Dario Rosenstock

Section 1:
I do not feel that society allows me to completely integrate myself with certain people. I have a combination of hobbies that are not usually seen together. Because of this, I spend time with different groups of friends; sometimes, one group is almost a polar opposite of another. As a result of this, I often feel embarassed or shy about some aspect of my personality when with a certain group of friends.

Section 2:
There is no complete place in the world. Is there a place that can satisfy a multi-faceted set of hobbies? There is the tennis court, the classroom, the video game console. Each of these places is too pure, and it is tough to make them mix. One of them is physical, one is cerebral, and one is not even of this world. Dimensions don't mix. As much as one might wish to, one cannot "blend" time with space, nor a square with a cube. The constraints of life, of reality and society, will not let these things occur.

Section 3:
I was born on June 29, 1990, the first of two children (for my mother) and the second of three children (for my father). My parents are big on love and small on discipline. They are loose on rules, but with such trust comes a different strictness. My parents trust me and my sister to "behave", so when we don't, that feeling of dissapointment is harder than any punishment they could give.
A sheltered child is more prone to abusing certain things and getting into trouble. That was the rule. By being loose and letting us experience things on our own, a certain trust and standard of expectations were set on us. Feeling comfort in talking to your parents is an important thing in life.
If we did well in school, we were showered with pride and verbal praise. Every relative would know the scores of our math tests within three or four days. But if I ever failed a test, or missed some sort of important appointment, there'd be hell to pay.

Section 4:
As a kid, there was always a crowd of kindergarteners, running across the street to Dana Park after school. We usually played kickball, because it didn't require any equipment, save a ball. The games were great fun, usually breaking down into arguments over someone being safe or out. We'd all go home bitter from the game, vowing mentally to never play on "so-and-so's" team again. Of course, being six years old, nobody remembered what they were mad about by the time the next afternoon rolled around. After a while, all the games and all the outcomes blended together, and no one could remember any specific game.

Section 5:
In my life, my cousin always played a big part. His success in his career allowed him to serve as a role model to me in that respect. He is one of the smartest people I've ever met. He also is an extremely athletic person, playing basketball, soccer, and rock climbing as his main outdoor hobbies. He comes from a big family, the second oldest of four siblings. He lived with my family, in our house, for about a year at one point, and I believe this really helped me get close to him. I still see him fairly often.