About me

Hi. If you’re reading this, it means you want to get to know me a little better. I can only hope that the details won’t bore you. The first home I had ever know was Chicago, Illinois. The finer details are lost to me, like the address of my old house, but I do recall the environment within the city. I remember how cold the snow felt, the force of the wind that came in the fall. But eventually I had to move because...well, it was Chicago in the 1990s. It was not kind to my older brothers and sisters. Which leads me to my second and current home, Texas. The process of calling the Rio Grande Valley of Texas my home took a while, but around the time I entered first grade it finally sank in. By then, I got used to it. My childhood was filled with TV shows and cartoons of superheroes fighting evil with giant robots while in spandex, animals that sang Broadway-style music that still stay in my head to this day, and the most toothless violence that never failed to make me laugh.

For me and for some time, I took my childhood as the wonderful period of my life. So much so that when I aged out of elementary school, I took it as the end of my childhood. I was told by both my teachers and peers that I had to grow up, but I did not want to. That’s how I entered a dark period of my life. From 11 to 13 years old, I went through depression due to the stress that came with growing up. At 11 years old, I attempted suicide. Thankfully, such an effort was thwarted as my mother intervened in time. Thanks to her support and no small amount of therapy, I managed to get to a better place. One where I can succeed academically.

And because of my time in therapy, I regain my ability to enjoy life. I found the food either I made or my mother made me to be nothing short of delightful. I found new stories to enjoy, where half of them were made in America (such as Smallville, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Drake and Josh, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Malcolm in the Middle, Justice League, Grounded for Life, CatDog, The War at Home, and Teen Titans, and lastly, everything Star Trek) and the other half from Japan. My time in middle and high school was how I found my love for anime. I not only enjoyed the mainstream favorites of the time such as: Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bleach, and Death Note. But I also had some personal favorites, such as almost anything Gundam, Fullmetal Alchemist, Eureka Seven, Blood Plus, Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Paranoia Agent and the cinematic masterpieces from Studio Ghibli. It is pretty clear that I spent a lot of time on TV. But then again, as a millennial nerd, who else from my generation didn’t?

It was also in therapy that I discovered that I was diagnosed with, what was called at the time, Asperger’s Syndrome. It was another aspect of myself that my mother, my teachers, and I found it necessary to navigate through in order for me to excel in school. Thanks to such support I received from advocacy (largely in part of my mother) and an IEP (individualized education plan) that addressed that addressed my needs to succeed in school that not only did I graduate from high school but found what I did find to be, despite some bumps in the road here and there, another wonderful period of my life: College.

I attempted many paths when I learned at first in STC (South Texas College) and later on UTRGV (University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley) before discovering my calling. In between my time in college and discovering my calling, I expanded my mind to learn not just how the world works, but also gain some understanding of people. I also remember my time in high school how self-centered I was, and how I allowed it to follow me into college. Sure it was expected for teenagers to be that way in one form or another, but the way I was is what many are right to call toxic. It was a part of the reason why I spent my time in college alone. Only after gaining the courage to be introspective, support from family, and the right type of television did I change how I looked at people and learned not to be so hard of them, no matter how they can be on me.

I took all that I learned and what I was passionate about into what I created... and directed it into the books that you will find to be as profound as engaging. As to where I am going with what I went through, both good and bad...well, I intend to go forward with what I love, but I also want to expand on what I don’t know. After everything that is confessed, the one thing that can be said about me is...I love who I am, but I still want to grow.