I'm Adam and I live about 20 minutes outside Baltimore City. Growing up, I had a musician Father and a painter mother. These were not their jobs, more like hobbies, but it allowed them to past on their love of Art to me. My Father also made short films, my grandmother and aunt were into photography, and I had many cousins who love to draw. I was surrounded my Art, be it visual or audio. I grew up listening to Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, plus many others. Also, half my family is in the medical field. As such, I grew up being taught that nudity was natural. My parents (mostly my mother) were very open to my questions while growing up. Unlike most other parents you see around, when I asked where babies came from, they told me the truth. When I asked about the female body at age seven, I was shown pictures of naked women, while being taught how it was just skin. However, they weren't exactly the most open-minded people. Even though seeing nudity was okay, sex was a complete no-no. They were against drugs and alcohol, as my mom had bad experiences with drugs and my father is a recovering alcoholic. They have a firm belief in Jesus, and as such, their open-mindness had lots of boundaries. When I turned nine years old, we move to this neighborhood where my sister and I were the only kids around. I had nothing to do at home, and being that I was fat, was very shy at school and had only a few friends. It was during this time that I began to feel that I was different than most people I knew. There had to be more to life than I was seeing: Get a job, make money, buy a house, raise a family, and then retire. It was during High School that I started to make friends who believed the same as me. Most of these kids were children or grandchildren of Hippies. I found myself believing that they were on to something. I found myself relating to them, for reasons I couldn't understand. However, being that I had very strict parents, I couldn't do anything about it. I love and respect my parents, and it was out of that respect I never did anything that would make them disprove of me. It wasn't until I moved out at 22 that I was finally able to be what I felt was the real me. I started smoking weed and drinking. Found a few people who thought along the same lines as me. My mind was expanding, and it was good. I found peace and love in my life. Then both my room mate and I lost our jobs. I was forced to move back home, and my room mate skipped town and left me with all the Bills. I was forced to get a low paying job to pay of those Bills, It took two years, but I did it, but once I did, I lost that job. I was doing the job of 5 full time employees, and once I started to complain about it, they fired me. I got another job, but was only there a few months before being fired for something I had nothing to do with. Damn Corporate Politics!!! It was during this time that I discovered Dudeism, which is a religion based on The Dude from 'The Big Lebowski'. Their main belief is to take it easy, and don't let the bullshit in life get you down. To just say, "fuck it," and move on. Even though they consider themselves as a religion, I think of it more like a lifestyle. Thanks to them, I started meditation and Tai Chi. I love it, but I still feel as if I'm still out of place. It was during one of my meditations that I realized that deep down in my heart, I'm a hippie who hasn't had the chance to be a hippie. So that's why I'm here. To meet others like me and to expand my mind. Here's a little more about me. I have one of the biggest hearts in the world. I TRULY love all my friends. I will bend over backwards to help a friend in need if I can. I've been doing photography since I was 15. I mostly do Artistic Nudes, as I find the human body, both male and female, to be one of the most beautiful creations on this earth, no matter the size or shape of the body. I'm able to find beauty in almost all people. I'm not very political, but I'm feeling that I should change that. I believe in peace over violence. I believe that the earth is our home, and as such, should start to treat her better. I respect other people's beliefs, even if I don't agree with them- everybody has to have their ways. And most of all, I'm honest and open-minded. I'm Adam, and I'm here to expand my mind even more and met others like me.
