Name: Shane Michael Guymon
Age: 23
Date of birth: October 14, 1980
Nickname: $killz
Hobbies: basketball, drawing (making art), watching movies, watching basketball, and writing
Bio:

I was born in San Antonio, Texas and grew up in Live Oak in a humble three bedroom home, to a family of eight. Growing up in such humble living conditions made it to where my family became very close. I spent most of my childhood in a room with my other three brothers. My childhood was spent playing basketball, riding bikes, and pretending I was Zorro, a ninja turtle, Heeman, a transformer, the Lone Ranger, or a specially trained ninja killer ( I am pretty sure that my techniques are still harnessed inside my 150 pound 5 foot 9 inch frame). If I was not outside using my imagination to its fullest extent, I could be found inside of my house playing with legos, trying to build a clubhouse, building a car out of scraps of wood and other odd things I found around the house and neighborhood.

I learned the truth about Santa Clause at the startling age of three and Christmas remains to be my favorite holiday to this day. Second would have to be Halloween. I think we should rename it to be the national “hook-up” day because no other day out of the year can you knock on a complete stranger’s door and they will give you free candy and other goodies for no reason; THAT my friend is a beautiful thing.

I started kindergarten at the age of five. Thanks to the beauty of education, I was able to learn how to play with blocks, sit Indian style, stay within the lines as I colored, and best of all, I learned about the beauty of recess. As I ventured up the ladder of public education via Live Oak Elementary, I ran into a huge obstacle; the first day of first grade when handed a worksheet filled with questions. My only problem was I had no idea how to read. I was scared I was the only one and so therefore I just sat and stared at this paper that filled my young mind with confusion. Luckily I was able to receive some good help in a remedial course where I learned the history of many characters such as A-E-I-O-U and sometimes Y. However, my favorite story was "Q" because poor "Q" could not speak until his friend "U" was with him. Anyway, I hit third grade as the coolest kid alive, not to mention the greatest basketball player in Live Oak Elementary history, but my poor teacher didn’t receive the memo and thus spent the whole school year hating me. So in the fourth grade I became the new kid in school a few blocks away at Crestview Elementary. It was hard at first to convince the school that I was the coolest kid alive. I mean, it was not hard to tell that by the faded tight black sweats I wore everyday.

Before I knew it I had to retire as the four square champ and tether ball king….oh and not to mention the pencil fighting champ. It was time to move on to Jr. High! Once there, I was able to showcase my talents on the hardwood. Only Kitty Hawk's court was made of tile. I still mad the A-team both my seventh and eighth grade years which secured me a spot in basketball athletics at Judson High school. Kitty Hawk was where all the girls finally started realizing how incredibly cool I was. Too bad I was too scared to speak to any of them. Judson High school was where I was finally able to let the world know that I was the greatest basketball player in the world and quickly on my way to the University of North Carolina and then on to the NBA. Sadly, Coach Wacker didn’t ever get new glasses so he was never able to see my talent. So I spent my freshman year on the A-team coming in off the bench as the three point sharp shooter. In basketball athletics I spent the year holding it down proper on the top court where me, Lloyd, Walter, Joe, and Mark Bennet ran things all day. Anyway I found myself looked over going into my sophomore year and not making the J. V. team. Stuck on sub-varsity, I came out with a bang scoring twenty one points my first game and twenty five my next and securing a place on the bench on J.V for the remainder of the preseason. At that point I played sub-varsity and J. V. games until I failed Spanish and didn’t play on any team for the rest of the year. Again I went into my junior year almost not on the team but by the time my J. V. season began I was one of the leading scorers on the team. Things were looking good going into my senior year but like I said before, Coach Wack must not of gotten new glasses because I found myself with the privilege of a front row seat at every game and a uniform but no playing time, unless of course we were up by at least thirty points.

At the beginning of my senior year I was hit with some turmoil in my life. My father who had been suffering from arthritis for many years and was in and out of hospitals for the past five or six years found himself in really bad shape, His lungs were slowly solidifying and the doctors had no idea why. Test after test was performed and some different surgeries but still nothing was solved. Then at the beginning of my senior year I entered the room to my art class when i was met by a lady telling me she needed to talk to me so i needed to bring all my things with her. That morning after family prayers we received a phone call from the doctor as I was leaving the house informing us that my father had suffered a heart attack but made it through and was still in a comma. My mom and my little brother Ethan went to the hospital and I chose to go to school and for her to call me if there were any more problems. So the first thing that entered my mind was my father when I saw the lady. Then when we went out the classroom door and shut it standing behind the door was my bishop. Now then I knew it wasn't good news and I already new before the words came out of his mouth that yes my father had passed away. On the drive to my house I remember staring out the window.It was a pleasant sunny August day. The sun was shining it was partly cloudy. We drove down the road and across some railroad tracks when I saw other people driving and others walking and talking and laughing as if nothing had happened. I was very upset. Didn't they realize the earth was short one great and wonderful man. Didn't they understand that the whole world had just changed. And I remember all of the movement. The clouds were moving the cars the people my mind. I wanted everything to stop. I wanted the whole world to freeze and just pause and just not move at all. I wanted there to be no change at all. I didn't want the change of my life of having my mother and father both together to change. I didn't want any change in anything to happen. After getting home and being able to be alone with my thoughts and able to cry and pray and think things out. I was able to realize the importance of life. The importance of being happy. I knew my father wanted me to be happy. I new my father wanted the best for me and that he would not want me to be sad. And even this such a horrible change was able to turn my life to the better. I was a new person, I had a new understanding of myself. I had a new ambition in life to always be positive and happy, and to make my father proud. I had the ambition to lead on the Guymon legacy and stay true to the name that rests on my shoulders.

So anyway, I graduated and got myself a job at Aqua Chlor in the shop filling up chlorine tanks and refilling trucks with other pool treating chemicals. I did that until January 12th of 2000 came around and then I was off to the beautiful concrete jungle in Brazil to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I started my mission in Ipiranga with Danny McCiff . He helped teach me how to speak the language and teach the people and how to adapt to life in another country as a missionary. Next I spent three more months with Mitch Haralson in his last days in Brazil as he suffered from many illnesses and worms. Me and Mitch were able to build a strong bond of friendship through many hours spent in our little house as he was dieing with stomach pains or running to the bathroom to relieve himself. I also was able to learn a little more about brazil because we were always having to travel around to different doctors to find out what was wrong with the poor guy. I was able to learn alot about working together to teach and work as missionaries. I was also abel to get to know the hoods of Brazil in a the fevela of Heliopalis. I left Ipiranga and went to the beautiful city of Itaquera with Ron Jorgensen for six weeks where we taught many the gospel of christ. Jorgensen then left and Ramon who is a native to Brazil. That was my first actual time living and working with a Brazilian. Which posed as a strong test in my life. I still hadn't completely mastered the portuguese language. We were still able to have alot of fun and teach many people. My portuguese improved tremendously during that six weeks as well. I left to the outskirts or the city of Mogi Das Cruzes with Juliao, who also was a Brazilian who helped me even more with my portuguese. Six weeks later Perry Ridge replaced him for his last six weeks in Brazil. By this time i had a year on my mission and was feeling really comfortable with my Portuguese and my teaching abilities. We had a wonderful time teaching people and we were also able to build a good friendship. Then I spent a joyous six weeks with Chris Burkman laughing the whole time. After water fights and endless nights of jokes we were able to build a very strong friendship and we were also able to teach alot of people and touch the lives of many in our area. Chris is a very good people person and communicates very well with people. He also had very good teaching techniques which taught me alot. After crying over the departure of Chris I was tested with the presence of Cabral. Another Brazilian who helped me build a strong degree of patience in my life. After a trying six weeks with Cabral I was blessed with the opportunity to work with Benny Beck. We had met probably ten months prior in Itaquera and had been requesting to work together since that moment. So it was a joyous thing when our requests were finally granted. We worked in an area far away from the big city of Sao Paulo in the small city of Taubate. Beck and I built an even stronger friendship and also were able to teach many people. He was a very talented soccer player and was able to humble some of those Brazilians on the field. I learned a great deal by working with Beck. Three months later Beck returned home and Batista, a Brazilian came to work with me for six weeks. He was a very cool guy and a tremendous soccer player. Almost as good as I am at basketball. Then I returned to the big city again and worked in Sao Miguel with Moroni another Brazilian. He was a very nice guy who I still remain in contact with to this day. We became very good friends and had a fun six weeks together. Six weeks later he was replaced with my good friend Brigham Bailey who I was able to get to know during my last three months in Brazil. We had lots of fun eating esfias every night and playing LIFE and wall basketball in our house until the owner started getting upset by all the noise we were making. We were able to teach alot of people. Then my last two weeks I spent with my good friend Bucky flowers who i had spent alot of time with in Mogi Das Cruzes and taubate and then again in Sao Miguel. So we had already had a strong friendship. So it was a marvelous thing to be able to work with him. i was able to learn so much in those two weeks just by studying with him two hours every morning. I still remain in contact with Bucky, Beck, Brigham, Chris Burkman, and a few others whom i didn't work with. My time in Brazil was very hard yet also very fun. I was able to gain experience that i have been and will continue to use as helpful guides through the rest of my life. My mission helped build me into the person who stands today. I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to be able to serve the people of Brazil for two years.

I returned from Brazil on December 21, 2001 and worked at a car wash, then at West, and currently I am at Brylane. I enrolled at San Antonio College the August after I returned where I have been working diligently in getting my associates degree in print graphics. I met a beautiful girl named Heather who is the love of my life in January 2002 in an LDS chat room. After many months of long distance talk, she moved up here to San Antonio from a small town named Buna. We were married on December 28, 2002 in the Houston LDS temple and have been happily building our new life together. We currently reside in Universal City and hope to start a family sometime in the near future. I still play basketball every Saturday, I'm still waiting for my ticket to the NBA till then I guess I'll have to settle for school and working at Brylane.