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The day after 9/11 I was born. My parents said it was a bittersweet sentimental moment. My father nicknamed me Patia meaning watermelon.
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From birth my family would go to colombia. My first time in Colombia was in 2002 when I was baptized in Colombia. It was an important moment just for the fact that it introduced me to the other side of my life.
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From a young age I grew up in a community with mainly older kids in my community at the time. So I had to learn to entertain myself. Hence my becoming more independent.
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In 2005 my family went to New York. While at New York we saw Les Miserables. That show really opened my eyes to the world of theatre and music and dance. Becoming the inspiration of my compassion for the arts.
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Since my father is an active person and made sure we had a decently active lifestyle, being active came natural. Yet 2006 was when my own active lifestyle really kicked in. Biking with my dad cause i want to instead of him making me.
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I would say responsibility is a huge part of my life. It really came in the day my brother was born. I felt a need to protect him and take care of him. Suddenly I had to be responsible for someone.
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My family moved from our little apartment to a house in Edgebrook. This taught me to adjust to a new habitat. For Edgebrook was completely different from Rogers Park.
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In first grade I made one of my first friends. She became my closest friend though we cut ties now we were very close. After becoming friends I promised to always be caring and listen to my friends, to help them.
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Since I was 6 months old I enjoyed swimming. My first ever swim teacher even said I would make a good swimmer someday. So I would always tell my dad to take me to try out for the Leaning Tower Sharks swimteam. He finally let me try out and I got in. That was the begining of my swimming career.
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I have always enjoyed helping other people. There was one time in 2010 where I helped my teacher with organizing supplies for a crystal in a jar experiment. So I continue to help people.
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My grandfather on my others side died. He was the only person on my moms side that seemed to really like me or resonate with me. He was so open minded and caring.
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In my 5th and 6th grade year I would get bullied by this girl and her best friend. This issue led my friends to believe I was terrible to be around. Hence my friends all left me.
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5th grade was when my elementary school had it's first musical. The musical Your a Good Man Charlie Brown. I played one of the ensemble girls. This started a chain of my involvement in musicals.
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In 6th grade my organization skills started coming in strong. I had minimum organization before but after the dismissal of my major project in fifth grade due to its disorganization I started organizing.
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Around my sixth grade year we had a new student named george. He was the first egyptian kid we had in the class and almost the only arabic kid we had, had. So I decided to learn more about his culture leading to my open mind to all kinds of peope from all places and backgrounds.
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In 2015, my 7th grade year, My friends, the new Spanish teacher and I founded Latin Music Club. Latin Music Club specialized in playing Hispanic music, in basic it was a band of sorts. As a founder I dedicated myself to leading the band into performances with confidence.
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My freshman year I was sitting with a friend. His parent had passed a while back but he wished she had been there to see his sucesses. At that moment I realized I was a pretty good listener.
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My Grandmother on my mothers side had died. It was a huge wake up call to how many problems we have as a family.
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It was my first time being in a new environment in a while. It was eye opening and led to the awesome friends I have now.
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The first show of In The Heights. My first high school musical, amazing. Yet it really showed me how powerful of a person I am and how I influence others. So many people after the musical told me they knew me for my powerful preformance.
