Steven Allen Adams – Conversations with Myself

Long-haired Hippie I was.

Last summer I was a long-haired hippie.

By all accounts my experiment was a disaster. I just wanted to finally see what I’d look like if I let it all grow. For more than 15 years I’ve done my hair mostly the same way; I just needed a change.

The period between April and August 2008 was probably one of the hardest and worst summers of my young life.

There were many good things to come out of that year: I was given responsibility of my own newspaper, my roommates finally got married after a four-year relationship, I turned 26, plus many good times with friends, interesting dates, etc.

But it was mostly bad. Close family members being jailed on heresay, being laid off from the radio station, roommates moving out, taking the deposit, and leaving me with unpaid bills, finding no one able to move in, unable to move in with someone else, losing my newspaper job simply because I wouldn’t cut the staff and do all the writing, almost becoming a father (long story that I may share one day), then finally having to leave my apartment of four years.

I spent almost the entire month of September sleeping on an inflatable mattress at my former roommate’s new house (they had realized that they had screwed me over) and working for Spencers Gifts between newspaper gigs. I moved back to St. Marys the last week of Sept. 2008 in order to work for my long-time friend, Jonay Kelly Corley, at The Tyler Star News in Sistersville, W.Va.

This summer has been remarkably better over the same time period, April 2009 until now. Starting the investigative journalism job with the Public Policy Foundation of West Virginia has been a great experience. Building something from scratch always appeals to me, and now we have a website that has several investigations written by myself, another website launching by the end of the month, social networking sites. I have my own production studio where I can create all of these things. I’m sent to conferences – one back in May in Washington D.C. and another in Pittsburgh this August – where I’m learning great new media skills. And it’s only been four months; I still have eight more to do great things.

My Dad, my friends in both St. Marys and Parkersburg, and my journeys thus far have made this spring and summer very enjoyable.

The worst part is pretty minor. I’m homesick for Parkersburg as you all know and want to move back. I also could be moving to the state capital, Charleston, W.Va. Not sure yet. I’d much rather move to Parkersburg and find a way to charleston once a week or so. The only time I’ll need to be down there for a length of time would be for the legislative session.

The other bad part of this spring/summer season would be Michelle; she was a huge regret. There are many times I wish I could have my memory selectively erased. It hurts more when you were never looking for companionship in the first place. I am over it now, but since I’m talking about the good and bad, might as well talk about the bad. Breaking my heart is very much like mortally wounding me. If you have plans to break my heart you’d just as well get it over with. Don’t wait.

So far summer 2009 will be end up as one of the best for me. I turn 27 July 18 and I’m amazed at all I’ve done despite the lack of college degree or real connections. I set my goals, I accomplish them. I get what I want in most areas of my life, except for love.

For my birthday, why don’t you tell your friends about this blog. Link me, tweet me, spread the word. I’d appreciate it.

I think I’m about to embark on a semi-truthful series about my experiences with women, from Kindergarten to present. I’ve been wanting to write this for a while. Actually I’ve been wanting to write a book on my dating life. I call it semi-truthful because I’ll be trying to recreate the dialogue from my memory, which is pretty reliable but there is no way I’ll be able to pull exact quotes from my brain. So some dialogue will be fictional. The events themselves are true, but you probably won’t believe me. It will be entertaining either way.

So stay tuned.