If I could take you on a journey through time and show you how many times my life has changed I would, and I kind of already do through the website, but it would take a long long time to express it all. There are many things about me that will always stay the same but in order to grow you must always be ever changing. If you won’t make changes you cannot accept certain opportunities and then you end up stuck in one place. But also, never be to quick to change without being sure it’s worth it. Take this photo for instance, for the past 4-5 years my garage/shop at home has been set up as a Cabinet Shop for a business that I used to run, but now I have decided not to do that business anymore and I’m about to clear it out and build another mini ramp. It took me a year and a half to commit to this decision, but now it’s time for a change…
I grew up in Ontario, and moved across the country at 19 with my girlfriend at the time, now wife, Carrie. It was probably the best change I ever made, for myself and for all the people here in BC that needed someone to help change their lives. I never would have guessed that it would have been me that would make such a positive difference in the world around us but sometimes strange things happen for a reason. I changed some things about myself when I decided to work for the City of Surrey back in 2003 and as I continued to work with children and youth more and more things about me changed. I became more caring towards individual people but still kept my hatred for the world as a whole. Because without that, I wouldn’t have the same initiative to help it change and benefit those individuals. After 10 years of working for the government, I changed a lot but I always kept my mind focused on the outcomes that I was looking for, and one thing that never changed was my determination to make those outcomes real – I will still fight any battle for as long as it takes to win it if I truly believe in it.
Working around kids really made me change as a person and I became so much more positive, I stopped caring about always winning and being the best at things, and I just finally got to utilize my teaching skills and have lots of opportunities to share all the knowledge I had gained through so many crazy life experiences. But nothing changed me more than having a kid of my own. When Carrie got pregnant in 2009 we were planning for it because we were ready for that change, and it was the best change ever. A child who loves you owns your heart, they are your soul and you will do anything for them. It changes the way you look at life, it makes you rethink risky and dangerous things a lot before doing them, and it gives you something to live for. Every minute I get to spend with Kaelen is worth the equivalent of a million dollars to me and even after everything I have been through in my life I couldn’t imagine not having him in it now. Every night I look at him sleep and know how lucky I am.
The world changes around us every day, but we get to choose which path to follow, which people to listen to, and what we want to do each day of our lives. Take advantage of that. Today I turn 35 years old, and I have changed a lot over those years but there are some things about me that will never change
- I will always be a mentor, a teacher, a positive role model
- I will always fight for what I believe is right and not give up
- I will always be a shoulder to cry on for whoever needs one
- I will always be a family man
- and I will always be a skateboarder for life…
Thank You