Who the Hell Am I?

Why should you listen to me? What credentials have I that will prove I am the guru you ought to follow to solve your problems and pull you out of the mud?

None. I have no credentials. I am not a psychiatrist, career coach, CEO, clergymen or famous. Which is one reason I wrote this blog. As a response to my sheer weariness of trying to survive, let alone succeed in a credentials oriented world.

“Prove it,” every one is always saying. “Prove you are qualified for this job. Prove you believe in God. Prove that you love me.”

I’m not about proving anything here. I’m just about sharing conclusions I have come to in my life as I examine my lack of progress in some key areas, along with my successes in other. I want to chronicle what I am and doing. Both because I am a writer, and because I feel my thoughts might just be of benefit to others in similar situations.

So who the hell am I? I’m a guy that is Too XYZ, and has spent much time and effort in getting around that when needed. My credentials are that I have no credentials. But if you are looking for something real as opposed to some half-assed official study sanctioned by a lot of people with credentials, you will get something out of this blog.

My name is Ty Unglebower. I live alone in Frederick County, Maryland. The fifth of six kids. My mother is a widow, my father having died when I was seven years old.

I only get along with about half of my family at this time.

I am college educated, with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in the Theatre Arts, from Marietta College. (Ohio). That hard earned and expensive poly-sci degree never did a thing for me. Didn’t open a single door. I make no use of it in the slightest, and never have.

I work as a freelance writer at this time. It doesn’t pay enough. Not nearly enough. So I have to get help from family sometimes. That’s just the way it is when you cannot find a job working for a company. Freelance writing is just about the only consistent thing anyone has paid me to do. I rang a bell one Christmas, washed dishes for a summer, watered plants for another, and sold radio ad time for two weeks. Spent two seasons as a tour guide. None of it full time. That is what a degree, 1000 resumes (and counting) 8 years, 4 interviews and three offers (not counting my freelance writing gigs) have yielded me on the job front. Haven’t exactly made a single dent in my student loans either, as you can probably guess.

Sound hard to believe? Try living it.

Why is it so? Right now I’m working on the how to fix it more so than the why it has been that way. And I have grown weary trying to figure out the why over these years. But I imagine I will explore both that why and the “what now” in this blog.

Though I rarely get paid for it, I spend most of my free time stage acting. Whenever and wherever I can. And I’m good at it. It is a large part of my creative life. So large in fact, I keep a separate blog to talk about my experiences in theatre. You can find a link to that in the link section. I will be referring to it frequently.

I enjoy digital photography and will sometimes post my pictures here.

What is my philosophy for success overall? After reading the books, articles, blogs, and speeches on the subject, whether they be about careers, love, sex, or spirituality, I can say it’s important to cut one’s own path as best as one can. Even when one doesn’t know how to begin.

Too XYZ is one way in which I have begun to do this. The advice column way, or the conventional story book ending just doesn’t seem built for me. It may not be in your cards either. Yet maybe I can help you, and in turn be helped by you. Keep reading and find out.