Well, I’m off to a bad start I guess. I said I’d be back yesterday and… I completely forgot. However, I did remember to jump on today so I got that going for me, which is nice. Anyways, I’m gonna spend the rest of the night adding some of my writing on here. I have no idea how to do this so hence the “rest of the night”. It’s important to me I start doing more and I’m going to force myself to do that. I’m hoping it becomes a habit.

So, today I figured I’d introduce myself a bit. I’m not sure the kind of followers I’m going to get, if any, but I’m sure they’ll want to know who they’re reading from. My name is Michael Edward Arruda. I’m originally from Southern California, dreamy right? Not so much. I’m pretty sure I was born to be a country boy. I’m active duty military and have been stationed in Texas for the last two years and I couldn’t feel more at home. I’m married and have one beautiful son, but more on that at a later date. It’s a bit more complicated than I’d like to get into in my introduction. In my career I’ve been blessed with the ability to travel to a few different countries, Japan and Guam being my favorite.

I thoroughly enjoy being in the outdoors. I spend most of my time fishing or camping. Doing things in the outdoors clears my head and allows me to wind down when work or life tend to be hitting me hard. It’s inspiring to see how other life goes on when you realize your part is so minuscule in the whole operation we call this world. I love to work with my hands and woodworking is my way of capitalizing on it. I make small trinkets up to large pieces of furniture. I love being creative and the joy it can bring others.

I was raised by my mother as she split up with my father at an early age. When I was 11, my father was killed and things changed dramatically in my life. I was a roller coaster of emotion and I didn’t really have an outlet so I descended into depression and anxiety. That is until I found writing. When I was 14 I was brought into the world of literature by my eighth grade teacher. He showed me how beautiful the written word could be and ever since, I sought to be someone who could paint pictures with words. The depression was suppressed for the time being

When I was 17, another climb in my roller coaster had reached it’s peak and was about to descend me further into a mental state which would take years for me to escape. My mother was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer during my junior year of high school. When I found out, the news left me cold. All blood and feeling left my body and I was empty. It was one of the darkest days of my life. After a long time, I learned to cope. Things came back to normal for a while and life seemed to be alright. Things were great during these times and left me with a temporary sense of normalcy. As her condition progressed, my mindset changed respectively. I had only been in Japan a month before I was rushed home by the Red Cross. My mother, my interim father, my confidant, and best friend would pass away before my plane landed in America.

All of these events and many more have made me the person I am today. As painful as they are, I believe they are part of a larger plan and purpose. I may never know specifically, but I have faith it all works out in the end. All this makes for one hell of a storyteller if I do say so myself and I hope others think so too.