When I think back on it, I probably have my brother Kevin to thank for helping me discover my love for biology and chemistry. But, at the same time…I also hate him for it too. I mean, I almost feel as though I was forced into this field of interest. But it turned out okay! 'Cause I love it. Lucky right?

Anyway, I must have been five years old, and I was playing in the backyard with my shirt off – We live in Las Vegas, and this was summer…you get it. I remember I was playing with my Malibu Barbie doll in the grass - we had this one patch that was greener and grew way faster than the rest (or so it seemed), so I was pretending Lola, my Barbie, was backpacking through the jungle; and Kevin, who was ten at the time, was playing star wars, or star trek, or some kind of star thing with my other brother Liam who is three years my senior, so naturally, I was ignoring them.

So there I was, spending some quality time with Lola, who was enjoying her hike through the jungle, when I felt the need to provide her with appropriate music to go along with her travels. First song that popped in my head: Hakuna Matata. I think I wanted to sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", but my five year-old mind suffered from a case of illusory correlation.

Then, I got jealous of Lola. 'Cause like, why was her life all "Hakuna Matata" and not mine? I promptly ditched her and pretended to be Nala, and Nala wanted to lounge in a patch of sun.

It was so warm. And it felt so good on my back. I pretended Nala was sleepy, so with my chin resting on my hands, I closed my eyes, and masterfully drowned out all the laser blasts and gun shots that were being sprayed out along with spit.

I should have paid attention though. For if I had, I would have heard the blasts and shots die down. I would have heard Kevin and Liam shuffle across the lawn. I would have heard Liam gasp and cover a giggle, and finally, if I had paid attention, I would have heard Kevin quietly – suspiciously, tip-toe across the yard towards my patch of sun.

But, come on, I was five years old. I hadn't caught on yet that all older brothers were Dr. Evil's in training. All I cared about, apparently, was letting Nala get some sleep in the hot African Savannah.

That's when I felt a tickle on my forearm. I didn't mind it; it was probably just a fly or something, so I incorporated it into my game. Nala didn't mind the fly on her paw…except, it wasn't going away. In fact, it felt like two flies were on my arm now creeping close to my face, so I shook them off and heard a thmp. Curious, I opened my eyes. There were four eyes looking right back at me. Black, beady, and…lidless with two fangs situated right below. I proceeded to pee myself. But I kept completely frozen. I was afraid that if I made the smallest movement, it would…pull a ninja move on me – blind me, vomit web on me, I don't know, I just wasn't going to take any chances. Meanwhile, my sadistic brothers were peeing themselves from laughing so hard, and ended up abandoning me for some ice cream inside.

I thought I was going to die. I did. And I was out there for hours… Well, it was probably more like ten minutes, but to a five year old, that's pretty much the same thing. My Dad finally came to my rescue:

"Roux? What are you still doing out here, you're going to get a sunburn sweetie."

Then:

"Whoa!"

And right there, my Dad resorted back to his high school days as the pro quarter-back, and in lickety-split that no good, hairy, eight-legged-monster-of-doom was flying over our fence.

And I cried.

I cried because I had been so scared, and because I smelled like pee, and because I was all sweaty and sticky. But I also cried because I suddenly felt sorry for 'it'. After all, it never really made an attempt to harm me in any way, and it didn't even get mad at me when I shook it off my arm. Maybe it just wanted a friend.

So, crying, my Dad picked me up and carried me into the house and sat down in his cushy plaid chair with me in his lap. He explained to me that there were many scary things I would encounter in my lifetime, things that I would have no control over – those being the scariest, he told me – but most of them I would have control over and be able to overcome them. He told me the best way to conquer a fear of something, is to learn more about it. I listened intently and quietly, sneaking in a few lingering sniffles here and there. And after I composed myself, Dad gave me a kiss, and hugged me tight and sent me off to play again.

As I walked to my room I could hear Dad call Kevin and Liam into the kitchen to have a 'talk'. I briefly wondered if it had anything to do with the talk he had with me, but quickly disregarded the matter. Instead of going to my room however, I snuck into Kevin and Liam's and pulled out a bunch of their books on the shelf looking for the picture I wanted. I found it almost instantly and took the book back with me to my room where I sat and looked at all of the pictures.

Apparently I had encountered a Tarantula, as I later found out, having made Dad read the book to me that night before I went to bed. And I asked him question after question like 'Were they poisonous?' 'Did they only live at our house?' 'How do they go to the bathroom?' And that's when Dad introduced me to the most exciting place I know. The library. Yeah, go ahead, scoff. But it's true when you really think about it. You can learn anything from the hundreds of books they have there.

I went through phases. The first started off with spiders and bugs, then that led to wanting to find out what was inside them…dissection led to biology, and finally for the past couple of years, I've been fascinated with chemistry. And just to make it clear, I, Roux Lobowitz, am fully aware of my 'know-it-all' persona, (I try to tone it down, I really do, I've been working on it) and am determined to make it through the rest of my middle school years and high school's prepared to undertake the stereo-type of, geek, dork, - not nerd, for that adjective implies I lack social skills which is completely untrue in my case, I pride myself in my social skills - or any other synonym for people who have a passion and want to succeed at it; because in six years, I am going to apply and get accepted to UCLA where I will earn my degree in Biology (minoring in chemistry), and then go onto UC Berkeley to get my PhD which will guarantee me a position on the team of the Las Vegas Crime Lab! …But I digress…

Not five miles away, a fellow fan of entomology, the CSI Gil Grissom, was digressing over a few things of his own…