I love this! I love the conversational tone. It makes the story even more relateable, and it goes really well with the imagery. It can be scary to get out there in the real world, when you've been sheltered all your life. It sounds like the he made a world of his own, since he had never ventured out, but when the time came to grow up, he did just that. You'd think he'd be terrified, leaving all that behind and stepping into an entirely different world, but he embraced it, instead, and became his own man. This is very inspirational, and I hope more people read this. Great write, Chris :)