Who am I?

My birth name is Zechariah, but everyone just calls me Zack. I was born on July 17, 1992. I live in Amarillo, Texas, a small city in the Texas Panhandle. I will be turning 26 in a couple months.

After completing high school, I immediately went to Amarillo College, our only community college. I earned an Associate's Degree in 2010. I then applied to and was accepted by WTAMU in Canyon, which is only a short drive from home. I've been there ever since. I graduated Summa Cum Laude and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Wildlife Biology in December of 2015. I am now a graduate student and pursuing a Master's Degree in the same field. My master's thesis will involve generating a baseline inventory of arachnids for Yoakum Dunes, as well as evaluating arachnid community composition and measuring the effects of different habitat types on said communities.

All my life I have been interested in animals in one form or another. As I child I craved to learn as much as I could about them, a drive which has persisted to this day. I originally planned to obtain a degree in Marine Biology from TAMU in Corpus Christi, but the distance from home and the high cost forced me to reconsider. Looking back on it now, I realize it was the best choice I could've made.

Out of curiosity, I took an arachnology course year or so ago, taught by Dr. David Sissom. By the time the course ended I'd developed an incurable passion for spiders, the underrated and amazing creatures they are. They're hardly as creepy as people think and far less dangerous than the media and internet stories lead you to believe.

I've been working with spiders for several years now, placing much emphasis on identification. Being exposed to and absorbing knowledge regarding their biology and ecology is a wonderful perk. I am currently helping my professor with an semi-official project. We are in the process of generating a baseline inventory of arachnids insects for Caddo Lake. This is based on collections he, I, and several former students have made during trips to said lake the past 3 years or so.

As you can see, my career path has completely changed, and my future with it. I have a new dream to realize and a new goal to accomplish. I've worked very hard to get where I am today, but my parents also deserve heaps of credit for helping me in any way possible during this journey. The fruits of my labor are just starting to flow in and will continue to do so.

Basically, the point I'm trying to make is that you are ultimately in charge of shaping your future. People will try to bring you down and life will test your mettle in various ways. If you persevere in the face of adversity and exert 110% effort when it comes to your education, then nothing will be able to stop you from bringing your dreams to life and being able to do whatever it is you love most.

Aside from my career goals, I would like to move to Tennessee, have a log cabin custom built, and start a family. I would like two children, but perhaps one or two more.

That's pretty much me in a nutshell. I admit that was a lot to read, but being long-winded is a habit that comes naturally for someone who's been a hobbyist author for as long as I have. Anyhow, onto the next section!

My personality:

I am what most people would call an introvert. I love silence and solitude. I usually read, listen to relaxing music, do vector art, or just sit and think about whatever is on my mind.

A few of my favorite things:

Foods: New England Clam Chowder, Menudo (Cow Stomach), Fajitas

Books: Watership Down, Tooth And Claw, Trumpet Of The Swan, The Given Land, Ragtag, Fire Bringer, Foxcraft, Wings of Fire

Series: House Of Night, Guardians Of Ga'Hoole, Gone

Band/Group: Autechre, CFCF, Loscil, STS9, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Caia, Telefuzz, Blackmill, The Alpha Rhythm

Subjects: Calculus, Wildlife Biology

Hobbies: Reading, Writing, Skywatching, Video Games

Dessert: Cheesecake, Cinnamon Rolls, Churros, Conchas

Fanfiction Authors: Lowknave, Blu Razgriz, Ol Alex

Movies: Happy Feet, Happy Feet 2, Rio, Rio 2 District 9, Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, The Cable Guy, Avatar, Balto

Video Games: TES V: Skyrim, Ace Combat 6, Blur, NFS

Words: Perdition, Convoluted, Pulchritudinous, Maw, Beseech, Flay, Sepulchre

Genres: Ambient, Electronic, Drum N' Bass, IDM, Dubstep

Poets: Rumi

Authors: David Clement-Davies, Thomas Allen

Songs: M62 (By Autechre), Union Dusk (By Loscil), Peaceblaster 68' (By STS9), Remembrance (By Caia), Hydroponic Garden (By Carbon Based Lifeforms), Big Love (By CFCF), The Financiers of Samsara (By Telefuzz)

A sample of my favorite quotes:

"The day, water, sun, moon, night- I do not have to purchase these things with money."-Plautus

"This world, where much is to be done, and little known..."-Samuel Johnson

"War isn't about dying for your country. It's about making the other son of a bitch die for his!"-General George Patton

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life."-John F. Kennedy

"To err is human, to forgive divine."-Alexander Pope

"It's never too late to be who you might have been."-George Eliot

"Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."-Brian Littrell

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."-George Bernard Shaw

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: It is the time for home."-Edith Sitwell

"Life isn't fair, but it's still good."-Regina Brett

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's learning about how to dance in the rain."-Unknown

"When I was 5 years old, my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy.' They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life."-Unknown

If there is anything I have learned from the many years I have spent here, it's that true friends are the rare gems. The rest are merely pretenders that don't care about you as a person and will abandon abandon or betray you. I was too gullible and put my trust in the wrong people, as I was an optimist who believed they were good-natured like me.

I made the same foolish mistake far too many times, but I have finally become wise. I will conclude my profile by saying this: "Choose your 'friends' carefully, and trust no one."