Over the years, there have been many accomplishments by the human race by people willing to think outside their confort zone and take risks. People who defy the thoughts of the common people to disprove myths and other fallicies and rumors.

Many people come to mind. Such as Christopher Colombus, who defied the thought the world is flat, to sail around it. He broke free of his confort zone, and stayed at sea for months with starving sailors. But look what he accomplished. Then there's the big list of inventors and leaders over the years, such as George Washington, Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, etc

While changing my clothing habits is hardly worthy of anything as groundbreaking as these guys have done, it still goes to show that thinking outside the box, and trusting yourself are good things. Where would you be right now if you didn't dare youself to stand up and walk, talk on a phone, or to swim into the deep end of the pool, to ride a bike, drive a car, get on a roller coaster, or pick up that power tool to do a job. You can probably look back at your childhood and see all kinds of things you may have done that looked pretty fearful, but after doing them were no big deal, and you don't think twice about them today.

My life, everyday, continues to be full of little personal challenges. Should I open the lid of that high voltage power supply? the manual says that charges dissapate after it's powered off. Should I climb that scaffold? Tossing out underwear back in highschool, and teaching myself not to be afraid of my body was definitely a personal accomplishment that has these same feelings. I was trained by conservative parents that clothing should be worn all the time, no matter what. As logic got the hold of me, I realized that the human body survives perfectly fine without clothing, and that any fear about it was completely in my head. I challenged myslef not to wear underwear-it was unconfortable!, take my shirt off more often, go nude around the house more, and then even be nude around an occasional friend, I quickly realized that there's really nothing to fear.

    I then realized that it's actually pretty confortable and relaxing sitting around without any clothing on, being able to feel the radiant heat of a fireplace on my bare skin, a warm summer breeze streaming in a window, and just the simple lack of clothing twisting and binding around my body as I performed daily chores and activities.  As I continued to dare my boundaries, I pushed myself to go into the outside world without any clothing on.  I have got to tell you that riding on a boat, either a sailboat, or a powerboat on the Chesapeake Bay is one of the most exhilerating feelings one can get, especially when you get to take a dive into the warm, summer waters...just don't forget the sunscreen!  I then tried social nudity, and found myself at White Tail Park in Zuni Virginia for a "Nude year's party".  This party was great, even though I did not know anyone there, I quickly found out that nudism drops social barriers, and the people there were extremely friendly.  I talked and met more people there the first few minutes than I ever would if I would have gone to a party all night in Shockoe bottom.

Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy clothing, and I enjoy looking stylish.  I am very picky in my clothing choices as a matter of fact.  But I rarely ever go by styles or fads, unless something comes out that particulary strikes my fancy.  I have come to realize that clothing is simply a choice, not a necessity.  I look back on styles that have faded, and have changed over the years, but I still like certain elements of them.  I try and incoporate those looks into newer styles, and end up with my own look and appearance...nudity is just simply one of those many elements I have combined into my own style .  I am even known to combine styles of different stereotypes.  Asking another person to describe me, and you will get many different words, such as "hippie" "redneck" "surfer" "boat bum", "geek"... They really don't know what to make of me because I don't really fit any particular mold

This attitude has also brought up my self confidence quite a lot. Instead of trying to satisfy others with my clothing choices and general appearance. This, I have found will never happen!  Instead, I try and satisfy myself when I look in the mirror. The things I do in my life are to satisfy myself, such as excersizing at the gym, my many hobbies like camping, boating, auto customizing, etc. People now look at me as being "cool", which is something that was never happened in school. I attribute this not because they see me as this freeballing, shirtless dude, but because they see me as a person that is very content and confortable with his life. I don't take off my shirt because I am trying to look "cool" or go with some trend, I am doing it because it's a blazing hot 100 degree day, and it's more confortable that way!  If you don't like it, it is your problem, not mine!  Others not only see me as a very content, happy individual, but also as a person willing to break social, psycological, and physical boundaries. I am a leader, not a follower.

I can definitely say that I have "found myself" whatever this is supposed to mean, because I didn't find myself, I found many enjoyments of life, outside of myself.

"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself!"

I like to go to the shopping mall, but I rarely ever buy anything there, or even visit the stores. I enjoy just sitting on a bench, and watching the endless stream of people go by. Watching people can be quite interesting because no two are alike, and this goes farther than just outword appearance too. The clothing styles of various individuals are all different. Some folks like to wear the latest thing that everyone else is wearing, while others are trying to make a statement with their clothing. While even others just simply wear what is confortable.

As for myself, I fall into the latter category, and mainly dress for whatever is confortable. I will pick up a style here or there that I enjoy, and wear it. The beauty of clothing is that you can basically put on whatever suits you for the mood you are in. While clothing doesn't really doesn't change my personality, rather I change my clothing to fit my attitude and personality at the time. I sort of enjoy picking out and wearing different styles