I grew up in Phoenix, AZ where I enjoyed the year round outdoor weather. Baseball was my passion and you could almost always find me with a bat and glove. When I was about 12, I started delivering papers for the Phoenix Gazette for what would be my first paying gig in journalism.

A few years later, during my freshman year in high school, our family moved to southern California. It was here that I was first introduced to a more formal world of writing. Since I had done some writing of short stories as a kid, I decided to take a journalism course during my junior year. I was fortunate to have a very good instructor, Ms. "Cat" was her name (short for Caternicchio, if I recall correctly). As my semester progressed, she helped me hone my hidden talents that otherwise may have gone untapped. At the conclusion of the semester, my journalism course ended and so did our family's stay in California.

We relocated to the suburbs of Chicago during my junior year of high school. I continued to take journalism courses and began to work for the school paper as a features and sports writer. Eventually, I worked up to sports editor of the paper during my senior year. I found an additional enjoyment in the position in that my father had held the same position for his school paper when he was in high school. Unfortunately, as high school concluded, so did my stint in journalism.

Following high school, I eventually earned my Master of Science in Physical Education from Northern Illinois University. Throughout college and later, around my day job, I occasionally picked up the quill and scroll to work as a stringer or write articles for a company newsletter. But as the years rolled on, I tabled the side jobs and focused more on family and the day job.

Today, I am the father of two great boys (twins) and am proud of the family my wife and I have built together. Yet, there is a deep realization that the yearnings I have had to write over the past few years are more a part of me than I may have understood. I have been searching for a way to work on developing my writing skills, while at the same time feel my writing is contributing to something worthwhile.

I happened to come across Helium.com as I linked from a blog I was reading and I was intrigued. Now, I am hooked and look forward to becoming a steady contributor to the Helium community.

My passion is ...

freedom! Freedom to express, freedom to love, freedom to live my dreams,

I know too much about ...

myself... yet, there is still much to learn

My parents always told me ...

life isn't fair... and that there are lots of starving children in Africa

My childhood ambition ...

was to be a baseball player, although I always seemed to end up doing things that involved writing.

My favorite memory ...

is my sister and I trekking through the forest of Oak Creek Canyon during a thunderstorm (when I was abt. 9 years old)

Why I write ...

is because I enjoy bringing together words in such a way that can entertain, inform, enlighten, or encourage others.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

"Why My Wife Thinks I'm an Idiot" by Mike Greenberg (How could I resist that title?)

My first job ...

was as a paper boy for the Phoenix Gazette & Arizona Republic

My best moment ...

was "coaching" my wife during the birth of our twin boys

My inspiration ...

is something for which I search everyday, but I have always found my father an inspiration in life

Sports & Recreation > Training & Equipment Should bodybuilding be made compulsory for students?

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Should bodybuilding be made compulsory for students?

Bodybuilding is the process by which individuals develop the muscular shape of their body through resistance (or weight) training and a well-balanced nutrition program. Resistance training is used to isolate individual muscles or muscle groups in an effort to maximize size. The nutrition aspect compliments the resistance training program by supplying the optimal nutrients for muscle development while reducing overall body fat. Bodybuilding, when performed properly, encompasses four of the five health-related fitness components (streng...

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