10 Apr Today and Beyond
That amazing feeling … the feeling that starts from within and spreads to the tips of your fingers like a “hell yeah!” fire.
I’m talking about overcoming an obstacle.
Growing up strictly speaking Spanish in a foreign country has its positives and negatives, just like anything in life. Accompanying all these pleasant fire flies are the smog of adversity and challenges that present themselves.
I viewed the world as a single-celled organism; simple and easy to understand. That’s hilarious and cliché, but sadly; it was my truth. I used to think babies came out butts and if you lied too much you’d grow a longer nose. My only concerns in life were what games I would make up with my sister so that we could play or what scrumptious food “Abuela” would whip up in the kitchen. And believe me, “Abuela” can make some magic happen in her kitchen
That perfect atmosphere called comfortability is going to get disturbed.. if it isn’t then you’ve got some serious issues in the long run. And that’s exactly what happened to me, my mother split from my father and I was moving to Florida. Just as simple as that. I was 7 years old when I moved to Miami, Florida and my life wouldn’t be the same. Soon after moving I was enrolled into elementary school in the second grade. The language barrier is something that stood out to me in retrospect. Usually Miami is an easier transition for Spanish speaking people, or it aids in acclimation because of the large population of Spanish speaking residents. However, in the Redlands, I was known as “Spanish boy” and that says something. I was as foreign to them as they were to me. There was nothing more discouraging than when the teachers would utter these sounds that I’d never heard, it made me feel intellectually futile.
It was around half-way through the academic calendar and I was labeled, I was never called for participation or integrated into activities. I was quiet and didn’t really mind it, because my mind warped its own imagination into an internal playground. That’s around the time I really noticed how creative I could be. Years went on in the education system and my English developed rather well. My favorite classes were always those that allowed me to paint my imagination with words, the language art classes or journal class. I always received exceptional feedback, but I never really strived competitively in academics, I felt I was still the “Spanish Boy”.
My dilemma orbited around a question pertaining to post high school life; “What will I do with my life?”. I feel as if I’ve blinked and it all happened, I was picking up my barely deserved diploma on the stage. I felt empty and as if the paper just meant “I got lucky and made it through”. Yet there I was, I learned a new language, overcame societal differences, and learned that labels could be man’s worst enemy. These thoughts brought a clarity to my internal and external struggles. I remember thinking “I just need to do things and work, no matter how long it takes. I can do anything”.
Eureka!
A term used to express a triumph or attention to something, and I’d found it inside myself. Fuck the labels and all the shit baggage with its airfare to loserland. I’m responsible for myself and I can do anything I put my mind to. Eventually I graduated from FIU with a degree in psychology and a minor in business. It has brought me monumental insights into the human condition and how to go about things. I’ve made it to today and I feel this amazing fire that starts from within and spreads to the tips of my fingers. I make sure I wake every day and climb my mountain because my success story, the one about “Spanish boy” continues to reach new heights. With the help from Miami Ad School, I hope that my ceiling reaches the moon.
