"I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become."

- Carl Jung

⚠️⚠️WIP! ⚠️⚠️

So, just one thing before I let myself go on about... well, myself. And warning, this does get a bit deep.

I've been through so much to get to the point I am in life, even if I haven't lived most of it already. I've lost my uncle to Covid in 2021, my grandma in 2024, and the one that changed my life forever, my mom's passing in 2015. I was only a small child at the time, confused about why I was at the hospital and why mom had all those weird tubes in her arm, and then I was told that she wouldn't be leaving the hospital. I've mostly moved on from the ordeal, but I still have moments where my composure breaks when I just can't keep the "What-if's" out of my mind, the same questions that keep me up at night and nag at my self-confidence constantly, making me feel like I don't belong anywhere. I do have a little charm with her ashes in it that I wear around my neck, almost like a charm to keep bad luck away. There have been so many people along the way that have picked up the shattered pieces of my life and helped me put them, or at least tape them, back together. There are so many people that if I were to name off this would just be a long list of names. Chess has taught me more than openings and endgames—it’s taught me how to recover from losses and keep pushing no matter the position. I don’t play just to win; I play to make myself better so I can help those around me. I’m not here to prove something to anyone else, even to you, dear reader—I’m here to become the best version of myself, one move at a time.

So, now that we've gotten that little rant out of the way, time for the actual bio stuff!!! Yippee!!

About me!

My name is Leon G. My pronouns are He/Him, and I live in the great(?) state of Michigan. And yes, it's always cold up here, because I already know your asking! It sucks even more during the Winter-to-Spring phase because I have allergies that time 'a year!

I am a talker. I will talk your ears off if ya' let me! I love to talk to friends, family, anyone I'm familiar with! I get a little, ok, VERY self-conscious and nervous when I talk to people I don't know.

I am very much driven by my emotions! My emotions play a big part in who I am and the decisions I have made and have yet to make.

I am a pet lover! Dogs, cats, birds, snakes, okay, maybe not snakes those things scare me ._. I actually am lucky enough to own both a cat and a dog (My dog is my pfp!). My cat's name is JR and he's a little yappy kinda like me! furball that loves attention ALMOST as much as he loves food. And my sweet little sleepy dog Scooter is... well, sleepy. And loud, when he is awake! I've even held a Boa Constrictor! It, uh, wrapped around my neck and my encounter with it ended there immediately. =P I don't know how someone with a snake that literally chokes you to death can sleep at night, but hey, I'm not the one losing sleep!

How I like to play Chess:

I loooooove to take pieces, especially the big shiny queen! =O And, obviously, on the flip side I haaaate getting my pieces take from me. Just let me win pleeeeaaaseeee? I love to play offensively, but I am very vulnerable to.... whatever it's called when you fall into a cycle of move-react-move I don't remember who exactly taught me that but I do remember it was someone on this site! I also tend to get very narrow-sighted when I play.

Leee_0