About Me

Hello all! Welcome to my blog. My name is Jonathan Swann, and I sincerely hope you find something worth your time while you’re here.

So who am I exactly and why should anyone care what I have to say? Great question. I’ll let you know when I figure out an answer to both of those questions. In the meantime, I can at least talk about where I come from.

I grew up in a pretty typical suburban family in the Southeastern United States. As the younger sibling and someone born in ’91, I straddle an interesting time period when it comes to popular culture and technological advancement. I cut my teeth on my brother’s hand-me-downs, and developed an interest in video games at a young age. In fact, one of the first video games I ever beat was Metal Gear Solid on my brother’s Play Station.

Through school, I coasted my way through the majority of my primary and secondary education, keeping in the upper percentile but never taking things as seriously as I should have. I played the euphonium through Middle and High School, and started learning German in 10th grade.

In college, I changed gears completely and started out learning to be a biomedical engineer. Biology, genetics, and medicine are my primary scientific interests, so I thought it would be a potential life path I would enjoy. I was wrong. Maybe one day those fields will be at the cross-roads of my scientific curiosity, but for now it remains just a hobby field.

I ultimately ended up earning my Bachelor of Arts in German and History in 2013 from the University of Memphis. My historical and literary focus is on 19th century Germany. I graduated with honors, with thesis. Ask me about my thesis some time!

After I graduated, I explored various career paths. I’ve been a pharmacy technician, a teacher, and a legal assistant since then.

In my spare time, I continue to be an avid gamer. This includes not only video games, but also board games, war games, and pen and paper role-playing games.

When I’m not at working or gaming, I can be found doing charity work through cosplay. In 2015 I achieved a life-long dream of joining the 501st Legion as an Imperial Officer, and have expanded my cosplay endeavors from there. However, my interest in cosplay is mostly in bringing characters alive for an audience and making the world a brighter place through charitable events and public appearances so I’m not sure how much I’ll write or post about it.

Anyway, that just about covers it – I’m a gigantic nerd and I have been since as long as I can remember. With any luck, that will give me some credibility for you. Enjoy!