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Birth
I was born at San Francisco General Hospital. -
Childhood
My older brother and I spent afternoons playing on our old Super Nintendo. We took turns playing Yoshi's Island and Super Mario Bros, and even Star Fox. My parents threw me a birthday party when I turned 7 I think . They bought me the then new Nintendo Wii, and remember I spoiled it for myself because the wrapping paper was pretty thin and the iconic Wii logo was visible. It was a pretty sweet upgrade from the Nintendo Gamecube. To this day, I still have all three consoles and they work fine. -
De Marillac Academy
I spent my first school days at Redding Elementary School but then transferred after 3rd grade to a private Catholic school in the heart of the Tenderloin. I was there for 5 years, from 4th to 8th grade. There I met a few friends who are with me here at ARHS, too. The teachers like to remind my class that we are special because most of us were born the same year the school was established. De Marillac is still a big part of my life because they have continued to support me after I've graduated. -
Archbishop Riordan High School
I hadn't ever thought about attending or even applying to Riordan High School. My middle school was sister schools with Sacred Heart Cathedral and I was super excited to one day wear the green, white, and blue. Things took a sharp turn in May of 2015. My hands felt like they'd been sitting in iced water before I was called to my counselor's office. I had learned that SHC put me on their waitlist. Riordan admitted me on the condition that I would attend summer school before my freshman year. -
READI Club
My first couple of years here at Riordan, I felt a very hostile vibe emanating from our community of students. Most days I would hear the same homophobic slurs and "jokes". Myy classmate, Vince invited me to join his new club that he and Ms. Nijmeh had been working on. It was called the READI club, meant for people who also felt that hostile vibe. It started small but over time more people had joined. Recently, our club and similar clubs from others school cooperated at a meeting at USF. -
Michael - Flight by Sherman Alexie
I feel that I can compare myself to Michael from Sherman Alexie's Flight. He steps into the shoes of a variety of people, both old timey and modern. He learns about his past, the pasts of others, and his own family. Through these experiences, he acts against the violence his conscience commanded him to do. I'm not involved in any sort of violent activity but I too have needed to step into the shoes of others to better understand the circumstances that made them who they are.