I get along with most everybody...for a short period of time. I'm that crazy, fun type of person that everyone wants to be around...that is, until they get to know me. I, Trinitie Tiearra Garrison, am a difficult person, and I'm proud.
As a young girl, I was surrounded by unique personalities. I believe my Uncle Matt, whom I've probably mentioned several times on here, contributed largely to who I am. To most people, Uncle Matt would seem a bit...off, but he was my hero. To give you a little background, at the age of 19, he lost his one true love in a boating accident and got pretty messed up himself. He didn't date for nearly 20 years. My grandmother has 13 children, all of them pretty normal with the exception of Matt and Vickie (my mother). He's pretty much shunned by his family because he refuses to fit into their mold of what "normal" is.
Uncle Matt lives simply. He owns maybe 2 outfits while all of his other possessions wouldn't fill a bag. He's never actually lived in a house that he was paying for, though he is a working man. He's devoted to Christ, and he would walk miles to get to a church on Sunday. When he lived with us in Oklahoma (he's lived with us numerous times), we were poor as dirt. We didn't have any food, laundray soap, dish soap, shampoo, or even running water. He would go outside and pick leaves off the trees after collecting water from across the street and boil them into a sort of stew...it was delicious!!! He would get me up hours before school started and let me drink coffee with him while we talked about whatever was on my mind.
As a young girl, he would sit with me for hours playing word games that he and I made up. We would wake up early in the morning to steal a few moments alone to read the funny pages in the daily newspaper. Uncle Matt would explain any jokes I didn't understand---even when other adults would say I wasn't old enough for that humor. He would do my homework with me, play with me, let me ride on his motorcycle like a big girl, and let me sit on his lap and sing along with him while he played the guitar.
We would talk about life, about what I wanted to be, and although he would never laugh at my aspirations, he would be truthful with me about my abilities. Though he was usually a kind man, disrespect would throw him into a rage. No matter what I did though, he would never say harsh things to me without first taking a few moments to decide if they were constructive.
I have 6 brothers and sisters, but I only grew up with 2 of them, Kameron and Tancie. Uncle Matt loved them too, but he and I always shared something more...a connection. It was like we knew there was something different about us. He showed me love when it was a scarcity in my life.
Uncle Matt nurtured all the things I really love about myself: my love for God, my love for people, my intelligence and love of learning, my love of humor, my love of music, but most of all, my difficulty, my stubborness.
Uncle Matt taught me not to care about others opinions when something you care about is on the line. He taught me to be me even if it meant losing friends. He taught me to stand up for what I believe in, even when it hurts. Most would look at my uncle's life and say he is a failure. I look at it and see a man unlike any other I've ever known. In my mind, he is the most successful person I've ever encountered.
When I was 7, I recall standing in the kitchen with Uncle Matt kneeling down on one knee to talk to me. In mid-sentence, I stopped and said, "Uncle Matt, will you marry me?" Of course, this is a story he loves to tell, but I meant it. I know I will never meet another man as wonderful as my Uncle Matt.