Kenneth Burchfiel–EXPOSED!

I (Kenneth) was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1991, but didn’t profit much from my stay there; I don’t know a sentence of Japanese, my Haiku poems are forgettable and I can’t draw anime to save my life. After a brief stay in Munich, I came to the United States in ‘92, and it’s been downhill ever since.

Not really, actually.

I’d say the best year yet has been ‘95: Goldeneye released in theaters, one of the best Simpsons episodes on record premiered during Halloween, and I had about all the childhood freedom one could ask for. (Tokyo fared less well during this year, however. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin_gas_attack_on_the_Tokyo_subway )

Only recently have I really realized how much opportunity and support I’ve received here in comparison to the troubles most of the modern world faces every day. Venting editorial aside (see my “Newspaper Articles” section), I find it hard to complain about the teachers I’ve learned from as of 11th grade, though I wish our school might be more geared towards independent, specialized, student-centered learning. I’ve never been hungry, evicted, forced into paranoia, oppressed… the list goes on. Some of the disparities between my childhood and those of, say, Darfur refugees have inclined me to focus more on social issues of the day than my own “needs.” (You can see a few of

my ideas for bringing about social change in–you guessed it–the “Ideas” category of the blog.)

I finished my first book, “The Russian Connection,” as a freshman in high school. I take as little credit for it as possible; God, my environment, my education, my family and my friends all deserve the recognition before my name could even be mentioned. I’ve done the best I can to maintain an active writing habit since then, and have written four other books since. (If you’re interested in learning more about them, visit the “Long Fiction” category of Schreiben Depot.) None of them have been published; I admit some fear on my part as to having them all rejected by publishers. I’ve yet to grow the thick skin that can be necessary in a sometimes-brutal publishing industry.

This paragraph may very well change in the years to come, but I try to maintain a healthy disinterest in the publishing industry. I’ve had so much fun experimenting and developing my writing style that publication often recedes to the back corner of my mind–its rightful place, in my opinion, for a kid who doesn’t even have his driver’s license yet. My hopes are that a few recent books, along with some that I hope to write in the future, might be revised to the point where an agent/publisher would express interest in them.

What else is there to say? I love to ski, but tend to crash here and there; I love to worship, but have my stumbling points in that respect, too. I have a soft spot for socialism; if you’d like to know why, read Acts 4:32-35. My role models range from Will Wright to the White Rose. Bruised Bananas disgust me. Seventeen aged, vexing, enterprising do adequately register underlying realizations. The first letters of that last sentence combine to form something that I need to care more about.

Internet stalkers might wish I’d said more, but I figure that this is a good stopping point. Besides, it’s past midnight; though that’s not saying much for me, it never hurts to call it a night.

Feel free to comment if you happened to read through this. Oh, and send me an E-mail! Praise @ Ymail.com .