Won't you be my Neighbor?

My brother and I attending our cousins wedding

Has 2 different shoes, will wear them

     To start off and familiarize you with who I am, my name is Christopher Matthew Beigel and I am the older of two boys, born and raised in northeast Baltimore City. My parents divorced when I was young but they remained close and gave us a normal, loving upbringing. My brother’s name is Alex and he is 3 ½ years younger than I am, the difference in age meant that growing up I was old enough to look after him but he was also old enough to do things like play wiffleball and street hockey, and to build skateboard and snowboard ramps with me. Our age difference meant that we never shared a middle or high school, which I considered fortunate as we were able to make our own way socially. Still, we ran amuck all around the neighborhood and no one had to tell us to go outside. No cell phone, no problem.

      

     I attended Catholic school for elementary and high school, with a trip to a Baltimore County middle school thrown in for good measure. My high school was a boys school called Calvert Hall that I resisted being a part of at the time but now look back fondly upon for the foundation they gave me, both educationally and as a young man. As grateful as I am, it was a challenge when my two best friends left the school successively in my sophomore and junior year. One would transfer and the other would pursue a GED, and as close as we were, that closeness that existed at school was harder to maintain without them there. If I could have told myself something then, it would have been, “take note self: this is just a taste of what it’s like to maintain relationships as an adult.”

     

    

Matt Stover showing me his new Super Bowl ring at work

By the time I dabbled in collegiate endeavors half heartedly for 2 years after high school, I felt as though I was ready to enter the workforce. I worked for several years in logistics, managing and ordering the catering alcohol inventory for a private club and event facility located in Baltimore County. After years of working hard, being reliable, and rising as far as I was able to, I recognized that I wasn’t being valued for my intellect the way I thought I should be. I decided to devote myself to furthering my education. I consider myself fortunate because a lot of people have commitments and obstacles that prevents them from returning to school. I resolved to make school my job and have since been focused on the task at hand in a much different way. I’ve had an almost professional approach to my courses that wouldn’t have been possible without my experience in the work world.

      

Sadie is our best good friend

     So that is a very brief overview of me, with a couple other high points worth mentioning. I am fortunate to be getting married this summer to my beautiful fiancé Hannah, and we have an awesome dog named Sadie. At heart, I am a fun loving guy, a jokester who is not afraid to be goofy or say what’s on his mind… I take after my Mom in that I love to cook and am sentimental. I love music and art in many forms, from sculpture to glassblowing, graffiti, and all points in between. I am a die-hard fan for the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens, I always have been and always will be. If you take one look at my Dad and my Grandfather in their team gear you will see, I come by it honestly. Exploring these things and current events are what my blog has to offer, so to quote Fred Rogers, “Won’t you be my neighbor?”

Hannah and I with our parents at brunch in December 2015

Hannah and I at Deep Creek Lake in 2014