Meet Grant
#5 of 15
Trail Name: 3 States
What's happenin' y'all! I'm Grant. Garrison mentioned that you’d be meeting his twin in the next bio published and here I am - the moment you've all been waiting for!
Unlike 18 year old Garrison in his bio two days ago, I’m 19 years old! I’m the younger of the two of us (by 11 whole minutes!) and the fifth of the 15 of us. Like the siblings before me, I was born in the small town of Paint Rock, Texas. We moved to North Carolina shortly after I turned 7, and we've been here every since. Some days it's for the better, some days it's for the worst. It all depends on how much you like humidity. (it's only good during the spring; after that, I want to go back to Texas).
As my twin explained earlier, my oldest brother started a kitchen furniture building company, which I officially began helping with when I turned 12. After my 12th birthday, that company took off and showed no signs of slowing down. During that time, my mom was also running a coffee shop, and my oldest sister along with one of my younger sisters (Evye and Ivye) and I all pitched in. It was a fairly successful little coffee shop. Unfortunately, it didn't work out due to the resistance of the old, hard-headed people in town who didn't appreciate my mom's efforts to make positive changes. She was trying to install an all-inclusive ADA compliant playground, which she had the funding for, but the town's conservative residents made it impossible to happen. At the time It would have been the only one within a 70 mile radius. Thankfully, it didn't end for the worst because after the coffee shop closed, my family could focus on my brother's furniture business, which grew to become one of, if not, THE biggest hand-made furniture businesses on the East Coast. Then, of course, COVID happened... oh well
Time went on, and with all the free time I had after the business shut down, I was able to expound on my passion for musical instruments (I’ve had a passion for them for years, but I had more time to play once the businesses shut done.) I've been playing the drums for 5 years now, and I got into guitars and piano a bit later.
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Not long after the furniture company closed, I found another job building storage sheds. That's where everything started to change for the better for me. I was making good money, especially for my age. I was finally able to do all the things I wanted to do, like buying birthday presents, Christmas gifts, going on special road trips, and purchasing random things for my family. I also got to buy my own things like guitars, pianos, drum pieces, and even my first gun. I've always liked shooting, but my love for the hobby shot up (no pun intended) after I had one of my own. I took a keen interest in gun history, gunsmithing, understanding how different types of ammunition work, and delving into the science of firearms overall.
I’m one of the two that chose to stay home rather than doing the trail. I had my own goals and I felt that the time away from home would hinder me from making progress. I haven’t regretted not doing the trail with them. I’ve been able to accomplish most of the goals I had. I currently am employed by Virginia International Raceway where I help run the go kart portion of the track and work security for the events held at the raceway. I miss everybody but I know they’ll be home eventually. I’ve been able to hike certain sections with them and visit them throughout their time on trail. I plan on hiking Katahdin with them and we’ll finish their thru hike in the Smokies together as a family.
My goal for the future is to provide stability for the family and for us to live in peace. With my family making national headlines, the work ethic my mom, siblings and myself all have, the younger ones also being raised and taught the same, I think everything is looking good and we’re on the right track.
Fun Fact!
One of my favorite subjects has always been geography. I can identify almost every country's national flag and I'm learning the Arabic and Turkish languages.
How did I get my trail name?
Well, I told my family I'm not going on the hike since I wanted to stay home and focus on my future. After 3 weeks of not seeing them and missing them all I told them I would join once they got to North Carolina. I hiked a total of 3 consecutive states with them (some of TN, NC and some of VA). So my name before returning home eventually became 3 States.
I'm definitely one of the extroverts of all my siblings. I was one of the main ones doing the deliveries for the furniture company. At the time, when I met someone new it was work related and I didn't really enjoy it. But after the business shut down and meeting others wasn't 100% work related I began to really enjoy expanding my world, traveling and being around others. Last March when my family began the AT I was working for AT&T in sales and participated in several work related trips to NY, MI and several other states. That job is one of the main reasons I wanted to stay rather than thru hike. I'm currently studying to be a life coach and am beginning to have some interest in furthering my education in marketing and sales, just because I really like traveling, relating to people and being able to interact with them.
My motto:
"They get what they've given. To do good to me, is to do good to you. To do wrong to me, is to do wrong to you. You will never receive disrespect, nor will you receive kindness , unless I have seen what has been given already. Treating another how I want to be treated is not a luxury given to the untrusted."
