Welcome to My Hood

I've said countless times that I fit the phrase perfectly when it comes to "what you see is what you get." I'm active all across the social media board. You know me from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and Flickr. I talk to hundreds weekly that live anywhere from two to 2,000 miles from me. Social media gives me a pretty big reach, and through it, you get to know me exactly as I am. My "internet personality" is my personality. I don't tweet about being a fan to impress anyone, I don't only post model-type mirror pics on my Facebook, and I speak openly to everyone. If you know me from the web, in person, or both, you know that I'm a stat-junkie sports addict, knit collector, photographer, workaholic, down-to-earth college senior who watches way too much of the "Real Housewives" series and has a bucket list longer than Kate Gosselin's monthly grocery list. It's easy to get to know who I am, but not everyone knows where I come from. Come along with me.


I grew up in a little city called North College Hill. Although I'm west of the I-75 split, I'm not what most Cincinnatians would consider a "west-sider." The stigma of being a west-sider, I'll have you know, is only a reputation developed by Cincinnati east-siders who've never shopped in a mall outside the area near Amberley Village and most of the time live off of mommy and daddy or above their means. My little mile-by-a-mile city is directly north of downtown and two steps from the border of the city of Cincinnati. We're best known for having our own high school with graduating classes of about 100 students and producing two NBA stars.


I was born to a native of the Hoosier State and a born-and-raised Cincinnatian. I grew up in the same house my father lived in as a child. We've watched the area around it change and develop, but there's nothing wrong with the place. I have an older brother who lived under the same roof as me for about 19 years, and NCH (as we refer to it) has recently been dubbed a great place to live in the U.S. Are the houses worth $250,000? No. Is there a Starbucks within a mile? No. Do moms come to the grocery store with their Vuitton purses? Definitely not. But there's nothing wrong with that.


I was prompted to write after hearing recently that there had been a statement on Cincinnati.com that the only thing North College Hill produces are "thugs." I clearly and strongly disagree.


My father and his sisters are graduates of North College Hill High School. Two of them are college graduates and have made incredible lives for themselves. My father is a machinist and work leader at The Carlisle and Finch Co. where has has worked since he was 19 years old. He is successful enough to have provided for a family of four, without a college degree, while my mom stayed at home raising my brother and I for about 17 years. I didn't get a Lexus for my "Sweet 16" and my parents didn't pay to send me to Cancun for my senior spring break. However, they did pay for me to dance competitively for 15 years, bought me my French horn, and handed me down my first car, which I still drive. They've also paid for the majority of my college education and I've never gone without.


My brother is also a graduate of NCH. He obtained a degree as an engineer and now has a career he loves. He's lived on his own for quite a while, and spends his spare time working on a project car.


One of my closest friends Will is graduating in June with me from a five-year program at the University of Cincinnati as an urban planner. He has a bright future ahead of him, is working an incredible co-op right now, and is an active volunteer at his church and with youth groups. He's one of the best guys I know.


And for me? I've always been the good kid. I've never stolen anything, robbed anyone, or loitered on a street corner. I've had one detention in my life for something I didn't even do. I was active in just about every group you could imagine in high school. I was an AP student, a straight-A student, and graduated fifth in my class with a GPA around 4.6. I received multiple scholarship offers, and pursued a degree in journalism. I've been working a part-time job since I was 18, I pay for part of my college education, I pay all my own bills, and I'm set to graduate with a major in journalism and photojournalism, a minor in Spanish, a minor in public relations, and I'll have completed it all in exactly four years. I had reputable internships with the Cincinnati Reds and GoBearcats.com, I'm an active sports photographer, and I've been published numerous times including my most recent achievement of being published in a book about the 2010 Cincinnati Reds, where my photo appears on the cover.


If NCH has caused me to become anything, it's determined. I'm focused and driven and I owe a lot of that to my upbringing. People around me don't live in the best conditions and it instilled in me the drive to rise above. You make the best of what you have, and in this case I feel like I have gone above and beyond what's been expected of me. I didn't have the education provided for me that you'd get at the surrounding coveted private Catholic schools. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, and that's a damn good thing. I work for what I have, I've worked hard to get where I am, and this is only the beginning. "Ain't" isn't in my every-day vocabulary, I've never smoked a day in my life, and I've never been in trouble with the law. I am a product of North College Hill, and I'm better off because of it.