Born on a cold winters day in the small town of Nisko, Poland on November 25th, 1983.
Ever since I was a little boy living in Poland, I always knew that one day I will live in New York City. I used to draw the Statue of Liberty and huge skyscrapers with myself surrounded in the middle of it all. I didnt know how or when I was going to get there, but I just wanted my dreams and pictures to come true.
I was always very creative and ahead of my time. I had a lot of friends as a child in Poland, and I liked to be the center of attention even if it might of got me in to trouble. I never really liked staying home. When I was a little boy I used to sneak out of the house or stay out late with my friends and my father used to get very mad about that.
I came to America when I was ten years old on April 8th, 1994. I started school right away the following month, even though I did not speak any English at all. Doing school work was tough, but making friends really wasnt. There were a few people who made fun of me because I didnt speak any English, or because I wore clothes that were out of style. That was tough for me because I wanted everybody to love me, and appreciate whats inside of a person. I think that they were hating on me because people actually liked me for the person that I was.
I became fly when I started junior high. I spoke English well, and got a better sense of style as well as of myself. I became popular but that didnt really matter to me. I just liked having fun in high school. One of my best friends was a chick named Alicia. We used to cut school and take the bus to New York City together all the time. We used to go to Harlem, and run the streets and hit up a few clubs even though we were under age. I remember one night, me and her were walking on 125th Street, and as I was crossing the street this big black guy yelled, "what you doing with a white boy," to my friend Alicia who is African-American, and I yelled back...."what you doin by yourself!" I was never scared of anything or even any one. I believe that things happen for a reason.
Right after my high school graduation I decided to move to New York City. I always knew that one day I will live in New York so I was just trying to pursue my goals and live my life. My parents didnt really believe me when I told them that I am going to go to college in New York until they actually saw the bill for the semester. When I was living in New York, I tried to pursue acting for fun. I always wanted to be on TV, and I landed some extra work on shows like Law & Order: SVU, as well as an HBO movie "Brooklyn." Then I met a few people who were involved in the modeling industry, and had some luck there and met great people like Steve Prezant, Ross Bleckner, Irene Caesar and Calvin Klein. But this industry can be very shady, and you just have to be a strong and intelligent person if you want to pursue it. In this field innocence is lost.
When I first came to New York, I didnt have a place to stay or much money. I wasnt about to stay on the streets, but thanks to my best friend Chris, he found me a room to crash for a few nights. Thats when I met this lady named Penny. She was in her 40's, no teeth, and spoke with a country North Carolina accent so I never understood what she was saying to me. I lived with her in Mount Vernon, NY for a few months until I found a place in Spanish Harlem.
I lived in the Metro North Projects for two years. I had a crazy roommate who had a drug problem, and even more crazy stories to tell, but that will take up another two pages. I used to be the only white boy on the block, so a lot of people called me Eminem. Now, I might be slim, and I might be shady, but I am no Slim Shady. I had to let people know. Living in the projects wasnt that bad. I met a lot of good people whom I still keep in touch with and I've learned a lot from every person as well as experience that came my way. However, the drugs, the fights, and the prostitution, wasnt the environment that I wanted to continue living in. If you get caught up in that stuff and the people, it will bring you down. I wanted to do bigger and better things, and not just have people sellin me dreams. So one day, I just packed up all my stuff and with my dads help went to the Bronx.
I settled in a nice apartment in Sound View in February 2004, and I hated living alone. Living alone was just too boring and too quiet for me. I asked my best friend Chris if he wanted to move in with me but he wasnt ready, so his cousin who was also one of my best friends moved in with me. Ian came to live with me in April 2004. He used to cook every day which I loved, because until then I was always starving since I am really not the best cook in the world. I'll rather heat up, than cook something up. Unfortunately, one night in June I came home from a long weekend in New Jersey, and found my best friend Ian dead in his room. Ian passed away from a heart attack, even though he was only 21 years old. After the biopsy, it turned out that he was born with a large heart which was a cause of the cardiac arrest. This was a really tough situation for me to deal with. Just when you think you have your life put together, suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle fall apart. You just slowly need to put them back in to place again. I gave up my apartment because it was too difficult for me to continue living there, and went to live with my parents in New Jersey.
In August just over a month later, my grandpa passed away. My mother and I had to make an emergency flight to Europe for his funeral. I felt like I didnt even have a chance to say goodbye, and tell my grandfather that I always loved him. We stayed there for two months, and even though we went for a funeral, I had the best time of my life. I went to a bachelor party, and then a wedding, bars, clubs and parties every single night when I was in Europe. I also had some time to think about my life and what path I should take next when I come back to the States. Now that Im back, I am ready for a new chapter of my life to start.
I came back to Manhattan in February 2005, and found a nice studio apartment uptown (which needed some fixing up.) I went back to college and decided to change my major from Business to Media Communications (Advertising & Public Relations.) I finished the spring semester with a 3.0 GPA! I stage managed several plays which included the Vagina Monologues, The Summer Folk, The Underlying Reality of a Human Condition, and Bang Bang You're Dead Oops I'm Dead Too which was a powerful piece about war. I met a lot of interesting people, and made new friends. During one of my previous semesters at college I met a quiet girl named Naima, and we started talking for a brief period. Naima later turned out to become Americas Next Top Model. Then my friend Carl won $50,000 in Fear Factor, my good friend Folake got a small part on Law and Order, and my sister graduating FIT College with a degree in Fashion Design with specialization in Children's wear. Seeing people I care about succeed in what they love, made me more anxious to try and be more successful in what I like. I like to try a lot of new things and see where I end up next. So I got offered a role in a small off-Broadway play which was out all over Manhattan on the Lower East Side and SoHo for about two months until July 5th 2005. The play was called The Bar Scene and it was a great experience! I also got a small part in a movie called Black Pearl and a music video Hourglass for the band Dynasty, and Beyonce's If I Were A Boy. I have worked long hours at the logistics department at the corporate offices of Dolce & Gabbna, and later got transferred to D&G where I helped out the sales executive team with D&G Junior. Had a lot of fun with Roberta and Meagan, and then I got offered a job at the Human Resources office for Aeropostale & Jimmyz Inc. So today I am the HRIS Analyst for all of the Aero and Jimmyz stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico working 9 to 6. I am learning every day and have a lot of ideas for the company and my department that I hope to achieve one day. I am very creative and during my spare time I work on my music, writing and other various projects. After all that, a boy still needs to find time to go out and party!!
Basically, Ive been there and done that, so theres really nothing new that would surprise me. I have learned a lot since I've been on my own. I used to think that I knew everything, come to find out I did not know much at all. I have learned through my mistakes, and every experience has taught me a new lesson. I have gone through a lot of obstacles to be where I am today, but most importantly, I have always followed my heart.
What awaits me next... I never know.
-Marsin