christopher bacall

BLURB
Christopher Bacall was born in New Olreans, Louisiana to James and Geonna Bacall. He is the second eldest of their five children; two girls and three boys to be exact. Geonna is a retired elementary school teacher and James a retired New Orleans police officer. Christopher came from very humble beginnings. His parents were hard workers and that was something they stressed to their children at a young age. Hard work would get you where you wanted to be in life. Their traditions were simple and like most families. Good food, lots of love and acceptance. That was the Bacall way.

School for Christopher was difficult at times. Not so much in grade school but he was bullied quite a lot when he entered junior high and high school. He was different from the other children. More focused on his studies than socializing. He also hadn't quite grown into his height or his looks. To everyone he was the short theathre nerd that always had his nose in a book. Christopher did his best to ignore it but kids can be relentless when they've found someone to tease. He found companionship in the few friends that he did have and some of his teachers. The bright eyed kid was eager to learn and absorb the lessons that were given to him. At least Christopher had his eldest brother around to protect him from schoolhouse fights.

Because he focused so much on his studies, Christopher was able to land himself a scholarship to a few schools of choice. By his senior year of high school he had already figured out what he wanted to do with his life. He aspired to be a teacher like his mother and follow in her footsteps. Though Christopher had a different path in mind. His plan was to become a high school theatre teacher and use an education from Columbia to do so. It would be a big move, one that would be scary and a major change of scenery compared to his life in New Orleans. But he was prepared. Life was about taking chances and taking risks. Staying in Louisiana wasn't in the cards for his future.

Christopher's family took the move rather hard. Especially his father. Wanting his second eldest to remain home in down south rather than miles away in the big apple. He urged his son to stay but he'd already made up his mind. New York City it was. The change was a struggle at first. The hustle and bustle of the city took a bit of a toll on Christopher but like any Bacall, he was resilient. He kept the stories that his grandparents had told him about overcoming adversity and making a life for themselves when they started from nothing. They were words that he channeled as he adapted and pushed his way through college. Which to his surprise went much more smoothly than his younger days had.

Like all things, time was a major factor in his adjustment. Christopher managed to make friends, locals of the city that were more than happy to show him around and make him comfortable. Friends he roomed with through the remainder of his college days. While he went to school, Christopher took up odd jobs around the city in order to pay the bills. He was a waiter for a while before landing a job at a bookstore called the Strand in the East Village. It was just a subway trip away from school and he felt comfortable in a book store.

After finishing his bachelor's degree in theatre, Christopher took it upon himself to further his education and go after a master's in theatre education and English. He felt a masters degree would help him in the competitive real world ahead of him. Unfortunately he couldn't obtain his Master's at Columbia so he made the choice to transfer in NYU to do so. He found out through massive amounts of research that NYU Steinhardt offered the MA that he wanted. His chosen course would also certify him as a teacher of both threatre and English. The classes offered at Columbia and NYU encouraged Christopher to take a fun teaching approach. Channeling the energy of a theatre teacher that he himself had while in high school. He made it a point to focus on that when he became a teacher. Not wanting to lose sight of his real goals. Educating young minds and getting them excited about what they were learning. He didn't want to be a teacher that didn't care, that handed out a test and said to do it. Christopher was going to be a teacher that prepared his students for everything. To mold young actors into reaching their goals and dreams. Whether it was to be a teacher like himself or a Broadway star. He wanted to be an influence on that.

By twenty-four Christopher Bacall was a college graduate. For the Bacall family, it was a huge celebration. Everyone had flown in from New Orleans to attend the ceremony and cheer him on. While they had opposed the mood at first, they were proud of their son for achieving his goals. The high of graduation soon wore off though and Christopher was no different than most college students. Struggling to find work in their field. He figured that his best bet was to try subbing for a while to gain the experience that he needed and get some good recommendations from different schools. Through his shyness he also worked on a few smaller scale plays and did a bit of acting himself. But he knew where his true passion lay. With a lot of time and a lot of hard work, at the age of twenty-nine Christopher finally landed his dream job at a private school in Brooklyn, New York. Burnswick Academy was right up his alley. Though it was quite different from the public school system he'd been used to, he welcomed the challenge.