Steve

For a narrative poet, meaning I tell stories when I write poems, you would think that it would be easy to say, "Oh, this is who I am" to just about anyone (particularly if you have ever read my brash, straight forward poems). This is just not the case when it comes to introductions. I have always been the shy blond haired, blue eyed kid clinging to his mother's leg when introduced to people. I blush and feel awkward for blushing, then blush some more.

I feel self-conscious, and I never know what someone else will find interesting about me. I guess that says a lot about me as well, though, as I typically try to cater to my audience. Once, when pressed to answer the question, "What are your interests?" by a professor during the first day getting-to-know-you introductions, I answered honestly, "Sleep." This is not to say that I do not have interests, as I am currently training to run a marathon, love watching and playing hockey, reading and writing poetry, watching movies, and playing video games. I realize, however, that most people would not want to hear about them. It was, I felt at the time, the only thing I had in common witheveryone.

Eventually, after I swallow the self-doubt, suck it up, and realize that people are just going to have to accept what I have to say, I say a few nuggets about things I've done in the past, or maybe about where I was born or what Smaczniak means in Polish ("Of the tasty", though there are no Smaczniaks in Poland, and why anyone would be named that is unknown to me.) But I rarely tell people that last fact, because my Polish heritage means about as much to me as my hometown, Buffalo, NY. They are just facts about me that influenced the person I am today (that person that I have still tried to dodge telling you about).

The picture I chose was from my last birthday, with my dog Eddie. He is licking his lips because he got a little bit of the cake while I wasn't looking.