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Jacob Blackburn
Outside of just his immediate family, one way Kale was able to communicate with people was through artwork. In elementary school, he had a very healthy appreciation for art, and that appreciation would continue on into adulthood, as well. His parents encouraged any way of expressing himself in hopes that it would eventually lead him in the direction of verbal communication again. Despite his shyness and slective mutism, Kale still laughed and smiled, or frowned and cried when he felt bad. He was very expressive in many other ways that didn't involve forcing him to talk, and when the mutiple pediatricians and therapists he had seen came to learn that, they had all ruled out any form of autism. Once Kale began talking again, he would admit that during those six years he just 'didn't have much to say' and would leave it at that. Life began for him once he moved away from Petersham and closer to Worcester. Living in the small historical town that he grew up was hindering his ability to continue expressing himself as he grew. Once he escaped the public school system, Kale went to Becker College with nothing more than a really outlandish dream and his parents blessing. They would worry about him shutting down as he once had, closing the world out and locking himself up to paint, but Kale wanted to use this opportunity to find himself and better himself further. It took him longer than expected to settle into dorm life, but he did, and even though his roommate considered him to be a little on the strange side for while, they eventually became best friends and spent most of their time together. College was also where Kale would experience his first love, and inevitably his first heart break when his girlfriend left him for one reason or another. After college, Kale moved home and lived with his parents for time, not really able to live off of any of the money he was making selling his artwork. His parents urged him to get a job without trying to remind him that despite having a degree in video game design, he probably wasn't likely to find a job in that field. He tried not to get too discouraged in the bleeding artist job hunt that he spent months on, and he eventually found a job working night security a few towns over and closer to the city. At 23, he knew this wasn't really what he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing, and so Kale went back to school, this time a little further from home. Attending Boston University, Kale went back to school for Biochemistry and trudged his way through the next four years of his life. As many times as he desperately wanted to take a break and walk away from the university, his parents pushed him forward and tried to remind him that his future could very well rely on whether or not he finished school. Deciding not to leave the city after college, Kale moved into a small apartment by himself and lived off of Ramen and crackers for what seemed like decades. School was an expensive hobby, he knew this, but he also knew that he was preparing to make his way through adulthood, and like his parents had wanted for him in the very beginning he wanted to go on and do good things and live up to his potential. For a few months, he worked in a research lab as an assistant, and while he loved the perks of his job, Kal realized that the lab environment wasn't something he was ready for just yet. For a while, he stuck with it, hoping he'd get the hang of it and learn to love the atmosphere, but when he decided it was never going to happen, he hung up his lab coat and went back on the job hunt. Having a knack for odd jobs, Kal fond himself as personal security, a bouncer, a bartender, a house painter, and even very briefly working for a local landscaping company back home in Petersham. His focus has evolved and most nights and weekends he holes himself up to focus on designing, and he currently has a big project in the works. father
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