Brown 1

A Day In The Life An Autobiography

Matthew Brown EDUC 111: Introduction to Teaching Professor Eastman September 26, 2013

Brown 2 Abstract: The life of Matthew Brown can be summed in one word, fighter. For nineteen years I have fought for what makes me who I am. I have had family there for me every step of the way. I found the true side of myself in high school and realized who and what I wanted to become. When it came to college I experienced a few bumps in the road, but now here at Manchester I have found a new home. For nineteen years I have had scratches and bruises but have continued to push through, and I believe I can bring that positive energy to the educational system.

Brown 3 When pregnant and expecting at anytime, one would think that it would be best to lay off of the Mexican food until after the birth, right? Well, apparently my mother could have cared less on May 5, 1994. After a night full of nausea and excruciating pain, Shari Brown finally released an eight and one half pound baby boy into the world at the local Merrillville Methodist hospital at around 7:30 a.m. on May 6, 1994. According to my mother, I have been stubborn my entire life, fighting the entire way into this world. After resting in the hospital for a few days and getting ditched by my dad Gregg for a golf game, it was finally time to head home. From there is where I embarked on my journey through this world. Through my short nineteen years on this earth, I have learned that there will be an abundance of people that come into your life and then leave abruptly at inopportune times. That is just the way it works. There are, however, those people that will be there forever; that is called family. I have grown up in a close family of five. My father Gregg, and my mother Shari met in seventh grade and have been together ever since. They have three children including myself: a twenty-five year old son named Michael, twenty-three year old daughter Stephanie, and myself. Along with my household family, I have been blessed to have two grandparents from my mothers side that have been there through every bump in the road. Unfortunately on my fathers side I never got to meet my grandparents due to a battle with cancer. We have been a tight-knit family my entire life, and I can proudly say that I have never taken them for granted a day in my life. Although my family was close, growing up as the youngest child was not always fun.

Brown 4 Some kids feel left behind or in the shadows of their older siblings, but it has been nice for me to be able to say that I never felt that way growing up. I was lucky enough to have an older brother that cared enough to allow me to play sports in the backyard with him and his friends and an older sister that was always there for me when I needed a shoulder to lean on. As for my parents, I commend them on never making me feel like my priorities were any less important than my siblings priorities. If there were ever conflicts in schedules, they found a way to have a family member at all of the activities going on. That is what made my parents and siblings so special to me. My family and I all grew up in a town called Hobart, Indiana in the northwest corner of the state. There are four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. I began my journey through school at Liberty Elementary, which is where the students on the east side of Hobart went. I was extremely paranoid as a young child to begin my school days. It didnt take long for me to adapt. After about a month into my first grade year I knew that school was the place for me. I enjoyed the learning aspect of it. I am one that tries to be the smartest in the room at all times, so learning was competitive to me. I got to meet some people that have turned out to be my best friends, and recess was a ball. My third grade teacher, Mr. Burger, was the teacher that made me start to consider becoming an educator. He used to read us A Series Of Unfortunate Events, play California kickball with us, and develop ways to push us in the classroom in a fun and enjoyable way.

Brown 5 Mr. Burger used to push me to become the best version of myself, and taught me to never accept anything but my best. He instilled a work ethic in me that I have used in other areas of my life and I will never forget him. As much as I enjoyed elementary school, I could not wait until middle school. Middle school is the time in kids lives where they start to develop who they want to be when entering adolescence. They start to explore new and exciting things in life. I remember enjoying the new freedoms that were thrust upon me. During my seventh grade year, I chose to take a careers class. The student was allowed to explore different options in career choices for adulthood. I will forever remember that class, because that was when I first decided that I wanted to teach high school and coach high school basketball. I remember researching the details of education and instantly becoming fascinated with it. Just thinking about sharing a passion with another person and possibly having a positive effect on their life made me realize my future choices. Since I havent finished college yet, I would have to say that High School truly has been the best time of my life up to this point. That was the point where I really established who I was and what it was I was about. Going through high school, I had several of the same teachers that my older siblings had. The teachers expected me to be the quiet and reserved kid that my siblings were; they were in for a rude awakening. In high school, I became the loud and outgoing person that I have always been. I made friends with everyone and took an exceptional liking to sports, which created close and personal relationships with people I truly care about now. There was one problem though; what subject would I teach?

Brown 6 In high school, I finally figured out the answer to my question. I took a lot of physical education classes during my four years at Hobart High. I loved the way they made me feel. I felt in my element. By my senior year of high school, I had finally realized what I would do with the rest of my life. I was going to teach what I enjoyed the most, high school physical education, and coach my other love and joy, high school basketball. Upon graduation, I decided to attend Purdue University North Central to play basketball. I wasnt always going to go to PNC. I knew going into it that they didnt have my degree, but I was told by the basketball coach that there was a way to get my degree while attending there. After a good first semester academically and making the Chancellors List, it was time to meet with my counselor and figure out how to get my degree. This was when I faced what has been the biggest disappointment of my life. I found out that the coach lied to me and that there was no way to get my degree. During the second semester at PNC, my grades started to fall. I started to not take as much interest in my school, and skipped class more and more each week. It was terrible for me to go to class. I used to sit in the class and feel worthless because I didnt know where to go with my life from that point on. I struggled to wake up in the morning because I felt like a failure. I spent the summer of 2013 trying to find different options that I could take to relieve my depression. That is when I found Manchester University. At the end of July to the first week of August, Manchester wanted me to come play basketball for them. I took a visit and fell in love with the campus.

Brown 7 The people here were so warm and welcoming, and I felt at home as soon as I stepped out of my car. Manchester University has given me a great opportunity. They have given me the chance to fulfill my dream to teach and coach, and they have given me the chance to play basketball while I am doing it. I do not know if I could have ever found a better situation for myself than Manchester University. Since the day of my birth, I hit bumps in the road. I get knocked down a lot and roughed up, but I fight for what I believe in and what I want and I refuse to stop until I achieve that goal. I have had family and friends right by my side that have pushed me and provided me with a safe net when I felt like giving up. I learned how to sculpt my life in first part of it, and as I have gotten older I have continued to strive to perfect that craft. As I begin and embark on my last journey through school, I see myself conquering all of the goals and obstacles that are placed in front of me during my time at Manchester. As I take one last look at my life, I see triumphs, and I see failures, and that is what will help me become the best educator that I can be.