San Jacinto 2014...

175 days per year. It’s not a race, it’s a marathon. 175 days of glory and failure. It is filled with wins and losses, joy and disappointment. 175 days of starting over. Back to square one moments, yesterday doesn’t matter anymore and tomorrow is too far away. 175 days of love and hate. Your name is either followed by lovely compliments or ugly misperceptions. 175 days of persevering and enduring. Delivering hits while receiving them in front of eye witnesses. 175 days of laughter and tears. Despite the setbacks or the judgment, I can proudly say that there are far more achievements and praise that make it all worth it and keep me alive.

The question that I always ask myself is: do I have what it takes? My answer is always, absolutely. I have to figure this out. God opens the doors for me. Why not include Him in my everyday battles. After all, He is always there because these are His children. For some reason I’m the cool, hip, and rich uncle of these youngsters. Also, my approach is more philosophical rather than political, and that’s where I run into a brick wall. In spite of this, I’m either going to run around it, over it, or through it. I’m running, and this is where the chapter continues. No pauses, no breaks, no switching books because when the next page is turned, I’m still here at San Jacinto. There is no ending! The covers change, book gets edited, but it’s the same underdog story of a 13 year old kid from California, who once step foot in these once foreign hallways, wearing Kobe Bryant sneakers, with one mission.

In 1997, I was in that library and walked away with all of those awards: Honor Roll, Perfect Attendance, Student of the Six Weeks, Math Student of the Month, Social Studies Student of the Month, English Student of the Month, Most Improved, etc. Can one person get this much recognition? Afterwards, I was receiving my mother’s blessing right before I kissed her on the cheek and said thank you because as a reward, she handed me the Nick Van Exel Lakers jersey that I wanted. My godfather was there. He witnessed it 17 years ago and is witnessing it right now, since he is living in my house. It is funny how this story goes. I was in English class first period paying attention to every word Mrs. Dunn said. In Mrs. Morren’s Algebra class getting the highest grade in the class, and in advisory doing my homework.  I was in Mrs. Terrazas’ Science class working with the smartest kid in the school. I was in Computer class, typing with my eyes closed. I was in lunch, next to my twin brother, isolated from everyone, standing against the walls of the patio, answering questions, and observing everybody else. In P.E. I was scoring buckets and defending all the best players, Coach picked me first one day, I was never the last pick ever again. I was in Art with my brother, impressing people with yet another hidden talent. At the end of the day, I was in Social Studies class with Coach Alvarez receiving all the attention in the world. I had to finish the day on a positive note. I had to impress them. I had to do everything in my power. I had to do my very best. No one else was doing it. Can a student of such caliber exist in today’s world? Is this what chasing perfection looks like? I was willing to set a name for myself. That’s what I was born to do. I was willing to give San Jacinto a try. They saw it! They witnessed it! These people will also. History will repeat itself. This is my school!