My First Entry by Jarrod Pope age 26

Greetings Gentle Readers,

If you've happened upon this blog, you're either a dear friend, possibly family, a fan, or a curious bystander. I welcome you to my thoughts. Within this blog site you will become privy to my deepest inner turmoils, joys, and ideas, most of which I guard carefully and reveal only to a intimate few.

I am Jarrod Pope. I hail from the States, born and raised in Florida. I come from a large Catholic family, being the youngest of nine children. Art talent runs through my family's blood stream, each of my siblings having some artistic gift, but only one of my siblings has tapped that talent. I hope to change that soon.

As far back as I can remember, I have always been drawing. From the Lucifer I scribbled on my parents bedroom wall to the plethora of character sketches I do on napkins, drawing is something I've been doing all of my life, and now I want to try and put my talents to use.

My biggest fear is ending up like my father. Not many people enjoy being in his presence or think too highly of him, and I understand their frustrations. Looking beyond my father's vices, pettiness, self righteousness, entitlement, and perverse justifications, I've seen his passion unfulfilled. Growing up, he opted to take me along to the movie theatre, whether I wanted to or not. You know that four year old kid who wouldn't shut up during that rated R film you were watching, that was me. He enjoys stories, so much that I ventured to guess he had aspirations for writing them, let alone have them up on the big screen. Instead of realize this vision, my father did what was expected of him for having knocked up his next door neighbor, i.e. my mother, marry her, go to a university and get a job to support a family. Darker times surfaced before my introduction to the world, but they will be entries for another time.

As for me, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life growing up. In the third grade, I was asked that same question. I answered "scientist." For high school, it was special effects wizard, monster sculpting and pyrotechnics. Through the course of my education, I learned that mathematics and I were never going to be friends. Ever. My failing grade in College Algebra my last year at university dictated that.

I went into the university with the sole expectation to procure a degree and makes wads of cash, but did not know what my talents were or how I could put them to good use. Seeing as how my mathematics skills were lacking, I dropped my intended Chemistry track in favor of something I excelled at in high school, History. Three nervous breakdowns and a Bachelor's degree later, I realized History was not my thing, but it did open my eyes to something else. Writing.

The drawing talent I had kept to over the years had developed into a "style." Many summers past I had devoted myself to creating little fantasy worlds filled with fantastic creatures and heroes closest to my heart, wizards. When I paired my drawings with newly polished writing tools, something wonderful happened. I wanted to make a graphic novel... which has ye to be completed.

Since 2007, I've dedicated my creative energies to a world I have dubbed "Everwood Grove." Inside, many of the worries and wonders that I've witnessed in my life are woven deep into the ethereal fabric of my fantasy world. With the aid of this blog, I hope to give some perspective of my personal life and the life I've created within my work.

I look forward to hearing from you all. Drop me a line sometime.

All the best.