Here goes nothin’ - Intro
Being the oldest of four I had to grow up quick and I mean REAL QUICK… As all kids do, I often found myself daydreaming about the future and quickly being brought back to reality to tend to something regarding a sibling. Oftentimes being that second parent when my mom was busy working and handling everything else a single mother of four had on her plate.
After graduating from high school in 2007 and being at the crossroads of life, I knew I wanted to continue my education. However, without the proper support system and role models, it was difficult to pursue those aspirations. In addition to not having the best grades in school and a million other reasons, I knew I it wasn’t an option, and the sooner I started the better.
“Keep your feet firmly planted on the ground and your head in the clouds.”
As the saying goes, I had high hopes of making something out of nothing. I knew I had a family to help, so I worked full time at a dead-end-ish job for almost a decade and it was during that time I realized I needed to get off my ass and pursue those dreams or I’d be haunted by them.
Now that I think about it, that job wasn’t a literal dead end as it lit the fire in me to start college and continue to help my family out.
In 2011, I registered for classes at Tarrant County College (TCC). While the beginning was rough, I knew the results would be worth. If it weren’t for my girlfriend Elizabeth’s constant encouragement, I don’t know if I could have done it without her. She was there every step of the way, from registration to helping me pick classes and study sessions. She’s the true definition of a ride-or-die. Find yourself one and see how far you can go.
The grind was real, some days I’d work from 8 to 12-hour days, school schedule allowing of course. But outside of that factoring in study time and homework and all the external factors, it was no easy feat. Therefore, some people write off school and go straight into the workforce, totally understandable.
Sometimes we must do the things we hate to enjoy the better things down the road. And it couldn’t be any truer. I hated paying tuition out of pocket and finally got a few semesters in and I was awarded financial aid. I also learned my job offered tuition reimbursement, so I pitched myself to my employer and they agreed. With a few conditions, of course, I pay upfront and complete the course with a C+ and they’d reimburse me for tuition and books. Not so dead-end-ish after all, hah!
“Life is a marathon, not a sprint.”
The quote that I kept in the back of my mind when I beat myself up for comparing myself to others and how much I had yet to accomplish. Ultimately, I’d remember how far I’ve come. Oftentimes feeling like a hamster on a wheel, to say the least.
While this next part of my life isn’t all struggle and sacrifice, the story gets better. I’ll just leave that there, haha!
Fast forward to 2017 and I completed my associates degree from TCC and I was feeling a sense of accomplishment. But I knew the best was on its way.
I proposed to Elizabeth in September 2016, and we got married in July 2017. It was around March/April 2017 that I applied to Texas Christian University (TCU). At that time, I was already at Tarleton State University studying Business Management, but I knew that wasn’t the place for me. Keep in mind, not once did I envision myself applying to a private university AND getting accepted to quitting my full-time job a month after getting married to pursue my bachelor's. All within the same year. Nuts!
No sane person does that. When someone says, “Don’t go against the grain.” Don’t listen to them and DO IT!
As with every beginning, all great things must come to an end.
In December 2019, I walked across that TCU stage the happiest and proudest son of a gun. A mere moment that lasted maybe three to five minutes seemed like the longest day of my life. Memories from my childhood up through high school to working those long shifts and late nights flooded my mind. Moments of frustration and defeat were quickly overshadowed by applauses and screams from the stands as I heard family and friends cheering for me.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shed some tears because nobody could take that moment away. That piece of paper was worth more than anything I could have ever imagined. I earned it, through and through.
A kid from the Southside of Fort Worth with a bachelor's degree in Film, Television and Digital Media from TCU. Man, what a feeling!
A quote I recently heard was, “there’s value in the struggle” and looking back on it now, I’d do it all over again. In a heartbeat.
Ultimately, I knew that at some point in my life, I would be in control of my own life and have a say as to what I’d be doing and when I’d be doing it.
Fast forward to my 30s, I find myself being a father to a one-year-old baby girl, Emilia, and an almost three-year-old corgi, Ollie, and a husband to my loving and supporting wife, Elizabeth.
While life is far from perfect, I find comfort in that I’m building a life my way and at my pace.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
The marathon continues…
