| I was born in a relatively small town in Ohio by the name of Springfield to Jeff and Verla Montgomery, ages 24 and 25 respectively. I was born 3 days after my mother's birthday, so I was something of a birthday present to her. My brother was born about 13 months later, a bit earlier than recommended by my mother's doctor, but that's the way things go. We lived in the area with my father's family, of which he is the oldest of five children. All five of my grandparent's kids lived within probably a two-mile radius. We did things as a family a LOT, and my brother and I spent time with our cousins daily. When I was around 6 or 7 years old, my father joined the army. He bounced around from station to station, while the rest of us stayed behind in Springfield. Eventually, he was stationed in Tennessee, and we were allowed to move there with him. It was an interesting experience, trying to get used to being somewhere other than Ohio. We lived on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky, actually, and saw a little of each. It was a bit difficult adjusting to a new school and new people, but I survived. We lived there for about a year, and then moved back to Ohio. However, we didn't stay there long. My dad ended up getting stationed in Belgium, which is in Europe in case some of you don't know ;) Anyway, we moved there with him, for a 3 year tour of duty. It was there that I developped my love for languages and other cultures. I was fascinated by it all, being surrounded as I was. We lived away from the army base in a regular neighborhood in a town called Ghlin, which is a suburb of a major town called Mons. My brother and I went to school on the army base, though. The school had a native Belgian come in to our classes twice a week to teach us French, which we picked up rather quickly. Again, it was rough getting used to a new school and new people, and even worse this time around because it was a different country. Our landlord was Belgian, and we rented a duplex. By strange coincidence, the family living in the other side of the duplex was also an american army family. However, the couple's only child was a boy who was about 5 years younger than me, so we didn't really hang out with him much. When my father's tour there ended, we moved back to the States. We stayed in Ohio about a month, and then took a LONG drive from Springfield to a town in Texas named Copperas Cove. He was stationed at Fort Hood, which is next to Killeen, Texas. Copperas Cove is close to Killeen, probably about 15 minutes or so, I think. We stayed there a year, while I was in the 7th grade. Then we moved to another Texas town name Belton. That one is about 40 minutes from Killeen, so my dad had to travel a little further to get to work. It didn't last long, though, since my dad decided not to reinlist when his tour was over, and instead elected to be honorably discharged. We stayed there in Belton, and I went through 8th grade and all of high school there. After I graduated high school, I chose to attend the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, which is also located in Belton. I studied for a degree in Music Education there for four years, and then decided that what I really wanted to get my degree in was Music Composition. Mary Hardin-Baylor doesn't offer that degree, so I started looking for a school to transfer to. I finally decided to move to Lubbock, Texas, and transfer to Texas Tech University, mostly because I had a friend from high school who had moved there a year and a half or so earlier, and was in need of a roommate. So I moved and took a semester off from school and worked, and when spring rolled around, I applied for transfer to Tech. I was accepted, and have since been persuing a degree in composition. I have considered changing it to Music Theory, but we'll see how that goes. My parents still live in Belton, which is about a 6 hour drive from here, so I don't get to see them very often. My friends from Mary Hardin-Baylor are mostly already graduated, since those that changed degrees decided early enough to change that it didn't hold them back much. They're starting to spread out again, and it's getting harder and harder to keep in touch with them all. But that's life for ya... |
