I am a single white male from Mercerville, N.J., where I have lived most of my life. I was born May 26, 1971 in Princeton. (I'm a Gemini). The one passion that I have had from a very early age, which has lasted to the present day, is my love for songwriting. I play guitar and sing. When I got out of high school, I went to Mercer County Community College, and then transferred to Boston College as a literature major. I chose literature because I have always had a love for books. More than anything, I was going to school because it is what a person is "supposed to do" to be successful in life. I was in class, but my heart was in my music. I decided I should not be spending so much money and time on something where my passion did not lye. I left college to pursue music full time. I spent the 90's in a band called "The Semibeings". We released two compact discs internationally. Our first, "Sickness and Health" was released in 1995 by Shimmy Disc/Knitting Factory Records out of New York City. Our second release "Three Pawns Standing" was released by C/Z records out of Seattle in 1997. If you are interested, you can order these albums at http://artists.spun.com/semibeings or for a free download of a song, or just a sample, go to amazon.com. Our music was also featured on MTV's " The Real World".
I created many songs and albums which I am very proud of today and I regret none of it. It feels good to go back over my past work and reflect on where I was at, at the time and the signs within that give clues as to who I am and where I am going. The problem with pursuing music as a living is that it is almost pure chance as to whether I could make a living focusing only on my art. I am an artist only, and therefore I really do not have a business side where I go out and try to promote the music by making contacts and "smoozing" among people who could have influence to make my band more successful both as far as getting the music out there and also financially. Those situations of "networking" did not feel natural to me... it was like playing a part to charm someone in the superficial hope that they will do something in return because of it. Subsequently, due to this and fate, I was not able to make a decent living through my music. As I get older, I start to realize that I would not necessarily be happy or comfortable being famous, with everyone knowing my deepest feelings and thoughts that I always express through my songs. I think even more importantly as I age, I yearn for a life where I can marry and have a private family life which I feel is really my life's goal and would make me the most content over anything else. So, a major decision in me going back to school to finish getting my Bachelors is the need for survival and the need to be able to help support if not fully support a wife and children (which degree's would obviously help in doing.)
This is not the only reason however... I missed the intellectual stimulation that school provides. In my time away, I did a lot of my own learning through reading various subjects. I have a desire and passion now to learn, and gain knowledge.
I am a Liberal Arts Major with a concentration in the social sciences at Rider University. I like that I am getting a Liberal Arts degree, which I feel in essence will make me more well rounded as opposed to focusing on one discipline. I am in essence getting a degree in a little bit of everything, and I think that is important.
Another reason for Liberal Arts is some things have not changed since I was younger.... I am still not fully decided on what career I want to pursue... So, by experimentation with different disciplines, I feel I will be motivated to find out which one fits best for me and go on to more schooling from there. I do know that Social Sciences fascinate me, particularly Psychology and Sociology. I believe I will go on in one of the two after I get my Bachelors.
Due to my interest in Sociology, I have the great fortune of already working in that capacity. I am a project supervisor for a policy research firm called Mathematica, based in Princeton N.J. To learn more about this, go to our site www.mathematica-mpr.com
Cyberspace is a medium that fascinates me. I think it's quite extraordinary that at this point in history and technology that you can go to a "box" in your room and within you have the power to meet people from around the world. Not to mention the wealth of endless information that is available. I have made some very strong and lasting friendships over the internet, and the idea of studying the psychology behind it attracted me to take this independent study for Dr. Suler. Not only is the goal to learn about the psychology behind cyberspace and a topic that is meaningful to me, but a major focus of the study is to learn something about myself, which is something I constantly strive to do.
My topic is eastern thought and its parallels with western Psychology, two areas that fascinate me. I feel by looking at the seemingly distant relationship between the two, certain conclusions can be made which support and legitimize the two therefore giving a deeper meaning and validity to each.
I discovered Eastern thought a few years back by reading "The Tao Te Ching", an ancient text that originated in China thousands of years ago. When reading The Tao, I found it eased me and relieved me of a lot of the problems and stress that life can bring about. It is straightforward and meaningful .My words can not really do it justice... If you would like to read The Tao for yourself a really good translation by Stephen Mitchell is available at http://www.mindfully.org/Tao-Te-Ching-Lao-tzu.htm
Through the equest project, I have learned that there is a wealth of information of eastern thought and psychology and through online groups that deal with these subjects, I can see that there are many people out there like myself, who gain a lot of insight through the tenants of eastern thought such as Taoism and Buddhism and its psychological equivalents.
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