I always sort of enjoyed computers.  We bought a Commodore 64 before I was in kindergarten, and I began learning about BASIC.  Our first IBM compatible was a 286.  I performed my duty as a child and proceeded to fill the hard drive with useless games and delete useless files like config.sys. 
        As one of our numerous upgrades, we bought a modem.  It was then that I discovered bulletin board systems, magical places where you could interact with other people by posting messages and (of course) playing games. 
       A few years later, we signed up for Internet access.  I was shocked to find the world's biggest bulletin board.  I was even more shocked to find that I, too, could have my own little piece.  I immediately downloaded Compuserve's web page creation software and went to work. 
        Another of the Internet's great conventions was E-mail.  Mom signed us up for a service that matched my personal profile with scholarship opportunities.  In late 1997, a match arrived -- ThinkQuest. 
        I felt up to the challenge of creating an educational website, so I  found two people willing to participate.  One chose not to continue when he saw the amount of work required.  The other was Barrett Parker. 
        I have learned a lot during the creation of this site.  Many misconceptions I had about how genetics works have been cleared up.  Some of my views about genetic manipulation have changed.  In addition to the gained knowledge on the subject matter, I have gotten to develop my writing and graphics skills, and become more familiar with HTML and the internet.

        Hi ya'll.  Ever since I was young I have been playing sports, but last year I started working with computers.  I grew up with one of the old Apple computers and enjoyed my little world of Lode Runner, Pac Man and Donkey Kong.  Now I have graduated to a Pentium 233 and a whole new world has been revealed to me.   
        Last year my family finally purchased a new computer which I had been wanting for about three years.  I had wanted the new computer for games, but my parents bought it for educational purposes.  As a freshman in high school I took a Great Books Tutorial class over the internet.  This began my odyssey through the internet and web page design.  (During my Great Books Tutorial we had to read the Odyssey by Homer.) 
        After having internet access for about five months I learned about Thinkquest and joined Matthew's team.  Even though this has been one of my busiest summers, it has been the most productive.  Not only have I learned more than I ever wanted to know about DNA and genetics, but I finally understood this subject for the first time.  Now I want to learn even more.  My writing has actually improved  (believe it or not) during the past months as I have written a speech about genetic engineering and contributed to this web page.   
        I now would like to thank my parents for letting me participate in this project and supporting me on those weekends that I just did not want to work on it.  I also thank my brother for giving up the computer every time I needed to work on Thinkquest.  Thank you Matthew Heard for letting me join the team.