His Family Life

Thomas Murray, usually called Tom by his friends, or Tommy by his family, lives in Colonia, New Jersey. He lives with his mother, Susan Murray, his father, Joseph Murray, and his dog, Coach. Tom also has a brother named Billy, who lives in New York, and works as a musician with the stage name Billy Richards, and as a waiter when he is not working on his music. Tom attends Colonia High School, where he is now in his senior year. His favorite classes at Colonia High are sewing and art.

His Work Life

Unlike most teenagers, working at fast food restaurants or various other odd jobs, Murray works at a small church in Clark, New Jersey. Murray is a receptionist for Saint Agnes Church, where he works once a week for four hours at a time, 4 pm to 8 pm every Wednesday. Murray picks up phones and answers the doors when he’s working. Sometimes he puts together bulletins that they give out after masses on Saturdays and Sundays. Tom has been working at the church for about 2 and a half years. When asked if he enjoys his job, Murray responded “I like my job. It’s easy money and it keeps me out of trouble and my mind from wandering.”

Where He Hopes to Be

While Murray does enjoy his job at the church, he hopes to one day be involved in the fashion industry, either designing accessories, sneakers, or clothing. “Fashion has always interested me,” Murray revealed. “I love putting together my own clothes and sneakers. I’d like to have my own store similar to a Kith NYC with all of my own clothing articles and sneakers when I grow up.”

Murray has already begun his practice in the fashion field by creating his own clothing. He’s made everything from his own t-shirts, camouflage sweatpants, and a pair of jeans. Murray became interested in fashion mostly because of his brother. Murray described his brother by saying, “He always had on nice clothes and wore the nicest sneakers and shoes when I was young. He still does, and when he moved out of the house I tried to pick up that characteristic from him. I’ve also become very interested in fashion from using Tumblr and seeing the kinds of designs and clothes some people make on the internet.” Murray hopes to attend FIT after high school to pursue his career in fashion, and hopefully get to where he wants to be.

His Side Jobs

When asked what he does in his free time, Murray proclaimed, “I also go to my cabin; I go on car rides; I go hunting during the hunting season. I hang out with my brother in New York City,; I hang out with my friends and I go to church every weekend.” When Tom is at home, he spends most of his time restoring and making custom sneakers. In order to restore a pair of sneakers, Murray begins by cleaning the sneakers, and then evaluating how much work needs to be done to them. If they do not come clean, he strips the paint off of them and starts new, repainting a majority of the shoe to its factory color way, or sometimes painting them a custom color way depending on the customer’s request. Murray revealed that he has created a small business out of it, but as of recently, not many people have needed their sneakers restored. Tom’s pricing for sneaker restoration ranges from $25 to $40-$60. Murray announced, “If your sneakers just need a minor clean up or repaint, I’d charge around $25. If your sneakers are severely damaged and are in need of a repaint, your soles are yellowing, and there are scuffs, I’ll generally start charging around $40 to $60, and if you want a custom pair of sneaker, I’d need to know what you’d want done to generate an idea of how much supplies, time, and labor would cost to make them.” Other than restoring sneakers, Murray is an average teenage boy, who runs errands for his mother as a side job.

What His Friends Think About Him

From first glance, many people would not assume that Murray is interested in the fashion industry, or even that he would work at a church in his free time. Murray keeps his secret love of fashion toned down underneath his normal everyday life, and his dedication for religion is not something he outright advertises. When asked to describe Tom Murray in one word, his friend Isabella French, a junior at Colonia High School, said “swag.” Murray is a quiet guy, according to Isabella French, and keeps his interesting passions and lifestyle private, which makes it even more interesting when he finally lets you in on it. Another friend of Murray’s, Julian Palermo, a senior at Colonia High School, was also asked to describe Tom Murray  in one word, and their response was “flee.” According to Julian, Murray is “flee” because his shoes are always so clean and fresh, and his clothing is often self-made. While you wouldn’t know that Murray’s clothes are self-made at first glance, it is interesting to know that he can make his own clothes and not have anyone know, because they look so professionally done.

Some Closing Thoughts

Tom Murray is one of the many people in Colonia High School that lead a seemingly normal life, but also have hidden passions beyond their first impression. Without getting to know Murray, one would assume that he is a quiet guy who lives an average life, but that is not the case. Murray loves fashion, and has a passion for sneakers; all while being dedicated to going to church every Sunday. Murray’s story leads people to wonder what kinds of lives other Colonia High School students are leading beyond the person that they seem to be by first glance.