A wise woman once told me, "Mike, you are a good writer when you want to be." As a sophomore in high school, it took something pretty substantial to get my attention away from the fun and games of adolescence. This was 'something substantial.' After the reality of those words set in (and realizing the backhandedness of compliment), I set out to always WANT to be a good writer. Throughout the rest of high school and into my new home in Syracuse, New York, the motivation of those words has followed me into a world unbeknownst to me; a world that is cold and unforgiving; a world that I'm still feeling my way through. The only way I know how to find my place in this world is to find a Middle Ground.