Everyone of us has a story of our childhood, where we lived, were we grew up. Many people believe that they had it worse than this one or that one. If you are expecting me to tell you that I had a horrid life, or that I was abused like a rag doll, then you are ready the wrong essay. My name is Damion, I was born on March 19th of 1976. There are allot of things that I don’t remember about my early childhood, but that is true of anyone and everyone. We all lose memories as we grow older.

Memories go and are replaced with new ones. Do you want me to say that I have always been happy, I cannot say that and not be lying. No one can. Everyone has had their roadblocks and speed bumps that come along and slow you down. The real measure of a man or woman is how you deal with each roadblock and learn from each experience. Everything that I have lived through has made me what I am as I write this, and though some of it was extremely painful, I would not change a thing.

There are some memories that have never faded in my mind, little snippets that I can reach for whenever I feel that I need to. It is funny to me how your childhood is the basis for what you become when you are an adult, yet so much of it disappears into oblivion as you get older. I remember how when I would go fishing with my father, almost every time I caught more than he did. I could never forget seeing the giant shark come out of the water, you could see into its mouth, and it came crashing down on the back of the boat. I have never forgotten that. Maybe it was the beginning of my love for sharks. I have spent many years of my life studying those creatures. Sadly, I have allowed all of that knowledge to become outdated, but I never like to miss Shark Week when it hits the Discovery Channel.

I remember a time when I was older than that, I had climbed up on the back of my toy box to look out the window. It was snowing and I wanted to see it. I don’t know if I had seen it before then or not, but this was my first memory of snow. My toy box was shaped a bit like a couch, the seat opened up to reveal the toys, but I was standing on the back of it.