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Autobiography

by Dusty Stevens, April 1997

One cool Hawaiian night, on December 29, 1984, a new life fell upon my family ... I was born. My parents called me Dustin Keahi Stevens. Here, I'll tell you about my past, like where I've been, and what I've done. I'll also tell you the present like where I am and what I'm doing. After that I'll tell you what my goals are for the future.

As I told you, I was born in Hawaii at Kealakekua, on the Big Island. I only lived there for about 9 months because my dad just got a good job in Muscat, Oman as an English teacher at a university. Most of that time, I spent my time watching many big boxes getting loaded and loaded. Things everywhere in my house started disappearing inside those big boxes. Soon everything was gone. Now that we got the luggage heading the right direction, we needed to leave. We finally escaped Hawaii and went to London. There, we boarded Gulf Air, and started our long and boring flight. It was a nightmare! Eating plane food all day! Yuck! It was torture, but we made it! But after our long journey, we found ourselves waiting in customs for a whole hour!

When we got out into the hot street, we found a man waiting for us. From there, he took us to the campus. Basically, the campus was in the middle of the desert. It was still largely under construction. The landscape looked like the moon! There was no vegetation, and the houses were clean and white. It was very still and quiet. All the houses looked exactly the same. They were two story, and had balconies upstairs, overlooking the desert. The houses were cool, though, and very comfortable. We had large colorful Persian carpets on tile floors. My room overlooked a street. The rooms were large, and had big windows. We had three bathrooms, but no garage. We just had a carport. We were the first people on campus, but after a few days, others started to arrive and we quickly made friends.

Time passed, and soon it was my first birthday. Of course, I was totally unaware of the fact. My parents planned to give me a quiet birthday, since I was too young to realize what was going on. My brother had other plans, however. He went around the neighborhood and invited all his friends to help celebrate my birthday. So I did have a party, but most of the guests were my brother's age (about 10). A few babies came, but like me, they slept through it. When I woke up, I was surrounded by a lot of presents. After the guests left, my parents were angry at my brother because they had wanted a quiet birthday. To make matters worse, they left a big mess for my mom to clean up!

A year later, I had another birthday, my second. It was fun because now I had made friends, and I didn't sleep trough my party. As a birthday gift, my parents enrolled me in preschool. The school was small. It was in a house that had been converted into a school. It had a huge playground, though! Starting preschool was not traumatic for me because my mom was one of the teachers. In fact, she was the boss! I was a little nervous on my first day, but I was not the only one since the school was brand new. I got along fine considering I was the youngest child there. But one day, during story-time, one of the troublemakers tipped a table over. Since I was sitting right next to it, it landed right on my forehead! Blood gushed out, and my whole face was covered in blood. I was rushed to the clinic, which was also new. Since they had just opened, they were not prepared for patients yet. I needed stitches, but they didn't have the right size needle. So they had to use a large needle and thick thread. To top it off, the doctor was newly trained and had never stitched a real person before! That is why I still have a large scar in the middle of the forehead. I really looked pitiful. I had these big black stitches, and I had two black eyes. Well, at least I survived.

My brother and I really wanted a pet. Anything! It could have been a cat or dog, or we would have even settled for a camel! Well, our wish was granted! We found a baby sparrow that had fallen out of its nest. There were wild dogs circling it, so we decided we had better rescue it. We picked it up and looked around for its nest, but we could not find it. So we took it home. It was limping and had a damaged wing. We didn't know what to do for it. But we made it a cozy nest in a cardboard box. We had friends from the Biology department who told us to feed it bread soaked in milk, so we did. Well, the bird simply thrived. We named it "Boot", and it became very tame. When it recovered and learned how to fly, we felt it would be better for it to be released. But when we took it out and let it go, it kept coming back to our house. It would peck on the window until we would let it inside. It was very smart. Whenever we would call its name or snap our fingers, it would fly into our hands. Sometimes it would nestle down in the palms of our hands and fall asleep. We were even able to teach it tricks like doing loops and rolls. Still, we knew it wasn't natural for it to live in a house, so we continued to encourage it to leave. Once we took it far from our house and left it in a tree. A few hours later, a neighbor called and told us that Boot had flown into their house and was flying around looking for us. So once again, we took it home. But one day, I got home to find that Boot had flown out of an open window. I guess he finally wanted to taste freedom. He never did come back. I really missed him, but felt it was best for him in the long run. Soon we got a cat named Kidder, who helped us get over Boot.

I finally finished pre-school! But my education was only beginning. I found myself riding a school bus to a school called the American British Academy where I was to attend kindergarten. I stayed at that school until I finished fourth grade. During my time there, I achieved many things. I was in the play "Cats". I also won an award for the best Halloween costume one year. I was student of the month almost every year. I made a lot of friends and had a great time there. The school was a private school. We had to wear a uniform there. Children from many nationalities attended the school, so it was more like an international school.

The school went from Reception (preschool) to Grade 12. Although the primary, middle school, and high school used separate areas of the school for most of the classes, we mixed together often. Although we had different principals, we had the same headmaster. The school only had 700 students. Sixteen children in one class was considered to be overcrowded and a handful for the teachers. My brother and I rode the bus to school together. In fact, as soon as I started school, I already had a bit of a bad reputation because of my brother. It took me some time to live that down.

One day in Borneo, I went snorkeling in the deep, blue and beautiful ocean. The magnificent coral reef stretched out as far as my eye could see. My mind was dazzled with many beautiful glittering colors. I was so excited. It was almost as if I had won the lottery.

Suddenly, something caught my eye! It was an animal that looked like a large squid, but had small tentacles coming out of its front. As it moved, it changed different colors - the colors of the coral. I pointed out this strange animal to my dad. He knows a lot about fish because he's a diving instructor.

Our heads popped out of the water and he said, " Looks like you've found a cuttlefish. Very interesting animals. They change color to hide from other bigger fish."

"Wow!" I said as I put the snorkel back in my mouth. "Is it poisonous?"

"No, of course not." my dad answered.

I dove deep into the water and watched as this cuttlefish change colors. But when I got too close, the cuttlefish dashed under a sharp rock. I was very disappointed. I know it isn't good to threaten any animal or go under coral, but I still swam underneath it. When I was under, I felt a sharp pain run up my leg, but I still stayed underneath the coral, searching for the cuttlefish.

I ran out of air, so I quickly shot up to the surface of the water. By now, it started to get windy, so we had to go to the diving center. On my way back to shore, I found it harder to paddle with my left leg. Finally, when I had gotten back to shore and unloaded all my gear, my dad looked at my left leg and said,

"My, what have you done to your leg?"

I looked down and saw blood dripping from a large gash.

"When did that happen?" my father questioned again.

"It must have happened when I chased the cuttlefish under the coral," I said.

"You silly boy! Never go under the coral! Never! " my dad yelled at me. "We better get back to the center and treat your gash!"

We hurried back. My dad carried all the gear as I limped. Finally, we saw a large hut with wet-suits hanging on poles, a large bar, and a great big map of the island. My mom was there waiting for us. As soon as she saw my wound, she quickly brought some antibiotic cream and a few bandages. She treated it everyday. Soon we left, going to Houston, Texas.

It was a very long flight. The whole trip seemed like endless days, though it was only thirteen hours. We stopped in L.A. to catch another flight which was going to Houston. Again, the flight was long, but not as long as the flight over the Pacific Ocean!

Finally, we arrived. My grandparents were there to meet us. They took us back to their home.

During our stay, my brother and I played a lot of soccer. But after we had played for a good 45 minutes, I felt a pain on my left leg. I looked down and blood and white pus was everywhere. The cut was twice as big, and felt like my leg was being cut off by a saw! The pain flowed through my leg rapidly. Back in the house, my mom and grandmother treated it with alcohol and other liquids that seemed to always sting.

Everyday it was the same thing - my mother and grandmother always treating my wound. But one day, when my mom checked the gash, she knew I needed professional help ...right away! Since it was late at night, there was no clinic that was opened. This meant we needed to go to an emergency hospital nearly.

In the car, my leg felt as though it was on fire. Once we arrived, we found the clinic to be very busy. We had to wait until 1:00 A.M.! My heart was beating faster and faster as I waited. Finally, we got to see the doctor. He took a brush and cleaned the gash. This was extremely painful! But I was so sleepy, I didn't really feel the pain so much.

Suddenly, I could see the doctor's face turn into a frown.

"I'm afraid your son has the flesh-eating disease. We'll have to do a few x-rays to see if the disease has reached the bone. If it has, well, your son may never walk again," he said.

I was so worried. My heart beat faster and faster. I felt like it was going to explode! I limped to a wheelchair and the doctor took me in the elevator, up to an empty room.

Dr. Chesworth will be with you in a moment to do the x-rays," the doctor said.

He went out the door. We waited for 15 minutes until the doctor came in. She led me to a table-like bed with a huge camera above it. She moved my painful leg in different positions and took x-rays. Soon she was finished. She led me down, in my wheelchair, to the doctor's office. She gave him the x-rays. He put them on a big white board with a light behind it. He examined them closely and said,

"You are very lucky, Dusty. It hasn't reached the bone." I gasped in sudden relief. "But you must promise my you'll take this medicine everyday," the doctor went on.

By now, the pain came back to me. But after a week of taking the medicine, the pain went away. Everyone was relieved that my leg was better. But I will never, ever forget that night at the hospital.

My father's contract in Oman finally expired after ten years. Luckily, he found a job in California. It was hard leaving after so many years. It was amazing to realize how much we had accumulated. So we had a big garage sale, gave away things to our friends, and shipped half a container full of our things to California. The hardest part was giving up our cat. He was a desert cat, so we knew he would be better off staying with our friends in Oman. The last days passed quickly, and soon we said our good-byes.

Things moved quickly once we arrived in California. We lived in an apartment at first. We looked for, and finally found a house to buy. We had to buy a car, furniture, and basically start from scratch. It took a long time to get settled, but we finally managed to call California home.

My dad started working right away for a software firm. Later, my mom found work at a preschool in Sunnyvale. My brother finished his senior year at Cupertino High School. He attended DeAnza College later. My first school was Eisenhower Elementary. It was a very good school. But when we moved into our house, I started attending De Vargas.

In California, we visited many natural wonders. After the Omani desert, we appreciated the giant Redwoods. We also visited the Lake Tahoe area, and learned how to ski. We have seen caves, and gone to the beaches. We visited San Francisco often when we first arrived.

Today, I attend De Vargas School My teacher is Mr. Tatman, and I am in the sixth grade. We have done many projects in this class, such as the simple machine project, two projects about Greece, this autobiography project, and a book project. I have been getting good grades in school. In fact, this is the third time in a row that I have received straight A's.

I enjoy sports. I am a big soccer fan, but recently I have lost touch. In the Middle East, I played a lot. In fact, in Oman, my team won three championships. I now like American football, but I'm certainly not a pro. I just started playing this year, so I don't really know all the moves. I really like baseball, though., My favorite team is the Houston Astros. I have been to see both the Giants and Athletics play. I've started watching hockey, but still don't know much about it. But my least favorite sport is basketball.

Yes, we may be moving back to the Middle East. I have mixed feelings about this because I've grown so used to life in the U.S.A. I'd hate to leave! We're not completely sure we will move, but right now my father is over there checking it out.

If I move, I hope to go to an American school, not British or some other type of school. Wherever I go, I want to accomplish many things. I want to maintain my A's in all classes. I hope to have different classes like music, art, computing, and much more. I hope to get a scholarship eventually so I can attend a good University.

It's not the New Year yet, but I'm already thinking about making my resolutions! I'm going to try to figure out what my goals will be for the rest of my life! First I'll tell you about my goals for the remaining months in elementary school. Then I'll explain my goals for junior high, high school, college, and my future life after that.

Of course, one of my goals for elementary school is simply to graduate! I hope to do this in style instead of just passing by the skin of my teeth. I hope to continue to make decent grades and learn good study habits in order to do well in junior high. I don't want to just pass. I want to understand what I'm being taught. I hope that I will leave as a football star. I want to keep up with my running habits because I'd like to join track and field in junior high. I'd also like to start swimming again, because ever since I moved to California I haven't been swimming much. So I want to balance studying with getting exercise and keeping in shape.

In junior high, I'd like to become a scuba diver because I hope to become an ichthyologist. I want to join the band in junior high and play the saxophone. Like I said earlier, I want to join track and field to stay in shape. I also hope that I attend Hyde Junior High School so I will meet up with my friends from Eisenhower Elementary. I hope to maintain my grade point average from elementary school. I'd also like to take some art classes.

In high school, I hope to learn to drive so I can get around on my own. I'd like to work towards getting a scholarship so I can attend a good college or university. I'd like to have learned a foreign language by this time. I still hope to study art, and by that time have the subject mastered. I might try to get a part-time job. I still want to get good grades, and do well on the SAT exam. I want to keep running, but I don't know if I want to be on the track team. I just want to run for my health and enjoyment.

In college, I don't know yet if I want to study ichthyology or computer science. Both subjects interest me. I hope to get into a good school. I might also want to study drama or art for fun. Just like always, I want to make good grades. I will at least go for four years, but I might go more. I hope by then I'll have a girlfriend and think about getting married.

For the future, I hope to be either an ichthyologist or work for a computer software firm such as LucasArts. I hope to maybe have two children. If I do become an ichthyologist, I'd like to go to study at different oceans such as my favorite coral reef, off Sipadan. If I become a software artist, I will probably stay here in California because this is where LucasArts is based. This is also a good place to get other kinds of computer work.

So far, I think I have had an interesting and exciting life. Whatever I do, I hope that the rest of my life is as adventurous and fun as my early life. In conclusion, I hope to live a happy and successful life. I will have to work for it, but it will be worth it.

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Last updated: November 12, 1997