIDEO MAKING, WRITING, ETC.)? HOW SKILLED ARE YOU?

I took art classes all four years of high school, and there was a time when all I wanted to do was to go to art school and be an art teacher, but then I realized how many people were 100 times better than me. I still love to draw and sketch though. I have been playing guitar for about 4 months now, but I am not really very talented at that yet. As I said on an above question, writing is the only thing in the world that makes me really happy that I think I am actually pretty good at. I am actually in the process of finding out if there is any way that two short stories I wrote can get published (fingers crossed).

WHAT ABOUT YOU WILL MAKE YOU AN INTERESTING ROOMMATE?

I’m attentive. I like to listen to what people have to say and help if possible. I know that is probably an answer that you get one million times over, but it’s true. I am very easy to talk to, I don’t think I am very intimidating. The useless philosophical, broken hearted banter that I usually throw out seems to interest others. Not to mention I tell good stories. I am not that messy. I clean my own dishes and do my own laundry. If someone else is in the room and they need to do something, I will gladly put my headphones on so they don’t have to hear my music. I am curtious.

15. IF YOU'RE LIVING WITH A ROOMMATE, HOW DID YOU HOOK UP WITH HIM OR HER? TELL US ABOUT HIM OR HER AS A PERSON. DO YOU GET ALONG? WHAT'S THE BEST PART ABOUT LIVING WITH THEM? WHAT'S THE HARDEST PART ABOUT IT?

There really isn’t a great story behind why my roomate and I room together. We lived on the same floor last year and we got along OK, so we figured we would room together this year. So far we have only been living together for about a month, but it has been going really well. We both respect each others space. Neither one of us watch very much television. If one of us has to study or read, the other is quiet. There is a mutual respect. Last weekend he told me his girlfriend was going to sleep over on a Friday night, so I just slept at a friends apartment. If by some off chance a girl is going to stay over with me, I am sure he would do the same. I think I am actually the more annoying of the two of us. I usually stay up late listening to music and writing. 3:00AM, and I am tapping away at the keys on my lab top. I can hear him still awake, wanting to fall asleep, but I am trying to be as quiet as I can.

HOW WOULD SOMEONE WHO REALLY KNOWS YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BEST TRAITS?

To answer this accurately you would probably have to ask someone who knows me really well. But, I will take a shot at what they think of me. I think I am just a cool guy. I am relaxed. I tell good stories. I am good at listening. I am there for my friends whenever they need me. I remember their birthdays. I don’t really know, but I think my friends are all amazing people, so maybe I have something in common with that.

HOW WOULD SOMEONE WHO REALLY KNOWS YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORST TRAITS?

Cynical and sad. I have been known in my life to “with the drop of a hat” be sad about everything and anything. All it could take is one simple word and my whole mood could change. I think my friends also think I am cynical. I always seem for some reason to find the bad in everything. I am learning though in my Human Communication and Society class though, that seeing the bad in everything is not actually cynical, it is the mark of a realist. So technically I’m not actually cynacist, I am realist.

DESCRIBE YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT IN LIFE:

Last year I was drinking with some of my friends in a girls dorm room at my school. When I drink I really like to talk, it really doesn’t matter who I talk to. I just talk. I just want to have a nice friendly conversation with whoever is willing to listen to me. At one point during this night I decided to go for a walk/stumble around the halls of the dorm. As I was walking this girl got out of an elevator and I just looked at her, smiled and said “hello” very friendly, rather drunkly. She just looked at me, looked away, and started walking towards her door. But I was determined to talk to this girl. I just wanted to have a nice conversation with her about life, but every time I said “hello” she kept walking. By the time she got to her door and I said “hello” about five times without her saying anything back, I was rather frustrated. As she closed the door in my face, I said something more horrible than anything I have ever said to anyone in my life: “It’s not my fault you’re fucking ugly!” The next day as I was sitting in my room, the phone rang. It was the girl who’s room I had been drinking in, she asked me what I said to some girl the night before. All I remember was wanting to say “hello” to this girl and she wouldn’t say hello back. Seriously, that is all I remember, but this girl told me what I really said. I was so shocked that I literally only left my room to go to class and to dinner for the next three days. I couldn’t believe that I would be able to say something so horrible to anyone. I always thought I was a nice guy, but I felt like such an asshole that I couldn’t face the idea of walking around campus and seeing this girl who I didn’t even know and having her look me in the eye and give me a mean, sad look as to say “what made me deserve to be called that?” Thinking that I am the biggest asshole who has ever lived. That was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me.

DO YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND OR GIRLFRIEND? HOW LONG HAVE YOU TWO BEEN TOGETHER? WHERE DO YOU SEE THE RELATIONSHIP GOING? WHAT DRIVES YOU CRAZY ABOUT THE OTHER PERSON? WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT THE OTHER PERSON?

I am not sure if while you read this, you remember my tape. Well, during my tape I talked a lot about a girl. There was this girl who I only knew for three months of my life from October to the end of December of last year, but no one I have ever met has made such a big impact on my life. I was literally head over heals in love with this girl. The most beautiful girl who I have ever met, and for some reason she liked me too. The sun rose and set with her for me. And then she moved away. She had to leave her college in Pittsburgh because she could no longer afford it and go back home to Michigan. I don’t know if the words heart broken can exactly capture how I felt. I think it was much deeper than that. I still don’t think I have fully recovered from that yet, and it was almost a year ago.

WHAT QUALITIES DO YOU SEEK IN A MATE?

She has to be nice. Caring. Have some of the same interests as me. Someone who can never shut-up, I love to have never-ending conversations. Someone who is smart. Someone who is conscience of the world around them. They don’t use the word “like” in-between every word that they say. They don’t look in the mirror every five seconds to see how they look. They are relaxed and don’t mind sitting around and watching a movie on a Friday night with me. They are cute and they think I am pretty darn cute myself.

HOW IMPORTANT IS SEX TO YOU? DO YOU HAVE IT ONLY WHEN YOU'RE IN A RELATIONSHIP OR DO YOU SEEK IT OUT AT OTHER TIMES? HOW DID IT COME ABOUT ON THE LAST OCCASION?

Though my roomate seeks sex out almost every second of his life, I on the other hand am “the designated virgin” on my floor. When I was in high school I was in a six month relationship with a girl, who if I asked, definitely would have had sex with me. When we dated she wasn’t a virgin, but I like to think morally, and I figured, “I’m not in live with this girl. We shouldn’t have sex.” Since then I have gone through the few short relationships and I have been used the same thought process: no love, no sex. I guess I am just a hopeless romantic. Saving it for the right girl.

DESCRIBE YOUR FANTASY DATE:

There is no such things as a fantasy date for me, I have already lived it. Fantasy became reality. Perfection was easily attained. Without getting too personal I can say that 5:00AM on a Thursday morning, listening to Geoff Farina, drinking red wine in a girls bed, having a great conversation, holding hands, and candle light was the happiest moment of my life.

WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN?

This seems like a very broad question to me. But here I go: Some of the things I have had fun doing lately: Sitting on my friend’s front porch in a comfortable chair, smoking cigarettes, enjoy a nice night, and talking about the mysteries of life. Going to a local diner with my friends and talking over a cup of black coffee and a green pepper, onion, and American cheese ommlette. Sleeping. Going to a local indie coffee shop with my labtop and buying an over priced cup of iced coffee and writing (typing) until my fingers hurt. I do a lot of things for fun, but lately those things have been bringing me the most joy.

DO YOU PLAY ANY SPORTS? DESCRIBE YOUR ATHLETIC ABILITY:

The only reason I went to a college seven hours from my home town, to major in something that I could have majored in 10 minutes from my house was to play golf. I played golf on the Duquesne University golf team for a total of three days my freshman year. It took me three days to realized that college is to get an education and have fun, not to practice 7 days a week from 2PM to dark. In high school, I am not trying to sound self-centered here, I came in 7th at the New Jersey State Championship. My team finished 1st in the state overall, but that was after finishing the season 25-0. I like to play golf, but I just realized that the question was asking what your “athletic ability” is. Golf is not an athletic ability. Though I do love to play ultimate Frisbee.

DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A COMPETITOR:

I am not much of a competitor. I don’t like to lose, but who does? You just have to roll with the punches, you win some, you lose some. But, if we are talking in an academic sense, I like to get better grades then my fellow class mates, but I don’t know if that’s competitive. I think it is more a feeling of accomplishment than competitiveness.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE MUSICAL GROUPS/ARTISTS?

My favorite musical artists aren’t getting too much air play on MTV these days, or ever: The Rapture, Neil Young, Kind of Like Spitting, The Faint, Owen, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Neutral Milk Hotel, Billie Holiday, Bright Eyes, Paris Texas, Bob Dylan, Son Ambulance, Belle and Sebastian, Sunny Day Real Estate.

DESCRIBE A TYPICAL FRIDAY OR SATURDAY NIGHT:

Every Friday or Saturday night differs for me. It all depends on the week I had. If I had a hard week of studying and papers, then I have to get out of my dorm on a Friday night. I need to get out and look at pretty girls and drink horrible keg beer to just unwind from a stressful week. Some Friday nights though I would much rather just stay in and watch a movie by myself. Put in a comforting move like “Almost Famous”, make some popcorn, and sit back and relax. Just smile and laugh and say all the lines that the main character says. It’s comforting. My weekends usually depend on how my week went.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST SCAM YOU’VE EVER PULLED?

I guess the biggest scam “I” have ever pulled was where I worked this summer. I worked for the Department of Public Works in my town. I was just summer help, but the men who work there full time said, “working for the Department of Public Works is a government job. You don’t have to work hard.” Most days I was getting paid $8.50 and hour to sit around and do nothing. 10 minute breaks turned into half hour breaks. Half hour breaks turned into 45 minute breaks. Five men would work on a job that only required minimal work from one man. I guess it’s pretty funny to me, but to the tax payer, it probably isn’t. They pay us to work, and we “work.” I felt like it was a scam anyway.

WHAT WAS THE LAST UNUSUAL, EXCITING OR SPONTANEOUS OUTING YOU INSTIGATED FOR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS?

I am 19, but when I tell this story you are going to think I am an angst-ridden 15 year old. One day this summer as I was driving through my town, I saw a TV on the side of the road. Someone was throwing it away for garbage night. As soon as I got home, I called my two best friends and told them about my find. That night we went back to the house, picked up the TV, put it in my trunk and drove it a half hour away onto a desolate stretch of road in upstate New York (I live right on the New Jersey, New York border). We stopped, got the TV out, and bashed the living hell out of it with a baseball bat. To put it mentally: it was extremely immature. To put it simply: it was rad.

DO YOU LIKE TRAVELING? DESCRIBE ONE OR TWO OF THE BEST OR WORST TRIPS YOU HAVE TAKEN. WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO TRAVEL?

I have left the eastern standard time zone once in my life. That probably sums up how much I travel. When I was a freshman in high school I went with my youth group to an Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona to do missions work. Spending a week in 110 degree heat and painting peoples house’s was the greatest trip of my life. We slept in housing that was sub-standard, and I slept well every night. All I ate was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a week, and everyone of them tasted great. I got sun burned but it didn’t really bother me that much. That was the best trip of my life. Spending an amazing time with my close friends and helping others at the same time.

WHAT ARE SOME WAYS YOU HAVE TREATED SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN IMPORTANT TO YOU THAT YOU ARE PROUD OF?

I have never had a great relationship with my Brother, until this summer. All this summer we spent time together. We went to the record store and went to the diner together and just hung out. It was the first time that we really got along like we were both brothers, and not two people at each other’s throats every second. This week I sent him two CD’s in the mail I knew he didn’t have just to surprise him. I am proud to say he is a cool little brother.

HAVE YOU EVER TREATED SOMEONE WHO IS IMPORTANT TO YOU IN A WAY THAT YOU NOW REGRET, OR ARE EMBARASSED BY?

Through my high school years I am sure I put my parents through hell. I am sure I made them nervous and I lied to them about some of the places I went. I’m not proud of the way that I yelled at them at times. Kicking and stomping around about how a 16 year old kid should be able to make his own decisions or go to a concert on a school night. I probably hurt their feelings when I did things like that. When I look at the close relationship I have with my parents now, and then look at how I used to treat them it is really embarrassing. I regret the way I acted.

OTHER THAN A BOYFRIEND OR GIRLFRIEND, WHO IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW? TELL ME ABOUT HIM OR HER:

I hate to sound self-centered answering this question, but the most important person in my life right now is me. I love all my friends and my family, and they are all important to me, but right now I am looking out the most for myself. I am at a big changing point in my life and I need to make sure that I am making the right decisions. A friend of mine told me that the only way to be a good friend to others is to make yourself good first. I didn’t agree with her at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how right she was.

DESCRIBE YOUR CHILDHOOD:

There is nothing about my childhood that would seem very interesting to you. If you watch those black and white television shows on Nick at Night and see two parents who get in fights, but still love each other, and two brothers who get in fights, but still love each other, that’s my family. There was no controversy in my family, and it seems by todays standards my parents are weird because they aren’t even divorced. Everything I always wanted groing up, I got. My family is by no means rich, but my Dad brings in enough money to support our family well. We went on family vacations every summer. We ate dinner together every night. I had my friends who lived up the block and every summer day we would play stickball in the street and manhunt at night. My Mom dropped me off for school everyday with my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and picked me up at 3:00. I had a tight nit group of three or four friends growing up, and we are all still good friends today. I had a great childhood, I wouldn’t go back and change a thing about it.

IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE YOUR MOTHER, (OR YOUR STEP-MOTHER, IF YOU LIVED WITH HER MOST OF YOUR LIFE AS A CHILD), BY DIVIDING HER PERSONALITY INTO TWO PARTS, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE EACH PART?

I would best describe my Mother as being a mix of caring and understanding and over protective. My Mother and I have always had a very open relationship, not like I ask her about sex or anything, but I mean I am able to tell her pretty much anything that is going on in my life and she will listen and understand. She is always there for me, and always will be. On the other hand though when I was younger she was very over-protective. A good example, was my curfew when I was a junior in high school was 11:00PM. I would just go to a friends house to watch a movie, and I would still have to be home by 11:00PM even though my other friends would be able to stay as late as they wanted. I never really thought that was fair. She knew I wasn’t doing anything bad so I couldn’t figure out why she did that to me.

IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE YOUR FATHER, (OR YOUR STEP-FATHER), BY DIVIDING HIS PERSONALITY INTO TWO PARTS, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE EACH PART?

I would best describe my Father as intense and fun loving. My Father from when I was in 8th grade up until this now has been really pressuring me through my life. You need to do this, you need to get good grades, you need to get into a good college if you want to make something of yourself. He is intense in that sense. I guess he really just wants the best for me, but I think I should have just been able to make my own decisions at times. You need to learn some things on your own. On the other hand he is a fun loving guy at heart. The best example of that was this summer when we went to the first concert of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band World Tour in New Jersey. He bought us both tickets and we went to the concert together and had a great time. We talked and sang along to music that he listened to when he was my age. He even bought me a beer. It was great, I think we felt more like brothers than Father and Son.

HOW DID YOUR PARENTS TREAT EACH OTHER? (DID YOUR PARENTS HAVE A GOOD MARRIAGE? WHAT WAS IT LIKE?)

As I said above, it seems now adays that my parents are of the minority: they are not divorced. My parents got into fights, and still do get into fights, just like any other couple. My Mom says that she loves my Dad and they will always be together. By todays standards is that weird?

DESCRIBE HOW CONFLICTS WERE HANDLED AT HOME AS YOU WERE GROWING UP (WHO WOULD WIN AND WHO WOULD LOSE, WAS THERE YELLING OR HITTING, ETC.)?

Well when I was young, my parents like to dicipline with a wooden spoon. If you were bad, you were going to get smacked a few times with the wooden spoon. I even remember a few times my little brother swore and my Mom made him take a bite from a bar of soap. My parents were by no means horrible people, they didn’t deserve for the authorities to be called in or anything, I think they just wanted the best for us. They definitely weren’t beating us, it was just their way to let us know who was boss.

IF YOU HAVE ANY BROTHERS OR SISTERS, ARE YOU CLOSE? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM?

Distance makes the heart grow fonder. My brother is three years younger than me, so I always had what my friends liked to call “the older brother syndrome.” Whenever I was around him with my friends, I always felt the need to make him feel stupid or younger than me. I know that sounds dumb, but it’s true. I look back on it now and realize how dumb it was. Now though that we don’t get to see each other as much and we get along really well. I think for some strange reason he looks up to me. He dresses the same as me and likes the same music as me. Whenever I call home my Mom tells me about how much he misses me, and I miss him too. Actually this week my Mom told me he was feeling down so I burned him two CD’s I know he doesn’t have and I sent them to him to surprise him.

DESCRIBE A MAJOR EVENT OR ISSUE THAT'S AFFECTED YOUR FAMILY:

There really is no major event that has affected my family. There are lots of small things that affect how we are and what we’ve become, but there really isn’t a major event. The only thing I can think of that comes close is me leaving for college last year. My parents and my brother were always used to a house of four, but when I left there was a more empty house of three. I think for them it gets lonely sometimes. It’s just a sign that we are all getting older. I bet my parents thought when I was five that this time would never come, but it did. Me leaving has affected how close the four of us are. This whole summer while I was home for four months I barely fought with my parents at all. I think they noticed that I am not going to be coming home much anymore and they need to cherish the last times they have with their little boy.

DESCRIBE A QUALITY/TRAIT THAT RUNS IN YOUR FAMILY:

From my Mom’s side of the family I definatley have the sensitive, scared trait. I used to call my Mom last year a lot when I was going through this depressed period and talk to her about it. She was always there to comfort me and tell me it was going to be all right. She always said that she was the same way when she was my age. I have been told that I am a lot like my Grandfather on my Dad’s side of the family, but he died in 1963, so I don’t really know too much about him. My Grandmother always said I was a lot like him though. Something about the way that I carried myself and the way I smile. I wish I could have found that out for myself first hand.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE OR PROBLEM FACING YOU TODAY ?

If this question means a political or social issue then I unfortunately can’t really answer it. I know that our current problems in the Middle Eeat effect our entire country, but it doesn’t directly effect me. I guess I am more self-centered than that. The most important issue facing me right now is if I decide to transfer at the end of the year. Right down the street from my school is the University of Pittsburgh (PITT). They have a better journalism program, it is less expensive, I would very easily be able to transfer there, and they have a much less strict foreign language program. But, there are the issues of: will all my credits transfer? I have made a lot of great friends at my school right now, do I want to leave that comfort? It is a really difficult decision for me to make.

IS THERE ANY ISSUE, POLITICAL OR SOCIAL, THAT YOU'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT? HAVE YOU DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT?

Unfortunatley I am not actively involved with anything political or social. I do like politics and I stand by most of the Democratic beliefs, but I am not involved in any of it. I am socially conscience of the world around me. I am a vegetarian. I believe in the concept of welfare. I am somewhat of a humanitarian.

WHO ARE YOUR HEROES AND WHY?

There are different kinds of hero’s. I mean there are heros from the 9/11 tragedy that are brave and put their lives on the line for others in a time of need. They are hero’s. Then there are my hero’s. J.D. Sallinger. Eli Gottlieb. Tom McNeal. Sandra Cisneros. All authors that I give my supreme respect to. They are people that can put words into ways that I can only dream of. They are the hero’s that I want to mold myself to be like one day. I look to them for guidance.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD? ARE YOU RELIGIOUS OR SPIRITUAL? DO YOU ATTEND ANY FORMAL RELIGIOUS SERVICES?

When I was a freshman in high school I accepted Jesus into my life and became a Born Again Christain. For about four year it was my everything. Jesus was what I looked to for my hope and inspiration and my happiness. Whenever I got into trouble I could talk to Jesus and everything seemed to be better. But with time that faded, and I don’t really know why. I don’t want to think that something I belived in so strongly was just a faze in my life, but I think it was. But I look back on it now and it was a dark period in my life and because of my belief everything seemed to be a lot brighter. I don’t need that as much today. I can look to myself and my friends and my peers for help and inspiration now. I wish that I could still look to Jesus for all my answers, but I can’t.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON:

ABORTION?

I don’t know what to think about abortion. I know that I am against it, but at the same time if I was to get my girlfriend pregnant at this point in my life I definitely think that abortion would be the best road to take. Though, I am a virgin so it is going to be very easy for me to avoid the concept of abortion directly affecting me. So, I guess after all that, I am against abortion. If you’re not ready to deal with the threat of getting pregnant, then you shouldn’t be having sex. That’s why I am not having sex, too many factors can be included in those few minutes of pleasure.

PEOPLE WHO HAVE A DIFFERENT SEXUAL ORIENTATION THAN YOU?

I have nothing against homosexuals. They are just the same as me, except they like the same sex. That doesn’t make them a bad person and that doesn’t effect how I should feel about their personality or how cool they are to me.

INTERRACIAL DATING?

When I was in 8th grade I dated an Asian girl for one month. That is the most experience that I have had with interracial dating. If I meet a girl who is really nice and cute, then it really doesn’t matter what race they are.

THE ENVIRONMENT?

Save the rainforests! I don’t know. Obviously I know that I shouldn’t litter, polluting the oceans is bad, and the rain forests shouldn’t be cut down , but I don’t have a very strong moral stand for the environment. I leave that to Green Peace.

POLITICANS AND PEOPLE RUNNING FOR POLITICAL OFFICE?

There is something about George Bush that just doesn’t seem right to me. I was always a supporter of Bill Clinton, so I think anyone who was going to succeed him I wasn’t going to like very much. I am definitely more of a Democrat than a Republican, I know that. I like the concept of welfare, I don’t like the concept of making guns more available.

THE MILITARY?

One of my best friends in a cadet at The West Point Academy (Army). After him telling me what he has to go through and the training that he has to endure, I have full respect for the military. Anyone who wants to volunteer their life to our country, you have to respect that.

GUN CONTROL?

Guns scare me. The other day I was just standing in line in our school cafeteria and there was a university “police officer” standing in front of me. Just looking at the gun placed loosely in the holster on his belt made me nervous. At any second some kid could just pull that gun out. I guess guns just give me the creeps. Anything that small that could end your life in a heart beat seems scary to me.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION?

I don’t know what to think of affirmative action. It’s right, and it’s wrong. If I go for a job interview and I am qualified for a job, and a minority who is not qualified gets the job over me just to fill a certain statistic, that is definitely not fair. But, at the same time everyone deserves a chance and I am sure that in certain professions affirmative action helps minority’s get jobs that they need. I don’t know.

ANIMAL RIGHTS?

I won’t eat meat or chicken when I go to the dining hall, but I am keeping my pants up with a leather belt. I guess the best way I can sum myself up for animal rights is that I am a hypocrite.

DO YOU HAVE ANY HABITS WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?

I have my peculiar quips just like everybody else, but they aren’t anything significant enough that you need to know about them.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ALLERGIES (i.e. INSECT BITES, PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION)? IF SO, WHAT ARE THEY?

No.

DO YOU: SMOKE CIGARETTES? CIRCLE (YES/NO) DRINK ALCOHOL? (YES/NO) IF YES, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE?

Reunite’ Lambrusco red wine ($6 a bottle). The cheapest beer money can buy (this is college remember).

DO YOU SMOKE MARIJUANA OR USE HARD DRUGS? HAVE YOU EVER? PLEASE EXPLAIN:

I have smoked marijuana in the past, but it never really caught my attention enough to become addicted or to do on a regular basis I have never done any hard drugs, and will never do any hard drugs.

THE REAL WORLD AND ROAD RULES HAVE A ZERO TOLERANCE DRUG POLICY. IF YOU USE DRUGS, CAN YOU GO WITHOUT FOR SEVERAL MONTHS?

I don’t foresee this as a problem because I don’t do drugs.

ARE YOU ON ANY PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION? IF SO, WHAT, AND FOR HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TAKING IT?

No.

ARE YOU NOW, OR HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A THERAPIST OR PSYCHOLOGIST? IF SO, EXPLAIN.

No.

54. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ARRESTED OR HAD A RESTRAINING ORDER ISSUED AGAINST YOU? (If so, what were the circumstances and what was the outcome?)

No.

WHAT BOTHERS YOU MOST ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE?

Close minded people. One of my best friends is a bleeding heart Republican. Some of the remarks he makes are so close minded that it makes me wonder how I can even be friends with him. They are comments that usually border racist. Some of the kids who live on my floor call kids “fags” and “homos.” I don’t understand why they have to say stuff like that. It’s not necessary.

DESCRIBE A RECENT MAJOR ARGUMENT YOU HAD WITH SOMEONE. WHO USUALLY WINS ARGUMENTS WITH YOU? WHY?

I had an argument with a “friend” of mine a few weeks ago. This girl who I am “friends” with at college, is not a good friend. Atleast in my mind she isn’t. She usually only asks me to do things after she has asked 20 other people who all said “no.” She usually only calls me if she wants something. Well one night I got home from a party with some of my friends who are my real friends and she was online. I had been drinking a little, so any of my normal, quiet reserved intentions were all gone. I basically just came right out and told her that she wasn’t a good friend and that I would “rather not run the race then always come in second place.” She didn’t really answer me at all, I guess she knew I was right. We haven’t really talked since.

HAVE YOU EVER HIT ANYONE IN ANGER OR SELF-DEFENSE? IF SO, TELL US ABOUT IT (HOW OLD WERE YOU, WHAT HAPPENED, ETC.)

When I was in 7th grade I played pond hockey with about 15 kids in my neighborhood almost every day after school when a lake near my house was frozen. There was this one kid who always managed to piss everyone off and get into fights with them. I on the other hand was more the type to shy away from these fights, until one time he badgered me enough that I tackled him as hard as I could onto the ice. Everyone has their breaking points I guess, it just took me longer to find mine. He was a smaller kid, and I really creamed him good. I was sitting on top of him and I got a few good punches into his stomach and in the nose until the other kids finally pulled me off. That was the only fist fight I have ever been in, it was very liberating.

HOW DO YOU HANDLE CONFLICTS? DO YOU FEEL THAT THIS APPROACH IS EFFECTIVE?

I try to shy anway from confrontations. It is a mix of “ I would rather be the bigger man and that I don’t like conflict.” I like to be on people’s good side, so I just try my best to steer clear of confrontations. I am just a peaceful guy.

DO YOU EVER FEEL INTIMIDATED BY OTHER PEOPLE? WHY? HOW DO YOU REACT IN THESE MOMENTS?

Yea, I feel intimidated by other people, but I think that is probably because I don’t really stick up for myself; in self-defense or with words. I don’t like confrontation very much, so I just get intimidated and tend to shy away from it. I guess it’s like being the bigger man.

HAVE YOU EVER INTERVENED TO STOP AN ARGUMENT OR FIGHT? IN YOUR OPINION, WHEN DOES AN ARGUMENT ESCALATE TO THE POINT WHERE IT SHOULD BE STOPPED?

The second before punches are about to be thrown is when you should intervene an argument or when a verbal battle is getting bad enough that it is going to hurt someone’s feelings.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ANY ONE THING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK, WHAT WOULD THAT BE?

I don’t think I am vain enough to answer this question. I was born this way, and I am going to die this way, and there is nothing I can do about it. As long as a cute girl thinks I am a cute guy, then I look perfect. Considering I dated the most beautiful girl who has ever lived, I am perfectly fine with the way I look. That’s all the confidence I need.

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ANY ONE THING ABOUT YOUR PERSONALITY, WHAT WOULD THAT BE?

Personality on the other hand, I think I could make some changes, for the better. There are some things about my personality that I want, and know that I can improve. I think I need to have a better out-look on things sometimes. I seem to always look at the negative side of things. If I always look at the negative then I will probably never see the positive. I wish I could be stronger. I wish I could stand up to people and tell them what I think instead of just taking what they think. I wish that I would be able to stand up to the the little problems in life, and not let them affect me like the big problems should. Finally, I wish that I could tell people what I really think. I know how much it hurts to be told the truth, so sometimes I just shy away from telling people what I really think because I am afraid it will hurt their feelings.

IF SELECTED, IS THERE ANY PERSON OR PART OF YOUR LIFE YOU WOULD PREFER NOT TO SHARE? IF SO, DESCRIBE, (I.E. FAMILY, FRIENDS, BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, OR ACTIVITIES)

My life is an open book, anyone who wants to read it can.

IS THERE ANYONE AMONG YOUR FAMILY OR CLOSE FRIENDS WHO WOULD OBJECT TO APPEARING ON CAMERA? IF SO, WHY?

I am sure my friends would not mind being on TV in front of millions of people, my parents on the other hand, I don’t know. Actually, I don’t even know what my parents think about all of this. They are still in the dark that their son has a chance to actually make it onto a television show for six monts. I doubt that they would be too thrilled with that prospect. My parents are probably just too shy to want to be on TV. My Mom would probably think her hair cut was bad and wouldn’t want to project that look to millions of viewers. My Dad probably just wouldn’t want to be bothered.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST FEAR (AND WHY)?

Failure. Being in college is nerve racking to begin with. Tests and quizzes and being told to read a 450 page book in three weeks so you can get a good grade which will most likely determine what your future career will be. After all of this I need to figure out what I am going to do with the rest of my life. Will it pay off in the end? I hope so, but I don’t know. I don’t know what the future holds, and that is really scary. Am I doing the right thing? I am scared that after all of this I will go out into the world with the same thing I entered college with: nothing. I am scared of failing myself and my parents.

IF YOU HAD ALADDIN'S LAMP AND THREE WISHES, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

1) Graduate from college with good grades that will get me the job that I want.

2) A time machine. I sit back and think about the past too much as it is. Why not have a machine that will actually send you back to the past so you can analyze everything first hand?

3) A gift certificate that will let me get an unlimited amount of free CD’s from any record company in the world.

- I am sure most people would ask for $1,000,000, or a Mercedes Benz, or a beautiful girl, but I want all of those things to fall into place themselves. If I am destined to have those things, then I will get them, and I will earn them. If not, then that’s the way it is going to be. It wasn’t meant to be. But, currently I just don’t have enough money to buy all the CD’s I want, so that gift certificate is going to be a wish well spent.

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