On Brandon Byron --by Travis Hawkins

Curiously enough, a young college student’s favorite writing is fiction, and he rarely reveals any of his prose to his peers. Nevertheless, he studies journalism and aspires to become a writer for a national magazine. A writer and a student at Winthrop University, Brandon Byron is a regular renaissance man.

Though Brandon is full of interesting talents, his love of writing lies closest to his heart. He loves the arts but loves words the most. As a creative writer, he often writes short stories, poetry, etc. Most everything he writes shares something in common: it stays private. Though writing is his hobby and ambition, his prose usually remains unveiled and personal; he implies that the one it really means the most to is himself.

He particularly wants to major in journalism, but is currently in mass communications. On asking him why this was, he explained that students in the area start out as mass communication majors before choosing what specific study within it they mean to pursue. Brandon has chosen journalism, and he already has his own plans set from there. “Everyone says this who goes into journalism,” he reported. “I want to work for National Geographic.” He made clear that the dream of working for such a magazine was ideal for him for a few reasons, yet for one reason more than others. He wants to travel around the globe, and landing a job there can make that happen for him. Yet the one place he says he wants to go more than anywhere is right here in the States: Alaska. The general area of Alaska and Canada appeals to him more than any other place on the globe because of the mountains.

As one can imagine for a multi-talented college student, deciding what he most wanted to do with his life was not an easy choice. For a while, he believed he was going to be a special education major. Brandon could not help but be interested in that area, given his circumstances. While Brandon, age 18, has been facing college and deciding what to do with his life, his little brother, age eight, has been facing his autism. Brandon has two brothers, and he suspects the condition of his younger sibling had everything to do with his initial longing to study special education.

Another of Brandon’s contradictions, characteristic of his individuality, is precisely his relationship to writing. He hated writing essays in high school, and the chore to this day remains one of his least favorite things to do. He finds that writing of a more technical style can occasionally cause him stress, considering that what he writes typically lacks organization. In contrast, he finds that his lack of organization is what gives his prose character – much like his own signature that identifies his work with himself. This is part of the reason why he prefers writing fiction yet also why he feels that his ideal career is with National Geographic.

In addition to his affinity to writing, he loves acting. Brandon recounts the story of how he achieved a lead role in the Melancholy Play – he forgot his lines but was called back anyway. He simply read them his lines, and they simply loved him. He also plays guitar, drums, and he sings; he listens to loads of music when he is not studying or writing. As a matter of fact, he explains how he does not usually show his writing to others. "To compensate,” he says. “I started acting and playing music."
--by Travis Hawkins