I initially wanted to write something similar to a eulogy. Unfortunately I felt my first attempt, "Harper was an alright guy", didn't really do justice to the the heavy subject matter. It was a good exercise, nonetheless, and I'd recommend you try it when you get the chance.
Instead, I'll give you a brief background so you know where I'm coming from with relation to the rest of the site content.
If Hollywood decides to make a movie of my childhood, they've run out of ideas. Instead you should see the remake of "Baby Geniuses" it should also be playing at that time.
In brief, my primary education was obtained from the Kankakee public school district. Though not well known for its academic prowess, I did learn from a good number of solid individual teachers. Perhaps a more important quality of that district was immersion in an environment that was both economically and racially diverse; now responsible for several of my likes in music and life in general.
After my nearly score year stint in Kankakee, I decided to move as far away as I could to get a different perspective. Apparently this meant about 100 miles north to Northwestern University.
Despite its proximity to home, the rich academic environment and fairly homogenous student body made Northwestern far from anything I knew at Kankakee. Like a lot of college experiences, I felt mine was invaluable. I was able to further "discover myself" in both academic and personal interests.
So now I'm an adult in the legal sense of the word. See the resume section for more, but since graduating in 1999, I have worked both for myself and for small businesses.
I'm currently living in Chicago Illinois, doing some freelance consulting and design work.