I travel a lot. I have always traveled. When you travel as much as I do, you naturally meet new people all the time. The first question I usually get is, ‘Where are you from?’ I always answer, ‘I’m from Detroit.’ But the reality is that I’m not actually from downtown Detroit. I am from a little township in southeast Detroit that goes by the name of Waterford. It is roughly 35 square miles, population 74,166, and the area code is 248. I started off my first years in a two story family lake house with a large yard and giant oak tree. My father always wanted to build a new home on the property and so in the late 90’s we did and I moved all the way to next door. We lived on a lake which brought the majority of the entertainment to our house. Along with the bulk of our family and friends who wanted to get on the boat and cruise. And in the winter, when it froze we got to skate. My Dad and I would shovel the snow, mostly my Dad, and create a giant ice rink. We would setup a big spotlight and I would find the longest extension cords possible to plug in my Sony boombox and blast my music. I grew up in a pretty amazing place with such a beautiful family. It wasn’t always smooth sailing but at the end of the day I was able to be me all the time. My skating career was always my priority. With that as my main focus I wasn’t the best student. I was confident I was going to the Olympics of course and why would I need to be good at math if I was going to be an athlete? That is how I convinced myself that I was going to be just fine. Although my parents were not on the same page all the time. They instilled the strongest morals in me and I have never wavered on them either. I knew right and wrong in my bones at a young age. There is most certainly something to be said about coming from the Midwest. I have been traveling for many years now for various lines of work and I realize how damn lucky I am. How lucky I am to be from such a loving and supportive home. A home that was strong enough to raise me, nurture my dreams, and still be tough on the important things. My parents, my sister, my grandparents, my family, and my closest friends have built me. I am from Waterford, Michigan. That is my home and always will be.