The last time I got into a real fight was in 6th grade. I can’t remember what caused it, but I’m pretty sure I started it. It was a new student named Tien and he pushed all the wrong buttons in me. I just couldn’t stand him– and for no reason at all. After one of many fights with him, I came home looking like I’d been dragged through the mud (I was), and he went home with the mark of my tennis shoe stamped on his face. The next day, they found the culprit by examining everyone’s shoes, and I was dumb enough to wear the same shoes.
Continue reading The day my dad and I got into a fight →

Last week I went climbing for the first time ever.  I’m afraid of heights.  Not clinical phobia afraid of heights, but “very uncomfortable with the idea of falling” afraid of heights.  I didn’t confess this to my climbing partners until I was at the top, and couldn’t maneuver myself into letting go and hanging back down.  There’s something unnatural about jumping into the abyss, whether it be attached to a climbing rope, a bungee cord, or a parachute.  Ironically, I’ll probably end up doing all of the above in the next few years.
Continue reading The other side of fear →

Growing up, my mom once told me, “you have been really lucky to have such good friends”.  I would have to agree with her.  From Puerto Rico, to Michigan, to Australia, to a few other places in between, I’ve been blessed to have been surrounded by people that not only make my life better, but make the life of those around them better.
Continue reading Lose the mask and great friends will follow →

I’ve been wanting to retire ever since I started working, which is odd because I’ve often wondered how I managed to score jobs that pay me to do what I’d probably do for free. The fascination with retirement apparently came at an early age, because my senior high school picture had as one of my goals: “retire at an early age”. Odd indeed!
Continue reading Following your passion and the insanity of early retirement →

Every time I’m in Catalunya I’m taken over by a sense awe, an awe at the flags draping from every balcony, from every home, and from every corner. It is intoxicating to see flags that are the same as my own.  It is exhilarating… and so I understand the Catalans’ unnerving feeling at seeing a flag not quite their own etched on their passport, but having no say in the matter.  I understand them. I feel them.  Because even though these words come out in English, my heart knows no other language but Spanish.

Continue reading A nation united in tears →