CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

Since I've managed to stick around without getting booted for being overly argumentative, I think I will post the brief history of my life.

I was born on October 9, 1984 in Leesburg, Virginia. My mom was 24 at the time, while my dad was 27 (not sure about that one though lol). Both of them attended the University of Virginia, which I now attend. My dad is from Pennsylvania, while my mom is a Virginia native. At first, they lived in Loudoun County, VA with my grandparents, but after a few months they bought their own home in nearby Clarke County. It is in this house that I would spend most of the first 18 years of my life.

My dad is a structural engineer, while my mom is a librarian, so I started out firmly in the middle class. I am thankful that my mom is a librarian, because she immediately started reading to me, and I quickly learned to read myself. I read constantly as a child, starting with simple childrens books, moving to simple horror works such as the goosebumps series and Alvin Scwartz' scary stories, although I soon moved on to Stephen King, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, and a host of short stories by various authors. I had easy access to book, since my mom worked in a library. In addition, I read tons of gaming magazines and comics. I even read them in church, and my parents didn't stop me. If there is one aspect of my personality that is more essential than the rest (other than being a Christian, of course) it would have to be my love of reading, instilled in me at a very young age.

Meanwhile, I attended Round Hill Baptist Church every sunday, including both the service and sunday school. I was (and still am) very skeptical, and I would often try to find mistakes and fallacies in the pastor's sermons. My family (grandparents and mother) were active in the church, although my father did not start attending church until my adolescence. Thankfully, I took after my mother.

This gave me the opportunity to be very active within the (relatively small: only about 100 members) chruch at a young age, including helping prepare luncheons, watch children in the nursery, and (when I was older) help with setting up major/minor events. I still find great joy in serving God in this manner.

Starting at age 4, I attended preschool. I was an intelligent child, but I was also inquisitive, pugnacious, and competitive, so I got into a fair amount of trouble during this time, and in later years. In fact, I had to change preschools 4 times!

After than, I attended Berryville Primary School, and D.G. Cooley Elementary in Clarke County. I was fortunate in this regard, because despite attending only public schools for my entire life (including college) I had an excellent education, supplemented by help from my mother. She would buy workbooks and such to help me, which gave me a definite advantage by the time I reached elementary school. I still got into trouble, especially with one other kid who was something of a "rival." I will not give his name (that would probably violate some rules somewhere), but we would compete, fight, and argue; however, by 4th grade, he was one of my best friends, and would remain in that position throughout highschool, right up to the present day.

I was immediately placed in the "smart" classes, in something that was known at that time as the PAL (parters in advanced learning...corny, no?) program. I really enjoyed this, since we had a very loose curriculum, studying everything from Shakespeare, to horror (we had some say in the topics as you may have guessed ), and medieval warfare. All of this while the other kids were sitting through the typical drudgery. This was another major factor in determining my current position and personality.

Two important things happened to me in middle school: I had my last fight, and I met my best friend in the history of friends. In 6th grade, the previously mentioned rival and I got into a fight, and were sent to the office. For some reason, this was the last time we fought, and the last time I was ever in serious trouble in school (I was never suspended, probably due to my "gifted" status, which I realize is grossly unfair). Up until this time, I was, quite frankly, a mean, bratty child (my father never passed up an opportunity to remind me of this). Then, while I was "being bad" one day, my uncle stopped me cold, and just said, "No." He was visiting from Alaska at the time, so it was highly unusual for him to be there. God must have been helping me there. After this, I stopped causing as much trouble out of school.

Read the next post for part two of my bio.

What about the "best friend," you ask? I was getting to that: settle down. This kid moved to Clarke County from Florida in 7th grade. He was introduced to me through one of my other friends, and it happened that we shared many common interests (cards, anime, video games, etc.). After a brief period of infrequent interaction, we became good friends, and we were more or less over at each other's homes every weekend. Those were undoubtedly some of the best times of my life. We would often sit in front of his parents' big screen tv, playing games for hours, or watching anime with his little brothers (great kids). When we weren't hanging out, we would be talking on the phone for inordinate lengths of time. For someone who is as introverted and reserved as me, this was remarkable.

There were also two life-changing events unrelated to school that occurred while I was in middle school: my parents divorced, and I accepted Jesus as my savior.

One night, I heard my parents fighting (verbally) downstairs after I had gone to bed. Then, in tears, I heard my mother say something that I will never forget: "That's it. I'm leaving." That was the end of my parents' 12-year marriage. The next saturday, my dad set my sister and I down on the living room couch, and confirmed that they were indeed getting a divorce. This was the beginning of a long and painful process that continues to this day. Ironically, it was my dad, not my mom, who moved 30 minutes away, although I am thankful for this fact. My mom kept (or rather, bought from my father) our current house, so I spent the majority of my time there. My parents had joint custody, so I would spend several days with my mom, followed by half as many spent with my father in the town of Winchester. The constant moving around was a tremendous hassle (to say the least). I feel sorry for my sister, who still has to deal with it.

I feel I should say more about my sister (aren't I self-absorbed, leaving this until now). She was born in 1988, when I was 3 (and a half, thank you ). I don't recall any feelings of resentment created by my parents attention given to the new baby, but it is possible that such feelings existed. Since we live in the same environment, it is not surprising that we have very similar personalities (although she is somewhat more extroverted). This led to a lively sibling rivalry that was expressed through fighting, arguing, and academic competition. In retrospect, I wish I had been nicer to my sister, but I think we still share a special relationship.

Now for my "testimony" (although all of this could accurately be described as a testimony). One day after church, my grandfather asked me if I was ready to be saved. He hinted that he wanted see me saved before he died, so I was given a powerful sense of urgency about the whole process (thankfully he is still alive). About a month later, I talked to the paster, and told him that I wanted to be saved. The next week, I made a public confession of faith before the congregation, and soon after I was baptized by immersion. This happened during the spring, in my 13th year of life. This was an obviously an important spiritual step, but I would not fully give my life to Christ for a few years.

High school was, on the whole, uneventful. I continued to read, excelled in almost all of my classes, and my life continued to develop according to the major events that occurred during middle school. I grew more accustomed to switching houses, I remained best friends with JD (that is his nickname...I think it is ok to give that), and I went to church. However (I realize that I use that word too much, but bear with me), I will take the time to mention a few key events.

First, I gave my life fully to Christ. Just before the start of my sophomore year, I got down on my knees in my room, and prayed to God more fervently than ever before. For some reason, I can't remember exactly what I prayed for, but I do know that I consider this to be my official moment of salvation. It was at this point that I began to study the bible, theology, and philosophy for the first time. I read the bible through in under a year, and read numerous Christian books. I also began to express my views with confidence in school, particularly in my IB Theory of Knowledge class, which was essentially a philosophical discussion class.

Next, my best friend JD moved away. After sophomore year, his father got a new job in southern VA, so he had to move. This was a rough time, and after this I began to develop a deeper friendship with the friend who had been my elementary school rival. Of course, I had other friends, but they were not nearly as close as these two individuals. We still talk and visit each other occasionally, and there is a chance (please pray for this!) that he will be moving back to Northern Virginia this winter.

The last major event of high school was my introduction to dating. Most people consider me to be an attractive young man (if I do say so myself ), so I go a fair amount of attention from the opposite sex. None of these relationships worked out, and most were disasters. This was especially difficult, becase I was obsessed with dating at the time, to the detriment of my relationship with God. Almost every night I pray, no, demand that God send me the perfect person. When this didn't happen, I became very discouraged. Thankfully I am more mature now, but I caused myself a great deal of unnecessary pain as a result of this desire. I now realize that God will lead me to the right woman at the right time; I only hope I am ready when it finally happens.

The last event that I will share is the process that led me to the University of Virginia. As I said way back at the beginning of this "brief" history, both of my parents went to UVA, so it was a logical choice for me. Honestly, I didn't care where I went, as long as it was a "good" school academically, preferrably in-state. I applied through early decision, gained admission, and didn't have to apply anywhere else.

Now, I am nearing the end of my first semester at UVA, writing the end of this bio for you, the fine people of the CAA. There is a lot more that I could have mentioned, but I will be merciful. Thanks in advance to those who take the time to read this!

I really enjoyed reading your bio. It sounds like your mom gave you a good foundation to stand on. I've had a pleasure getting to know you a little more and hope you the best as you travel through the rest of your life. I'm sure He has so much more in store for you as you serve Him.

Let me tell you a little story. When I was around a sophomore I fell on my knees in my room and prayed to receive Christ as my Savior and Lord of my life, and then within the following year I read the entire Bible too. Sometimes you just know when God wants you.

I hope to see more of you around and pm me again if you want to talk. I'll tell you how God led me to my husband. (Good dating tips for the Christian )

God bless.

So many to read

Kinda took awhile for me to finish it

[quote="cbwing0"]I now realize that God will lead me to the right woman at the right time]

This was a rather important issue in my life, too. And I know that it was REALLY important to God, too... The 3 times in my life that God has very specifically and firmly spoken to me were about this issue.

Keep serving God, stay close to Him, and just keep walking with Him, and He will make sure you're ready when He introduces you to your wife. It will all seem to happen quite naturally, but you'll know it's *super*natural.

I realize by looking at some of the other entries on this topic that my bio was a little long, and that it didn't include very much info on my personality, or even about how I started watching anime. I will include that now:

In general, I am an introverted intellectual who likes to read, play video games, watch anime, post on forums , and do other fun stuff.

My first game system was an NES, which my parents bought for Christmas when I was 5 years old. The first game I play was Super Mario Bros.. When I was 9, I receive a game gear, which I played extensively, in addition to tons of mini-games on my (MAC, at the time) computer. I got a PS1 for my 12th birthday, pretty much as soon as the price dropped to $199 (my parents wouldn't but it for any more than that). The first game I had was Mortal Kombat Trilogy. I loved it at the time, but it was actually a mediocre game for all but the most diehard MK fans (which I happened to be at 12 ). Soon after, I bought a gameboy color, which I hardly ever played except on long car trips. I got a dreamcast for my 15th birthday, followed by a PS2, which I bought myself the next year. Following that, I purchased a GBA. Of course, I had a growing and respectable game collection throughout this period, and I had great fun playing with the friends that I mentioned in my bio.

As for anime, I saw Thundercats at a very young age (it came out the year that I was born). After that, I watched some Voltron and Transformers. I did not see anime with a knowledge of its origin until I was 13. I was on vacation at the time, and the Sci-Fi was running a week of evening anime features, including Galaxy Express 999, Fatal Fury: The Movie, and other classics. After that, I started watching the Saturday morning anime on Sci-Fi, as well as the toonami line-up starting in 8th grade. I was introduced to toonami by my friends, and I was hooked after that. I won't tell you about all of the anime that I have seen, because that would take far too long, but I will say that I have rarely seem something I didn't like. My latest purchase was the Rouroni Kenshin tv series boxed set, which should be arriving sometime this week!

I probably could have just posted this instead of my life story... Oh well...

Cool! Nice to meet you officially

I'm sure EireWolf meant God speaking to her about the right *man* but kidding aside, I know He'll speak to us when the right lady comes along, at the right time. The trick, of course, is to make sure I'm listening ... working on that.

That was awesome. Something we share in comon is that I go to a special program where we talk about midevil times, and all that. It is called L.I.T.E.S (I do not know what it stands for) but I have it on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Nice to officially meet you. Great Bio, I read it from top to bottom and enjoyed it.

Same Here..

Why were you afraid to get ba....oh....Wel don't forget the staff is very forgiving and Big hearted..(CoffBouncerCoff)

Huh?

Don't worry about it..

Actually it's Fei Long from Street Fighter, but they are both Bruce Lee look-alikes.

I thought it was forest law as well
That doesn't look like fei long to me

Wow. Quite the thorough introduction. Enjoy your stay!

I thought it was forest law as well. That doesn't look like fei long to me

Well, it is the game sprite from the SNES version of Super Street Fighter 2.

Go here if you don't believe me:

http://www.gsarchives.net/snes/sprites/superstreetfighter2.shtml#

Look at the sprite for Fei Long. That is the one that I use.

That is a great site for game-related avatars, btw.

Hmmm.. I've been single ever since I became christian. Maybe because my standards are different now. Maybe because now that God has my attention, he doesn't want me getting distracted. I'm 22 now and my friends are starting to get married, so I know how frustrating it is to be single sometimes. But it's not so bad once you get used to the perks... like... (to quote "While You Were Sleeping") sole possession of the remote control. That's very important.

There are some definite benefits to being single. In fact, I could probably live the rest of my life in the manner if it necessary; but, I don't want to. You have a lot more freedom when you are single, which--I believe--is meant to be used to the fullest until you are married.

Someone explained it to me this way: When you are in high school, all you want to do is leave and go to college. Once you get to college, you realize that high school was great: you had tons of free time and far less work. All you want to do then is graduate so that you can get the job, and get married. Once you are married (with children) and working, you think that college was great: you had hard work, but at least you had control over how you spent your time.

Is this God's way of keeping us from sitting around all day like bums? I'll leave that for you to decide.

I thank God for leading me to this girl,a japanese like me.But it wasn't easy cuz she is not christian.I think i prayed really hard for her and at last she is a christian just like me

Awwww. That's sweet! I'm glad those prayers were answered.

Interesting...

Great getting to know you better, cbwing0. I'm really sick of finals right now, and I still have four left to get through. But anyway, see ya around, and thanks for the bio.

I just finished my third final out of four, and I go home in two days. Good luck on yours!

Interesting bio! I see why you choose fight in my profile thread. It doesn't seem too long for me to read em all. I hope you will find your Ms. Right Lady one day soon. God works in mysterious way. *sigh* Really.

I am also sorry about your parents. I'll pray for em and your best friend. Hope you'll keep in touch with your bio like til you find your girl. Merry Christmas!

Thanks.

I will let everyone know if my relationship status changes, probably in the prayer section as a praise/thanksgiving.

I realize this is getting to be an old thread, but what happend to JD? Did he move back to Northern VA?

Oh, and good story. Very informative.

Unfortunately, he never was able to move back to northern Virginia. The sale of his parents' house fell through, as did the purchase of a new one; so, he stayed in southwestern Virginia. This Februrary, he moved back to Florida (by himself) to take a year off from school and get away from all of the things that have happened to him recently. He plans to move back to Southwestern Virginia sometime next year, although it remains to be seen whether or not that happens.

I'm glad you like my story.

That is kind of sad, especial if you had your hopes up. But I suppose eventualy, in one form or another, we all "move away."

Its like life is full of stages where we are forced to hit the reset button. High School was the first one I can remeber but, as Im sure you know, they happen again and again through out life.

Anyways, how are things with your parents? Was it a "good" divorce (do your parents still talk)?

When I was very small, my mother just took us and left. We were only supposed to go for a ride to get some ice cream, but we never came back. I still remember how my father could not come. He just stood there, in the drive way, tears streaming down his face.
That was a rough time in all our lives.

Anyways, I hear VA is a cool place. My Tsuma and I are going to KingsDominion next month. I cant wait.

-kaji

I don't think it was a good divorce between my parents. They never talked again after they separated, except to argue over who would get what after the decision was made. I still see both of my parents and have good relations with them, but they never see or talk to each other.

That is very simmilar to my parents. My mother harbors a huge resentment against my father. Its sad that so much hate could come from where there was once so much love.

Just thinking about some of what you wrote in your Bio,

"so I got a fair amount of attention from the opposite sex. None of these relationships worked out, and most were disasters. This was especially difficult, becase I was obsessed with dating at the time, to the detriment of my relationship with God. Almost every night I pray, no, demand that God send me the perfect person. When this didn't happen, I became very discouraged."

Do you suppose this "obsession" early on was an attempt to fill the void that had been created by your parents separation. Or even to show your self that you could love and be loved where you parents could no longer do this?

Have you ever been to KingsDominion?

-kaji

kaji wrote:Do you suppose this "obsession" early on was an attempt to fill the void that had been created by your parents separation. Or even to show your self that you could love and be loved where you parents could no longer do this?

That is possible. I never really thought about it that way, although I can relate to the part about proving that I can love. I am afraid that if (and right now that seems like a big if) I ever get married, I will just end up getting divorced like my parents. During high school, I responded to that by pursuing dating relationships, but I now I have started to move in the opposite direct. It is almost as if I want nothing to do with women, so I avoid most contact with them during they day. I suppose that I am still trying to find the happy medium between clinging and avoidance.

I have been to Kings Dominion three or four times. Why do you ask?