Biography of a G-Man

In 1996 my family moved to Celebration, Florida, a `perfect' community created by Disney. My parents were art teachers at the school. My sisters and I liked living in the tight-knit community and walking to school. For the first few months it was a lot of fun walking by the lake outside our door, riding bikes or walking everywhere, and visiting the Parks as often as we wanted. But as time passed we saw the reality of Celebration.

The deed restrictions were tight. We knew this when we moved in, but they became a straightjacket when living with them. People selling their houses couldn't post signs. Painting your house required approval. And there were just enough nosey neighbors to enforce all the rules.

School wasn't much better. The relaxed, project-based model was too relaxed. Somehow I didn't take 9th grade history and instead spent my time in the library. I learned so little French it was embarrassing. I only learned a fourth of the geometry I was supposed to–a deficiency that haunts me even today. At one point I was actually told the school couldn't meet my academic needs and I should leave if I wanted a more challenging environment.

Yet Celebration School wasn't all bad. I spent those library hours learning by my own curriculum. I talked with real computer scientists and learned a lot about programming. And I finally stopped being annoying.

But in sum, Celebration wasn't working for my family. We left after just 1 year and returned to Ocala.

Chumbawamba has a song about Celebration, Florida. I think it's funny.