“ I would have liked to make myself more confident. I do believe my life would have been really different. ”
Name : Matthew Murtha
Gender : Male
DoB : 16.07.1983
City of Birth : Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Status : Divorced
Family : 4 Sisters & 1 Brother
Hometown : New York City, USA
Education : PhD in Molecular Biology
Job : Research since 2010
Religion : Athiest
Politics : Liberal
As a child… How would you picture yourself at 30?
JOB – How did you decide to do this job? When I was a kid, I wanted to be a garbage man or a construction man because these are manual jobs in which things really get done. The best part of it is that I really lived the dream since I worked as a garbage man for an entire summer after graduating and being named the biochemist of the year.That was great, the most rewarding job ever!
How did I became a scientist? I choose something I was good at in school, even if I may not like it. I studied biology and chemistry. After college, I got paid to study for my Phd. I barely made the choice between finding a « real job » or getting paid for another degree. That’s how I became a scientist in genetics working in a lab.
I wanted to be a garbage man or a construction man because these are manual jobs in which things really get done.
HOME / PLACE OF LIVING – Where you thought you would be living by now? I was born in Cincinnati in Ohio, and grew up in North West Ohio in a farmland lost in the super-flat, conservative, boring and real America. I wanted to get out of the Midwest so I went to a college in Florida and received the best student scholarship tuition.Later, I met a dancer from NYC, she first moved to Ohio and then we moved together in NYC. We then got married for 6 months.
Matt lives in an appartment of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York.
Matt playing beer pong in a garden of his neighbour during a birthday party.
Striking and memorable events…
IN THE WORLD – What are the main events that stroke the world you are living in? In which way? Definitely, the main thing is America’s first invasion of Irak in 1992. I was really sad for the Iraqis, I cried for them because I knew America’s army was the best and that lot of damage may be done. By the way, it was last time I cried for something.
IN YOU PERSONAL LIFE – What are the most memorable event of your personal life? I do not have quintessential moment, it is more a collection of moments. Maybe, I would say the time I spend with my family as a all (I have 5 brothers and sisters).
IN YOU PERSONAL LIFE – What are the most memorable event of your personal life? I do not have quintessential moment, it is more a collection of moments. Maybe, I would say the time I spend with my family as a all (I have 5 brothers and sisters).
BEST MEMORY – What is your best memory? When I try to get my mum’s attention. I have one picture in mind … when I was 5 years old, I just woke up, I went downstairs, I led on a chair like a lazy boy, and my mum came over with my little sister.
GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT – I am really proud of my research work. I found during my Phd the cure for a virus (form of autism) that affects the brain by the mutation of the genes. I was founded to lead the research and to make experiments on the virus cure. It was a real success! I consider it as the greatest achievement of my life because I am really happy to help people.
Looking back / Reviewing expectations
10 YEARS AGO, I expected that I would have wife and got married at 24, a house of my own and maybe a kid or two by the age of 26. I thought I would be living in Ohio. I was following the model in which I lived in – that was what most people did at that age. I did not question the model at that time either.
TODAY – When I moved to NYC, I have seen the model collapsed. My marriage after 6 months fell apart. There was a huge gap between what I had always projected and what I was living. I do not reject my early life, and what I have been through, that was what build the man I am today.
TODAY – When I moved to NYC, I have seen the model collapsed. My marriage after 6 months fell apart. There was a huge gap between what I had always projected and what I was living. I do not reject my early life, and what I have been through, that was what build the man I am today.
Matt takes the subway everyday to go to work in downtown Manhattan.
Matt’s favortite spot is a view over the Williamsburg bridge and the Empire State Buildijng.
30 years old, a turning point?
WHAT’S NEW? – Did you notice some changes since you are 30 YO? I think I know so much more than I knew before. I know how much of an idiot I was. How ignorant I was… Today I feel that one should always get angry at its ignorance, to grow and learn.
But for me the main change is the number… 30.. wow… change of decade with solid digits. I also feel that at my age people treat me better.
Today I feel that one should always get angry at its ignorance, to grow and learn.
OLD OR YOUNG? – Do you feel « old » or « still young »? I generally feel young. I do have activities such as playing ping pong with teenagers or go to rock shows concerts, even while being 30.
CHANGES OR REGRETS? What are the things you would like to change? I would change a few cosmetics things in my life such as « I wish I went to a rowing camp ». If I dig into my personality, I would have liked to make myself more confident. I do believe my life would have been really different. Over the past years, I never really cared about myself, whereas today I try to grab things for myself.
My Values
My Typical day
And tomorrow?
YOUR STORY IN 10 YEARS – What is the story you want to tell within 10 years? I want to be able to say that I appreciate the way I live my life. I want to be more relax and live in an apartment with plants and books, become a professor famous for his research, and have women around me. I also know I want to have kids even if I don’t know when – as a biologist, I think that’s in my specie to replicate myself.
THE WORLD IN 10 YEARS – How do you imagine the world you will be living in within 10 years? On a political ground, I think the world is moving forward, we are taking the direction of democracies, even in China.
On a lifestyle ground I am sure technology, artificial intelligence and robots will have a huge impact on our life and how we interact. Next generations won’t know the world without a cell phone or internet…
Fears and Dreams…
FEARS – What are you afraid of? Regarding the basics, I am afraid to not have a home and enough income to live or, in other words, to lack something essential. I also fear that I won’t success, have a legacy or won’t be remembered.
ACHIEVEMENTS – What are the things you want to achieve? The best achievement would be the right combination of family life and a successful professional career.
DREAMS – What is your craziest dreams? My dream would be to win an oscar as an actor and/or dating J. Lawrence. I do not have like « real » fantasies.
