Alex Mukensturm

Prof. Rybas

Autobiography

January 27th, 2019

My Short Life Story

Childhood Challenge

Challenges in life can make or break a person based on the severity of the problem. As I

look back, my story has challenges that have formatted me into who I am today. I started

realizing how important money was around the age of seven. My mother was constantly

bouncing from job to job to support my brother and me. We lived in apartment complexes,

houses, and sometimes my grandmother's house. It was not until I was the age of twelve when I

started to realize that something was wrong with my mom. She would sleep all day, because

emotional stress and stay up all hours of the night. It turned out to be my mother was fighting

depression and I was only twelve, so I was not very clear what that meant. My brother, Austin

and I, were close growing up, so we always had each other’s back. This impacted me in a way

that changed me for life. I became very independent, especially at my mom’s house because she

was not around for the most part. I was cooking dinner, cleaning the house, and waking myself

up in the morning to go to school. I was put in a situation where I could step up and take care of

my brother and I or get in trouble and cause more stress on my mother. Austin is only two years

younger than me, so we did things together. We rode our bikes anywhere and everywhere. We
grew up in a nice neighborhood, so friends were not hard to come by. We would play football,

basketball, or hang out inside and play video games.

Family Background

My childhood involved spending time at my grandmothers and hanging out with my

friends. Middle school is what brought all of us together. I jumped around elementary schools

and I attended three out of the four schools in the district. My father moved to North Carolina

when I was nine years old. He took a buyout from Ford Motor Company and took my step-mom,

half-brother, and step-sister. My step-mom did not treat me the best when my dad was not

around. If something broke or needed to be cleaned I was the first to be blamed. She sent me

back to my mother’s with diaper rash and marks on my bottom. My father never believed what

my mom or myself had to say about her. After they moved to North Carolina, I started going to

my brothers’ dad’s house because my mom thought it was important to still have a father figure

in my life. He moved about two hours away to Muskegon, Michigan, so we would meet every

other weekend in Grand Ledge, Michigan. He took on the father figure role without anyone

asking. He taught me just about everything I know, and he always took me to baseball practices

and games, even if they were ten hours away. I call him my step-dad because he was always

there for my brother and I if we ever needed help or advice, he was there. He taught me how to

hold expectations to another level and how to be a man. He was never into me dating girls

because he knew how much trouble they can be. He guided me through tough times with family

and any other issues I faced. My biological father tried teaching me his ways either on the phone
or when I would go down to North Carolina to visit. I would be lying if I said I was not upset

about my biological father moving away without me.

Dad(s)

My father made trips up from North Carolina to see me after two years of already being

down there. I would sometimes catch a ride with my Uncle Rick who was always driving around

the country. I also spent a summer in North Carolina after my grandmother and my Uncle Brad

also moved down there. My step-dad always supported me if I wanted him in my life because he

knew how important it was to have my biological father in my life. At the age of eleven, my

step-dad started seeing someone and she had a son who was my age. They ended up moving in

together and my brother and I felt like her son, Noah, was a brother to us. We would play video

games all night, cops and robbers, and walk up to the Westland Mall. Little did we know he was

suffering from depression at the age of fourteen.

It was February 15th, 2012 when he took his own life. I found out after school when

people started texting me apologizing for my loss or asking me questions on what happened to

him. His friends were my friends and vice versa because we got along so well. It was one of the

worse times in my life because I lost a brother of my own. This happened when we were way to

young so the thought of how it could have been avoided was not thought of. The gun was not

locked up in a safe let alone a safe place. My step-dad always preached about how to be safe

with guns and when to use them. He knew how bad the outcomes would be if the guns were not

locked up and put in a safe place. Noah and I did just about everything together because we

trusted one another. I stayed at his dad’s house one time and all we did was joke around and
laugh together. We both played baseball together and I am beyond grateful that my brother, step-

brother, and I all got to play baseball together for one game. Noah ended up getting hit in the

face by the pitcher and he was not even upset about it. He jogged down to first base laughing

because he was so happy that he got on base. I could tell that when it came to sports, he looked

up to me and tried to follow my lead. It was one of the greatest moments of my life because we

all go together to play a sport that we enjoyed.

High School

High school was a time that I absolutely adored because I was always with my friends

and played varsity baseball for four years. I grew up playing little league with my teammates and

most stuck to the route of high school baseball. The bond we had was unbreakable because we

have been through tough loses and glorious wins. Evan is still one of my good friends, but I

always tagged along with his family to go to games and practices. The amount of time we all

spent on and off the field together cannot be measured. We knew just about everything about one

another and we were always there for each other if anything happened. High school baseball is

something that I will cherish forever because of the memories and brothers I made over time.

I just started my sophomore year of high school when my mom started seeing our next-

door neighbor. He had two boys of his own, but they were interested in completely different

things than my brother and me. We played video games and went outside to play as much as we

could, while they would play with action figures and read books. There was not much of an age

difference either, we just did not have the same interest. My mom’s new boyfriend was not the

greatest guy to my brother and me because he tried to be a father figure when we really did not
need him to be. We got into an altercation where I had to make a visit to the police station

because he put his hands on me. My best friend was with me and caught it all on video. This was

not the first time we had to get the police involved because of his words or actions. The police

arrested him while my mother was pregnant with his daughter. My grandparents gave my mother

the bond money to get him out of jail, so he could be here when my mom had her baby. My

mom gave me two choices after he was arrested: 1. I could move to North Carolina with my

biological father or 2. I could finish high school with my friends and live with my grandmother. I

decided to live with my grandmother and finish high school where I grew up.

College

After graduating from high school, college was next up on my list and thankfully I was

offered to play baseball at Capital University. My freshman year was full of emotions because

this was the first time I was away from home. I had to figure out my time management skills

because as I look back if I planned my baseball schedule, classes, and my social life, the school

part would have been much easier. My roommate was a different story because he would stay up

until 4:00 am playing video games when I had to be up by 8:30 am for class. He also had some

altercations with some teammates which caused him to be suspended indefinitely. After he left,

the school side became easier to go to because I could get my sleep in and focus on my school

work. Concluding my first year at college, it was an eye opener because it proved that nothing is

ever handed to me. If I wanted something, I had to work for it. I also learned something from my
coach, which included: “You have to understand the difference between the controllable and the

uncontrollable.”

The controllable is something that I can control, which includes my mindset, actions, and

words. The uncontrollable is someone’s actions and words.” This was a huge eyeopener for me

because it made sense. I can only control my emotions and actions so how can I get upset about

something if I cannot control it? It is not worth my time and energy to be upset over something

that I can do nothing about. Looking back at my life’s challenges and accomplishments, it is

obvious that I have faced more challenges than accomplishments that I am proud of. As I was

taught some life saving advice about the controllables, this life so far has taught me how to

handle my emotions but also taught me how to be a better man in this harsh world. As I approach

my final semester at Capital, I thank everyone that has pushed me to be a better person and set

me up to be successful.