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A baby is born
A smol baby boy (me) was born in Silver Springs, Maryland just outside of Washington D.C. -
East Coast Change
My family moved from Silver Springs, Maryland to Toms River, New Jersey. -
From East Coast to Midwest
My Dad got a job offer to work in Chicago and he took it. We moved to the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. -
Enrolled at Nettelhorst Elementary
In 2006, I was enrolled at Nettelhorst Elementary. I spent a decade at Nettelhorst. I made a lot of great friends and learned a lot during my time there. The school definitely shaped me heading into high school -
Brazil Hiatus
When I was about 6, I went to Brazil for the summer like usual. Every year, my family would spend almost a month with my mom's family. This trip was short-lived. My grandmother's house was trespassed and we were robbed at gunpoint. They took most of everything that we had on us and even stole our rental car. Because of that day, and a few other things, my family didn't return to Brazil for another decade. -
My parents opening a pizzeria.
In 2009, my parents opened a pizzeria named "Fogo 2 Go". The restaurant was a Brazilian pizza and chicken place. We made over 60 varieties of pizza, each one with its own specialty. My parents kept the pizzeria for 8 years before officially closing their doors. Everyday after school, I would stay at the pizzeria and snatch a slice of pizza. It was fantastic. But the pizzeria also caused some problems in my family and was ultimately the reason that we closed it. -
Quitting Soccer
When I was little, I was very much into soccer. I was always kicking something around and participated in many leagues. I had talent from a young age and I was always the kid scoring the goals. But eventually, I drifted away from the sport and went on to others like basketball and football. Looking back on it now, I think I should've continued on the path to soccer. -
Projecto Vida Nova
When I was 7, my family started going to a church called "Projecto Vida Nova" which essentially means Project New Life. I have been going there for almost a decade now and have met many influential people as well as many friends. -
2k11
I got a wii when I was around 10 or so. It was my first console and I wasn't really sure how games worked. I bought a game called NBA 2k11 since I was into basketball at the time. I think this is important since it was the start of gaming for me. -
Isla Mujeres
My family took a trip to Isla Mujeres in 2013. It was our first time vacationing in Mexico and it was a fantastic experience. We stayed on this small island for two weeks. Our hotel had a private section of the beach that was very tame and relaxing. The food was fresh and local. We have been back twice since then because of how great it is. -
Perennial Nerve Damage
In 2014, I suffered some damage on my Perennial nerve which is connected to my Sciatic nerve. Its a very interesting situation because I have no idea how I got injured. In most situations, the event that caused the damage stands out and you usually lose movement of automatically. But in my situation, it progressively got worse. Because of this, I stopped playing many sports that I enjoyed and now I spend a lot of my time indoors. -
8th Grade Basketball Team
In 8th grade, my basketball team went 0-8. It really pains me to say that I was the captain of that team. This season really opened my eyes on how you deal with failure. It was tough going into every game thinking about how you still don't have a win and your team is depending on you for leadership. We came close to victory a few times, but we were never able to finish the job. If I were to do it again, I would try to be a better captain and motivate my team to get better. -
I start playing LoL
This is kind of nerdy, but this is still something that has heavily influenced me. LoL stands for League of Legends which is a video game. My friend got me into it in 8th grade and I've been playing consistently since then. I've spend many, many hours just grinding out game after game. I've also joined the club at school and play on the team. -
Going to Taft
Deciding to go to Taft was an important decision in my life. At Taft, I knew nobody since I was the only one from my school to come here. Since I didn't know anyone, I think that it made me more shy and quiet compared to how I was in middle school. -
Trying out for the football team
When I first came to Taft, I joined the football team. It was not until I was at practice, that I realized how under prepared I was. It also did not help that my foot was injured, but I still could've push through it. I ended up dropping out after 2 weeks because I couldn't take it anymore. This is one of those experiences that you look back on and try to understand what you could've done better and think of ways to better yourself. -
Detached
Shortly after I started high school, I ended up breaking a lot of my connection with my old school and my friends there. I'm still not sure if that was the right decision or not. It left me really lonely freshman as I knew nobody at Taft and wasn't a very social person. -
Returning to Brazil
After not being able to go Brazil for 9 years, we finally saved up to go back. This was one of the best experiences of my life. I got to meet all of my cousins and my family. One of the biggest things that I got from that trip was that I needed to work on improving my Portuguese. While I knew enough to hold a conversation, I was never able to really express myself. So when I came back to the US, I've made an effort to improve. -
South Korea
In the July of 2018, I got the opportunity to participate in a cultural trip in South Korea. It was one of the best times of my life. It was something that I had put on my bucket list, but didn't expect to accomplish so soon. I can't wait to go back. -
My sister leaving for college
This summer, my sister left for college in Dallas. She is studying Theology. But most importantly, she is away from home. I have a tight bond with my sister, so to see her leave was very sad. I've been forced to adjust to living without her. I now have to cook my own meals and try and get my parents to understand my jokes. -
Perennial Nerve Surgery pt.1
In the summer of 2018, I had my first surgery for my right foot. This surgery was only to straighten my foot and get rid of my clubfoot. The next summer, I will have another surgery to correct my nerve damage (or help with it)
