Profile: Mike Kapp

This is the third is a continuing series of profiles of friends and family who I feel have had a significant impact on my life. This time I'll be taking a look at my cousin, Michael Kapp.

I really don't know what it is about my cousin Mike that has made him such an important person in my development. We were never particularly close. We weren't necessarily close in age and we lived far enough apart that I really didn't get much of a chance to see him that often. That said, he is still incredibly influencial and holds a great deal of significance to me.

I'm not sure how much older than me Michael is. If I had to guess I would say he is likely 8 to 10 years my elder. I remember for a very short time staying with my Aunt Mary up in Lansing when I was young. My mom was sick and in the hospital and my aunt had offered to watch my brothers and I while she recovered. Michael became a good friend to me then. I don't understand why, I was just a little kid. He wasn't necessarily into the toys that at that particular age I was interested in, yet I vaguely remember sitting on the floor of his bedroom, right off the living area, looking through his book shelf. I wasn't into reading yet (as far as I can remember) but I recall one book on his shelf that had a great deal of cartoon drawings. I remember it was one of my favorite things to do, to go in to his room and sit on the floor at that bookcase thumbing through that book. He wouldn't say much, or maybe he did, I don't recall, but just being in the same room made me feel better about where I was, what I was doing there and more comfortable in those foreign surroundings. I don't know why this memory is so clear to me, or had such a lasting imprint on me, but it did.

As I grew older I watched Michael's successes. I've seen him get married to a wonderful woman who is warm and charming, easy to talk to, and always comfortable to be around. She echoes the type of person Mike is. He also has three beautiful little girls whom I know he cherishes.

I adopted Megan years ago, and by doing so I feel as if I have cemented a bond between Mike and myself, him being an adoptive parent as well. Again, I don't know why, but that makes me feel good, as if I share a fraternal bond with my cousin.

I have always looked up to Michael, envied him for the successes he has had, even attempted to emulate him. My interest in politics has no source, but of all those I have associated with, Mike, and his brother Rick seem to be the only people that come to mind when I try to associate my interest in the subject with anyone. Maybe it was the media that peeked my interest, maybe it was something entirely different, regardless he has made the subject intriguing and brought a great deal of attention to the subject for me to explore.

I'm not sure what Michael does as far as a job, but to me he is the epitome of success. He works for the State of Michigan in some capacity and to this point has been the bar to which I judge myself. This may sound hokey, but I seriously do measure my contributions to my field based simply on what I know about Mike and his career. His successes have driven me, have inspired me, and constantly remind me of how important not only my job, but my education is. Even to this day I want to continue with school, to keep going, to get that elusive masters degree, to progress forward and acheive a PhD.

Michael has always been easy for me to talk to. He has a charisma that draws me to him. I could sit there and talk all day with him about work, politics, family, travel; you name it. He is such an endearing individual. Even as a high school student Michael would treat me in a manor that made me feel much more mature than I actually was at the time. I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that he is a person that listens, he wants to hear what I have to say and he takes the time to process and react to those things, not just brush them off as worthless drivel. He makes the person he is speaking with seem important and their words valuable.

I have a lot of cousins, in fact it would be difficult to think of all of them. Mike, however is the one that immediately comes to mind when I think of all my extended family.

My greatest regret regarding my family is my inability to be closer to the ones that mean the most to me. Some would argue that Mike was one of the people I associated with the least while I was growing up. To me that is the biggest shame because even that short amount of interaction we have had, I have found a common bond with him, a bond that has helped shape who I am, given me goals to shoot for and developed a sense of what a good man, a good father and a good person I should be.