I was born and raised in Victoria, Canada.

At the age of 17, I left home to study at the University of Toronto, and I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics, with favourite subjects Numerical Methods and Advanced Logic.

At the age of 23, I married Hans Groen, and shortly afterwards moved with him to The Netherlands. Hans passed away in 2022. We were together more than 36 years and I miss him, it’s like half of me is elsewhere.

Ever since I was a very young child, I’ve pondered the questions, Who am I? and Where am I? I’ve always found ‘reality’ a bit, well, surreal; I have a strong sense of being an observer or, more accurately, as if I my life is an ever more lucid dream. Those two questions have been a driving force in my life, and led me on a wonderful journey to some surprising answers and a very blessed life.

And yet now, especially now, I feel like an island in an expanding sea. I see people and want to be in their world, or for them to be in mine, but I am an ‘outsider’. I can’t tell if people think I’m unreachable or just weird. Brave and afraid is no easy combination.

Scott Owen
Scott@ScottOwen.org