The Journey So Far/Chapter 3: Year of the Journey Beginning (2012)

2012 was probably one of the best years of my life. Let me set the scene for you. I am graduating High School, I am in a great relationship with someone who I have fallen in love with, my friends and I are getting ready to start our little indie media studio, and I am preparing for college. That's a lot of things that are stacked up and waiting for me to grab onto.

Getting to finish High School was something awesome and I was relieved to be done with it. It's funny because I wanted to get out so bad, but now looking back, I miss those days and wish I could experience just one more day. My ex was a grade above me, so she had already graduated. She was able to be with me for my graduation event and the after-party with my friends. That day was fun and memorable. There was another major step I wanted to take with her, but I'll leave that for later in this chapter.

To touch upon a topic that will be revisited many times, I was gearing up for college. My first choice was to go to a local place called Front Range Community College. This was to get my Associate's Degree in General Studies. After that, I planned to go to a bigger college to get that game design degree. Well, that didn't go well. Consider this the first of many stumbles along my journey, albeit this stumble was not as painful as future one will be. I didn't get through community college. I was a young hothead that had the thought that I didn't need school. I constantly told myself and my family, *"I'll just make games myself!"* This was not a great headspace to be in when you don't have the resources or any way to back that claim up. I decided to quit school and take a break from the education world and entered the workforce.

A major event for this year was a collaboration among my friends to unleash our master plan to create an entertainment media studio. We wanted to make video games, movies, comics, and all other kinds of media. It started with me and two of my other close childhood friends. Back in 2010-2011, we came up with an idea and a name. We called it *"Starcade".* I remember making a website, logo, and business cards. This was the first taste of me creating a brand. Granted, I did as a kid, make comics, and draw pictures all the time. So, I have been a creative person for pretty much my whole life. I felt like this was a big-time opportunity and we would be creating things for the public. Starcade didn't last long because we found this old 80's TV game show with the same name. Out of fear of being sued or anything, we decided to change the name.

I distinctly remember one of my friends coming up to me and saying something like, *"EXO-something?"* We threw the idea around and stopped at EXO Sphere Games. We later changed it to EXO Sphere Studios. The same friend suggested the change so we wouldn't just be stuck to making games. We could branch out and make all kinds of media. Gathering more of our friend circle, we had about 6 people total in the group. We had a bunch of ideas laid out for what we wanted to make. We had a zombie video game, comics, and some video ideas. This is what introduced me to making content on YouTube. A subject that will HEAVILY play a part for 2013 and even to me today.

We decided to make our first video on YouTube called *"Top 10 Forgotten Video Games".* I mainly directed our content as I was one of the founders and I had the drive to lead. The video was the very first thing I made for public entertainment on the internet. From there, we made more videos and we did start to gain some traction. We didn't get super popular, but we did have an audience. With all this excitement, we knew we had something special. We made fun vlogs, a video with me and one of my friends getting drunk playing Halo, more top 10 videos, and more. Unfortunately, we never got our other ideas off the ground. The zombie game and comic ideas we wanted to make didn't happen. We also realized that when you graduate High School, some of your friends move of change into different adults. Everyone grows up and sometimes their path doesn't align with yours anymore.

I did eventually go back to college at The Art Institute along with a few of my friends. I chose an online program while they went on campus. EXO Sphere Studios started to become less of a priority and was beginning to fade at the turn of the new year. Still, something inside me wanted to keep going.

One of the last biggest events for 2012 was right at the end. December 24th, 2012; Christmas Eve. I was sitting next to my ex in my family home. I had been planning something a year prior. At the time, I truly thought my ex was the one for me. So, because of this, on that fateful day, I asked her to marry me. It was a small proposal. Nothing too crazy or insane. I just told her to look at the Christmas tree and that's when I bent down and asked her. She said yes and my whole family cheered. At this moment, I remember an overflowing feeling of joy. What a way to end the year! Truly 2012 was a year that I always feel happy to think back to. Little did I know, the next few years would be a roller coaster of events that would turn my life into madness.

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