Who You Are Matters
On August 16th, 1996, I came to be of part of civilization. I came from a Guatemalan- Irish immigrant mother and a Mexican- American father. I was born on a hot Friday morning in the city of Downey not too far from USC and grew up in the streets of Maywood. The graffiti, the gangs, the dirty unkempt atmosphere left my mother and her lawyer boss, Diana, concerned for my brother and I. Diana did everything in her power to make sure my brother and I had a better education and since the age of 4 we moved to the San Fernando Valley and attended a prestigious private prep school on Mullholand drive. Since then, it was always engraved to pursue a higher education and to keep on going, excelling, growing and having goals. It was engraved. It was a lifestyle. As kids we’d always been accustomed to playing “pretend”. Since attending Berkeley Hall, I always saw myself going to bigger places where no one else in my family has gone. I saw my self as a v...