ME

    Where to start. I was born in Inglewood, California on November 27th 1991. The first day my Mother and Father brought me home they put me in front of the television and turned on the Los Angeles Kings. My parents are die hard hockey fans and so am I. My childhood was spent pretending I was a professional hockey player. Every Sunday my family would meet at my grandparents house in Beverly Hills. We still do to this day. I have a large family on my Mom's side and literally none on my Dad's. When at my grandparents I would run around and enjoy myself with my cousins Sara, Rita and Paul. I started school a year early because I saw other kids going and was eager to. I went to Richmond Street School for Kinder garden and 1st-5th grade at Center Street Elementary School. My little brother Mikey was born when I was in 1st grade. My Mom always tells me the story that I was so excited I was going to have a little brother that I made her wait to have him until school got out. I loved having a little brother until he learned to walk and talk. I got into martial arts when I was 4 and continued until I was 10. I think being the wild child that I was it helped discipline me. I got my dog Snickers when I was in fifth grade.
    I was terrified going into middle school. I was convinced people were going to be coming up to me trying to sell me drugs. All the hype I was told about peer pressure spooked me out. Middle school was boring for the most part. I stopped doing martial arts but in 7th grade I started playing hockey and enjoyed it. In middle school I pretty much ran around doing a bunch of stupid stuff getting myself in trouble with my friends. I had a blast doing it though. 8th grade was different. It was my favorite year of school. We were the kings of the school and caused havoc. Although we were the hotshots over at the middle school, we were about to be freshman at the high school. Back to the bottom of the ladder. I remember after 8th grade graduation we were all terrified of being initiated. The two big names at least that were seared in my mind were Daniel Swiggum and Shane Geary. My friends and I were under the impression they were going to torture us. It was not as bad as we thought and summer ended up being a blast spending most of our time at Kellie's house.
    Now we were playing with the big shots. Freshman year was interesting being invited to some of the parties with the seniors. More responsibility was placed on us than ever before and I ditched a lot of class. My grades suffered but of course I maintained a 3.0 GPA. I made it onto the Los Angeles Junior Kings hockey team. We traveled all over California and Colorado. Hockey at this point was the most prominent part of my life. My Grandpa passed away early the next year. Along with this a week later my Grandma passed away and my parents work burnt down. This was a rough portion of my Freshman year but I worked through it. I met my first serious girlfriend Sabrina in March. She helped me through a lot of the problems in my life as well as my friends. Sophomore year was just around the corner.
    I had acquired a feeling for high school. I knew my way around campus and most the people who were there. The fear was gone but talk had already started about college. I didn't think I would be making life decisions for myself that early. My grades remained average and just cruised by having for the most part an uneventful year. I no longer played for the Los Angeles Junior Kings rather the Artesia Avalanche. I didn't enjoy that club as much as I enjoyed the Kings but it didn't matter I was playing hockey. I was still with my girlfriend Sabrina and that is who I spent most of my time with besides my friends. I started going to parties a lot. That is in my past mistakes I made but experience I earned. I have experimented as far as I intend to and that's that.
    Junior year was hard for me. My girlfriend and I broke up for eight months because I cheated on her. Once again another mistake I made, experience earned. This would haunt me forever. Once again I started partying and not focusing on my academics when I should have. I stopped playing hockey due to a torn hamstring. I had to find something to fill that large void in time so I started trying to redeem myself. I stopped drinking and smoking and worked on my relationship with Sabrina. In the summer between Junior and Senior year we finally got back together and I was on the right track.
    Senior year, finally the home stretch. But unlike a lot of people around me I didn't want high school to end it had just begun it seemed like. First semester I told myself I am going to give 75% academically and do my homework. I ended up getting a 3.8 GPA. At this point I understood my potential and what I could be doing. I applied to my dream school USC and unfortunately got rejected. But everything happens for a reason. I ended up enrolling at SMC in their honors program and hopefully will be transferring there in 2 to 3 semesters. Sabrina and my relationship went down hill. Many break ups and getting back together and then taking breaks and going it all over again. Second semester my grades have suffered as a result of this. The stress that is on my shoulders sometimes feels unbearable but I know I will push through it. In the past few weeks however I have really seen things turn around and I am beginning to become happy again. I'm confident with myself and cannot wait to graduate and move on to college. I'm excited to see what is in store for me and what I am to become. Academics will be my sole focus in college I have proved to myself that I can crack down when I have to. Graduation is in 15 school days so its coming fast. I can't wait to see what's coming next!