To begin....

Well folks, before you all can have a front row seat to read how my life unfolds, I probably should tell you a little about the family of David Hottel.
If I were to claim one event in my life that has defined me most, it would be the divorce of my biological parents when I was very young. Out of this seemingly negative situation, my family has grown tremendously. Up until recently, I have had two sets of parents who love me very much. Last year however, my mother and stepfather separated and I have not had a conversation with Bruce (my stepfather) since. This has been some what of a tramatic event for me considering my relationship with him.
Throughout high school, I lived with my mom and stepdad on the coast of North Carolina. I was a very committed football player during this time in my life and my parents were very supportive of my endeavors. Since my father lived in Atlanta, GA some eight hours away, he couldn't be there for every single game I had. (For the record, however, I must comend my dad on coming to at least one game every season and not missing our designated weekends every three weeks in eighteen years.) Bruce and my mother always attended my games and Bruce and I had developed a great relationship. Bruce served as my day to day father while my biological father was still very active in my life, despite being nearly eight hours away from me.
It was a huge shock when my mother told me during a break in my freshman year of college that they had separated. Since that day I have spoken to Bruce maybe twice for a total of about four minutes. This is partly my fault because I haven't tried very hard to stay in contact with him but likewise, he hasn't tried very hard to contact me either, but back to the rest of my family.
I have a wonderful stepmom, Helen, who has three children, Mandie, John, and Becca, whom I don't consider to be my step brother and sisters, but rather just my brother and sisters considering we have grown so close over virtually my entire life.
With my sister, Courtney, and her husband, Brad I have a pretty full immediate family and I love them all very much. I also must mention that Mandie has two kids, Hannah (13) and Jordan (12), and Courtney recently had baby Caedmon join my wondeful family.
My father's side of the family is located in the Atlanta area, where I am spending my summer, and my mother's side of the family is located in Raleigh.
My family is a huge part of my life and much of the content in this blog will be either involved with them or involved with my friends. I will introduce my friends as they come into play during the course of this blog. For now, however, I am going to enjoy a beer with my family in ATL. So, until next time, Nastrovia!