Matthew Paul Olson

Links:

Yahoo! 360 mp234wi

Yahoo! Photos

Radio mp234wi

Yahoo! Messenger

Contact:

Name:

Matt

Email:

[email protected]

On Yahoo! Messenger . Send an I.M. by clicking the Picture .

 

 

I was born in Wisconsin, on February 23rd, 1981, and I grew up in a very small town, with my parents and two older brothers. Dan is 2 years older than me, and Nate is 6 years older than me. We lived in the parsonage of the Lutheran Church where my dad was the Pastor. A nice beginning.

When I was five years old my family moved to a farm approximately 100 miles away from where I spent the first 5 years of my life, because my dad was about to become a Pastoral Care Worker at a hospital in the 30 mile away city of 35,000 populous. Our farm was 4 miles from a town of 500 people. However, even though we lived on a farm, we did not have any barnyard animals or livestock of any kind. In fact, my dad actually filled in the feeding and troughs in the barn with cement and turned the building into an indoor basketball court.

{It is obvious what motivation drives my father and hence to a degree I and that is our common interest in sports and athletics which is a derivative of hard work (teamwork), dedication, and never giving up. If Dad, whom my brothers, but not myself call him; “The Rev.”(short for Reverend); is not competing directly himself in sports, or coaching his sons, you can be sure that he is watching an event on television in between working on his vintage vehicles. One is a 1941 Ford, and the other a 1990s Thunderbird (which his father most of his life always chose as his vehicle of choice. Nothing else. Household tasks when not at the church helping people are also a staple of life. No matter whether dishes or building a new garage, or vacuuming-My dad is the man for any job. I have and will always be My Father's Son. I've inherited many of the personality traits that my Dad possesses, such as character, will, unwillingness to fail, and if nothing else the booming 'carrying voice' which he and I from him were simply born with. He has said that a part of his personality due to his profession sometimes puts people off when he is not at church, and at other times draws people, as in his profession it should, to Jesus Christ-which is the ability to speak with respectability within himself and a belief-a complete belief within his soul-in what he is saying. Truly believing in what one says, how they feel, and what they discern to be genuine or true on any topic-is sometimes a difficult trait to own within their personality-because it is difficult to be jocular-which means to joke around-and difficult when one is not entirely set on solid ground within themselves-or a bit off course as we all get at times. Every person on this planet is a human being and no human being is at all anywhere near perfection. Losing oneself or one’s sight is a commonality of life and so is only seeing exactly what is directly in front of them and not at all the “Big Picture” of life. This is why I say that. But still in that area, One can, including myself when not lost or blind, remember as often as possible the great quality of humility within themselves and admit when they are wrong, which I often do. Because it IS a fact that I and everyone else as humans are Far from perfect.

I went to kindergarten and elementary school in Unity, and I made lots of good friends. My family and I took trips all around the country during the summers also and that was really fun. We went to New York City (to the top of the sadly now fallen World Trade Center) and also to the top of the Statue of Liberty, and also Ellis Island. We went to Washington D.C. to the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, The Lincoln Monument, The Jefferson Memorial, The Vietnam Memorial, The Eternal Flame, (we traveled to Arlington National Cemetery), and actually in that same summer as going on the trip to Washington, D.C. with my family-I decided to go with my High School Friends on a Field Trip that CHS planned-I actually-and the other students, were blessed and lucky enough to travel to all the sites (me for the second time that year) and also we were somehow given the chance to enjoy a very special journey down the Potomac River on a chartered boat. I saw the most beautiful sunset ever. Some of the other trips that my family and I took were to Yellowstone National Park. Also to Boston and the beautiful Harbor, to Philadelphia where we saw the Liberty Bell, to Toronto where we went to the top of the CN Tower, To South Dakota where we went to Mount Rushmore, to Kansas City and Six Flags, to the top of the Arch in St. Louis, and also to “The Field of Dreams” in Dyersville, Iowa, (Because the movie “Field of Dreams” is a favorite movie of my family, There were many good times of family togetherness and I had a very, very good childhood; filled with support, kindness, understanding, and care; from both of my parents and from both of my brothers.

Then my family decided to move to a town three miles away from the farm where we were living. I made lots of friends there also, due in part to the location of our home in the center of the small town, and our rather nice basketball hoop.  A good number of kids and me every day were in our driveway competing and having fun playing Springfield, Massachusetts claim to fame-The sport of Basketball. (My friends that I made then in 4th grade maintained their ties with me throughout high school as friends of mine and to that extent.) I learned many life lessons that stay with me subconsciously due to the intense effort and understanding of the fundamental skills one must employ in the team concept and sport of basketball. 5th and 6th grade was when I played on the teams that my Dad coached. I even played on tournament teams for large portions of the state of Wisconsin in A.A.U. (Amateur Athletic Union) tournaments.  At my modest 6 foot 3 inch height, (which some consider very tall of course) I never achieved such lofty results in that area as my much taller and much more athletic oldest brother Nate who is 6 foot 7 inches tall- And was an extremely athletic human being who achieved his own height of 6 foot 7 in track and field high jump. I have never been more than an athlete using intelligence, creativity, and sticking to the fundamentals as my main strengths.

 

Meanwhile, my mom got a job at a Veterinary Clinic in our town. She was very skilled at her profession there and was quite the asset to the community even as she told me the story once that the entire computer database of the community, farms, and medical information of all livestock was nearly lost to a crash, but her surprised (and very thankful) employer discovered from her that she had been - on her own time and with personal skills with the programs, backing-up all the information all along. This may not seem as important as it really was, but a rural farming community - and its veterinary clinic – (for livestock) depend on each other, for the continuance of the whole area to maintain production, financial stability, and the homes, businesses, and well-being and lives of everyone in the area. On a lighter note, my Mom adopted pets from the veterinary clinic that my family and I took in and rescued which became members of our family so to speak, and engendered a care for animals within my young self that exists to this day.

Next I started junior high school at 13 years of age. At this point a great shift of the dynamics of my life occurred when my Mom divorced my Dad. It seemed unexpected and confusing to me how my mother could divorce my father and to an extent-separate 'our family'. I very much blamed myself for it as many children of divorce tend to do. It is in my opinion the single most important or influential event of my life. The divorce affected every aspect of my life from that point on in a ripple effect of my reactions to it and the things that took place in correspondence.

Mom moved to an apartment two miles away in a different town and I did not really know how to deal with the change at all. My father was working overtime 30 miles away and I had little supervision, and began drinking and partying with friends, smoking cigarettes, and was at many times 'in rebellion' against what was happening in my life, and took this stance out against nearly everyone I encountered or who was part of my life. My dad ended up meeting a woman and this disregard and dislike that was brewing within me carried over to my feelings toward her-which today still are unsteady at best interactions between her and myself. At worst the dynamic between her and I is filled with animosity and deep criticism - and only sometimes are her and I in the same room and the room a comfortable situation for anyone. She is his wife of many years now. They have two children, my younger brothers Thomas and Benjamin.

 

In between the divorce and my graduation from High School, my Grandmother, and both my Grandfather’s passed away. I do not choose to type on this subject.

 
In 2000 my mother decided to move to Oklahoma to live with her sister and try to rebuild or build a new life. She met her current husband, a builder, (on Christmas Eve 2000 they were married). He has been nothing but a positive influence on my life, if at many times I did not realize it and conflict occurred, yet ties are strong to this day and positive. He financed a trip to Hawaii for me to visit with my mother and him for two weeks in January of 2002.

 

As far as education is concerned after High School, I started at a very respected and beautiful University studying Art Education. After that my major was Religion.

In 2003 I moved to live with my Mom and Stepfather, Norman, in Oklahoma. I went to school at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa (and am still enrolled there) as a Human Development and Family Science major, which is a degree in the Human Science field that can be a help in finding a position as a counselor, of many types, or other various social work employment positions. In addition, I went to Tulsa Community College and studied Computer Graphics and Web Page Design. I have become somewhat proficient at the program called 'Photoshop', with the help of the earlier education I received studying Art, and have created some, in my opinion, visually interesting artworks - trying my best to understand computers, as the helping hand they can be to us all.

As of October 2007 I am hoping and praying that my life takes a positive upswing in every aspect and lasts in that direction for as long as possible. I have approximately one semester remaining to finish my bachelor's degree at OSU-Tulsa for Human Development and Family Science, which is my goal. I also hope to build work history hoping for internships that utilize my specific career and life assets that may enhance my ability to earn a position in the field of social work and life. I feel and hope I am now completely ready to take a leap of faith into the next stage of my life, a life of stability, a family of equality with a woman who loves and respects me I pray, balance within all the details of my life, and all the many great and small wonders of happiness, ups, downs, and the growth of character that this 'School called Life' will bring my way in the coming years.