-
Moving
When I was only three and a half I moved from Brooklyn to Brewster. I do not remember much other than being around my family, making my first friend, and going to Sunset Park. I still have a lot of family in Brooklyn that I visit at least twice a month. If I stayed in Brooklyn my life would have taken a different turn considering how different Brooklyn is from Brewster. Although I grew up in Brewster for the most part, I know my roots will always be in Brooklyn, the city where I was born. -
Kindergarten
Starting Kindergarten was a big moment in my life. Before Kindergarten I went to Pre-K in a different private school so starting Kindergarten meant having to make new friends. It was hard to adjust at first but over time I got used to going to a new school with new people. Kindergarten was where I made all of my elementary school friends; considering it was a small private school everyone was friends with everyone else. Slowly, very slowly as the year went on it started to get easier for me . -
My "Brother"
I was nine and I got the news I would have a new brother, well not exactly. My cousin William from Brooklyn moved in with my family so he could start high school here. He was just as annoying and irritating as my other brothers but I also learned to appreciate him as if he was my real brother. If anyone were to ask I'd always tell them I have three brothers. He wasn't like my other cousins that only saw me when we were hanging out and having fun. He was there even when I came home at my worst. -
Public School
The year before middle school started I was over private school and everything that came along with it, including the uniforms. Middle school was better for me because I was able to become more independent and make more decisions on my own. There were a lot of things different from private to public school like lockers, uniforms, more people, taking the bus, and getting used to knowing where all my classes were in a much bigger school. Middle school started a whole new chapter in my life. -
I had to Say Goodbye
My cousin was growing up and was ready to move back to Brooklyn, which was the original plan that was set for his future. I never thought I would care he was gone considering he was always out or annoying me. The day he left to move felt weird after I had lived with him for so long. I watched him pack his bags. Once he left, it felt like there was something missing in my house. I'll always go down to Brooklyn to visit him and my other family but it's not the same as him being here to annoy me. -
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico to me was much more than just going on vacation to get a tan, although I like the beach. I have a huge family. My great grandmother on my dad's side had sixteen kids in Puerto Rico and from then on the family just kept on growing. It was my first real vacation and my first time on a plane to see my family. I met aunts, uncles, and cousins. I got to see the whole other side of my family that I didn't even know had existed. Waving goodbye and going on the plane was the hard part. -
Fitness
I had always been an active kid. I liked roller skating, jump roping, ice skating, breakdancing, gymnastics, skateboarding, bike riding, horseback riding, swimming, basketball, outdoor games, hiking, nature walks, soccer, and other activities. It was not until 2017 when I went on a little fitness journey of my own when I realized I wanted to be a personal trainer and eventually have my own gym. All my life I was confused as to what I wanted to do, but it was right in front of me the whole time. -
Sister?
Finding out that I was having a little sister was a shock and not the good kind . After growing up with numerous guy cousins and brothers, the last thing that I had wanted was a sister. I was in such shock that it took me about seven months to look at her and realize she was actually a thing. It took me a month to actually warm up to her and hold her. When I did I realized she was staying and she was family no matter how I felt. After that I learned to live with her and her temper tantrums. -
Turning 16
For my sixteenth birthday I had a party and I invited all of my friends and family to come. This was a big moment for me because it was a lot of fun and it was put together by my family. At first I didn't even want a party, but then after a while I changed my mind worrying I might regret not having one. So my family put the party together last minute finding a place to rent and making food and it still turned out to be good. After the party I got to reminisce on the fun I had with everybody. -
Graduation
I knew what I wanted to do so I decided to just go for it and finish high school early not wasting any time. Previously, I wasn't exactly the star student when it came to grades. It was something I had to work for. I started doing homework, studying, and going to class on time. Everyone that knew me saw the change and knew I was serious. My first step was to pass every class, then have a meeting and get approval from the principal, after that came tons of informational guidance meetings to help. -
Dunkin'
Well, my first job was a chaotic mess. There were a lot of highs and lows. The interview process took a long time. I saw a lot of people come and go considering the workers weren't very reliable. Going to work made me appreciate the free time I had so that I can get other things done. During this time I learned how to work with a big group of people. Although it was nice saving money, I had to learn to schedule my life around the hours that I had to work which meant constant schedule changes. -
Dumping Dunkin'
Those 6 months were great money wise, but I knew my schedule would be too packed especially with all the work. I wanted to focus on passing every quarter of my classes. It's nice to have money to buy the things I wanted but I knew it was better for me at that time to leave. So, I quit my job which was another whole process. I saved up as much money as I could before quitting so that it would last me until summer to get a new job and start saving my money again. This gave me more time to focus.
