First, let me explain the name BabaFree. Baba comes from my teenage years, when my niece was first beginning to talk. She couldn’t say my real name, Brandon, and so she just started saying Baba (both a’s sound like the a in “at” or “bat”). Free is what I am in Christ (and also part of my last name).I grew up in Monroe County, Tennessee, which is about halfway between Knoxville and Chattanooga. I lived all over the county (but never out of it even though I had visited almost all 50 states with my truck driver dad) and went to several schools (switched 22 times before I graduated High School at Tellico Plains High) until I was 17 and I moved to Maryville (a suburb of Knoxville) to attend Maryville College. After 2 and a half years, and a failed business and engagement, I chose to leave Maryville and move back home. At this point, I had reached a bottom in my life. Emotionally and spiritually, I was destitute. I knew that I couldn’t stay at home because they had some issues of their own, so I applied and was accepted to Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, which was just down the road on I75.
That semester was definitely one of the turning points of my life. In it, I turned back to Christianity. I got involved in a group of friends that met on a weekly basis for a Bible study in the home of Beth Burkey (I cannot thank this woman enough for the impact that she had on my life). I was still in good bit of emotional turmoil, but Jesus was still working on me, and His plan held the perfection that I was lacking. One night, I woke up and thought, “Austin Peay.” I got out of bed and looked at their website and found that they had just finished a multi-million dollar science facility, and at the time I was a biology major so this was very interesting.
In the fall of 2003, I decided to attend Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN for a semester, moving me away from my lifelong home of East Tennessee and, ultimately, changing my life in drastic and wonderful ways.
At Austin Peay, through several circumstances that should be in a movie, I met a woman, Dessa, who in turn met a man, Me, and they are now living happily ever after having just celebrated our 3 year anniversary. We live in the Nashville, TN area with our 3 year old son, Reagan, who is increasingly reminding us that stubbornness is an inherited trait, and our newborn daughter, Elliana (Elly), who is as gorgeous as her brother is stubborn (not to say he isn’t the cute in his own right).
Most important in my life is my God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is only by His grace and through His plan that I have made it to this point in my life. He is indeed still working on me, and I look forward to seeing what He makes me into. If you’re reading this and would like to talk about the Jesus that I know, please feel free to contact me.
My wife, otherwise known as my helper, calendar, accountant, homemaker, counselor, and best friend, is my, at the risk of being cliche, soul mate. My son is a younger version of myself and gives life to the phrase, “What goes around comes around”. (Yes, another cliche) My daughter is still in the eat/sleep/poop/pee stage of life, but already she’s a complete and total joy. As I type this, she’s cuddled up on my lap sleeping.
On the professional side of life, I have three areas that I focus on. First is IT (Information Technology) at a Medical Parts company in Goodlettsville, TN. My primary roles are HelpDesk support and various projects like website redesigns, promotional videos, and computer based training. My second field is web design, which has become more of a hobby over the last year or so as I focus more on general IT. However, I still love it very much. I currently manage 3 websites with a couple more in the works. Third, and this is a bit of a cross between professional and personal, I am involved in Youth Ministry at my church, where I am a member of the Youth Ministry Team and a Teenage Sunday School Teacher.
All in all, I can some up me in a very few words. I’m a Christian/Husband/Father/Youth Worker/IT Professional/Web Designer, and I’m happy doing it.
