My Story

There are a little over 8 billion people in our world, which is crazy to think about, keeping in mind we only ever interact with approximately 80,000. If you start to think even deeper ¨what makes me unique when there are billions of people worldwide ¨ this is a question I haven't found an answer to yet, and maybe I won't have to, maybe there is no answer to it then just accept things for how they are (regarding this question). Looking back at what I have lived so far, I start to think about what made me want to travel, volunteer, explore the world, and so on. How did I end up in Chicago and about to go on an adventure of a lifetime? The answer to that is my story, so in the briefest way possible, here is one of the over 8 billion stories out there...

I was born May 4, 2006, in Mexico City to two amazing parents, along with some complications meanwhile I was in my mom's womb. At some point, doctors thought it was crazy for me to make it, the same with my mom. My mom got a rare infection in her blood that only about a one in thousands get every once in a while. To this day they don't even know what it really was. There were other complications, but we got through them. My younger sister was born 2 years later, and then only about less than a year later we moved to Cancun; definitely a major change in scenario and lifestyle. I don't remember much, but I do remember the nice hot weather and the beach. I remember dancing with my sister on our terrace enjoying life. Though, while we were living there I got a lymphoma tumor (this is important in the future because it changed my mind on how I perceive certain things). It isn't too dangerous since they are not cancerous, but it was definitely not fun. I got surgery to get it removed and continued with life. 

Then around 2 years later we moved once again, to Miami, Florida because of my dad´s job. It was amazing (from what I can remember). We lived there for a couple years; made incredible friendships, experienced new things, learned a new language, and did many incredible "childhood experience" things until it was time to move yet again. We moved to Atlanta, Georgia which is a place that will forever have my heart. Atlanta was definitely an experience, we did many incredible things, but it was also pretty hard due to personal reasons. Regardless of that, life was life; good moments and bad ones, but wait, surprise surprise, we moved again 3 years later due to multiple factors; some personal, some financial, my parent's jobs, and so on. 

We ended up moving back to Mexico to a small city named Aguascalientes. My sister and I were devasted (as you can probably imagine), but now looking back it was a "wake-up point¨. This moment in life was all over the place, for both good and bad reasons. I made incredible friends, lost many; learned a lot; and it was when I started to get a different perspective and point of view of the world. I mean going from living in a first-world country for 7 years of 10 in your life to a third-world country wasn't too easy. I started to see things that I hadn't realized before and I slowly realized the type of world we ACTUALLY live in. I went to a private school since the education system isn't the best in Mexico, so the difference between economic classes is significant. 

Everyone at my school was really close since it is a really small community where everybody knows everyone. It was hard to fit in and at times I felt out of place. It was also challenging (especially at first) to see people begging for money at all the stop lights and society's differences. This moment though was when I first started to have a better comprehension of the world; and frankly, I was also getting older. We learned about the UN and the global problems we are facing which is something that caught my eye. I started getting really interested in this and I started to learn more. I did have previous knowledge of the world, but it was definitely a moment where I started to be more open-minded and learn a lot more about our world as a whole. 

This moment in my life is where I started to volunteer more (in the US we did some volunteering, but my mom was involved in a running club and a school that did a lot of helping around in the community in Mexico so my sister and I would come along). We went to orphanages and volunteered in races to raise money for certain causes, as well as some other things. I also started to do cheerleading which is the sport I fell in love with. It became and has been a huge part of my life; one which I will forever be grateful for. 

I do want to mention (didn't mention this before) that something that motivated me and pushed me is the idea that we only live once. When I was 12 my mom worked in a Montessori school where a girl who was only 4 years old (Ananda) was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I don't know why, but this moment just hit me; even to this day. We raised funds for her surgery which did end up happening, but sadly she didn't make it. I just thought "How can life be so cruel?". It was a wake-up point in many different aspects. It made me and pushed me to want to help kids and people struggling, but also to truly live life because tomorrow isn't guaranteed, and having regrets in life is not something I want (in any aspect). This moment was one of those moments you simply just can't forget about, I don't know why but I can't, even to this day I think of this every and deep down another reason why I push myself; for those who can't or couldn't. I am grateful I didn’t have a cancerous tumor, but I at times I think “that could have been me?”. It’s a horrible feeling and topic to think about; why could I live through it and not her? A little bit before this happened the lymphoma tumor came back. I mean it didn’t really “leave” since it’s always been there, but it got pretty bad again. I got surgery again, but even to this day their are days were it gets painful and it isn’t pleasant. This makes me want to live my life for a purpose and to something useful with it. I feel like if I don’t it will forever be a burden. 

At this point in my life (I don't know why), on YouTube, I started getting videos of sailing. I don't know why or how, but I did. I started to watch the videos and I fell in love with watching them. It was like the universe opened a new door for me and introduced me to the sailing world. Sounds cheesy or “cliché”, but true. That is the only thing I would watch and I started telling my parents that when I grew up I would live on a catamaran and sail. I found out about Semester at Sea which is a college program where for a semester you study on a ship. This idea was amazing to me, but being a middle schooler, I didn't want to wait till college to do that, so I started investing more. I came across multiple programs where high school students sail a tall ship (looks like a “modern” pirate ship but it is definitely not one) and take high school courses. I loved this idea and I told my mom that I wanted to do it. She thought I was crazy (not in a bad way though) and thought I was going through a "phase", but I really wasn't. It was something I wanted to do. I told her that for my last year of high school, I would go. Even in 9th grade, I had an interview with the admissions director at one of the schools cause that was me “preparing” to go, but it wasn’t even certain. 

Taking a pause in the sailing aspect, while this was going is when the world came to a stop. I was in the middle of 8th grade when covid hit. We all know how that went. Personally, for me, I didn't have the worst time in a way since I wasn’t really enjoying school at this time, and I got the chance to see my dad more since he lived in Mexico City (still does). I also got to go to different states around Mexico since we were going to school online. This gave me a different perspective of Mexico and I got very curious about the "least" known places around the world. After 2 years we finally went back to school (with masks and all), but the pandemic changed many things in everyone's life.

The summer before 11th grade (junior year) was also when I got the opportunity to visit Europe. My grandparents have a tradition that when their grandchildren turn 15, for their "quinzes" they take us on a trip to Europe. Because of COVID, I did not get to go at 15, but I did get to go eventually which is what matters. It was definitely a trip that changed me forever. I had been waiting for this trip since I was around 7 which is when my oldest cousin got to go. I have to mention the trip because it has been one of the best opportunities and experiences in my life for multiple reasons, but it was definitely the moment where I said: "Yes, traveling is what I want to do in the future; I want to learn about the world, the diversity, cultures, and truly live". I think it will forever be something that impacts me in my everyday life. Another thing that changed my life was that in that summer is when I found out I would move again, but this time back to the US to a suburb in Chicago which is where I currently am still living. 

Moving was one of the best and worst things. I was happy because I wanted to leave Aguascalientes, not because I don’t like it, because I honestly do. It was just too long of time living there and I wanted something new. Moving was hard, and while it brought many new experiences and opportunities, I had to adapt to a different lifestyle to what I had been living for a couple of years. It was definitely a year where I learned a lot, both for the good and the bad but now looking back I don't regret it because it made me stronger. At this time, I also applied to a program (Class Afloat; one of the sailing programs I mentioned earlier) and got accepted. This was the best news I could have received. This meant that my dream was going to become a reality (and it will). 

To summarize, I have lived in 6 different cities, 2 countries, and over 10 houses, plus attended around 8 different schools. Living this way has allowed me to see the world differently and experience different things. It has opened my mind and changed the way I perceive the world. It made me learn lifelong skills and it has pushed me to be a better person. I have also had the opportunity to travel which has impacted me greatly. Having learned about the world and getting the chance to impact lives (even if it is in a small way) has changed me. Getting to meet people from around the world (at school, while traveling, through social media) has also made me a more open-minded person. Going through tough situations has only pushed me and made me stronger, and the happy moments in my life are the reminders and motivation to push for what I really want.

Writing this was hard, surprisingly since I like writing. It has been hard to find the “story" I want to share with others since you can’t fit someone’s life into a blog post. It is also one not a lot of people I have met understand or relate with; I mean it isn't the "typical" life you have. But today was even "typical"? Going back to my point, it has been hard to find myself and I am still in the process of doing so, but that is what life is about. I wonder at times how I ended up here, and I am sure you have too in your own life (whoever is reading this), but right now as I am writing this I find myself in my living room in Roselle, Illinois about to leave for an experience of a lifetime in 3 months knowing I won't return home after that. It's crazy how life is. When I graduate, I do not know if I will end up pursuing something in sailing, backpacking, or volunteering in Southeast Asia. What I do know is that I don’t just want to say I will do certain things, I want to actually pursue them and achieve them. I have ideas and a plan, but who knows what can happen. It's just life and there are thousands of things I want to do and thousands of things I will do. As of this moment I am enjoying my 1st semester of Senior year, enjoying cheerleading for football season, spending these last months with my family, and having a good time with my friends. I never thought that I would end up here, but that's life. 

This is just the start of my story, and sorry if it is all over the place (which it is) but I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to write and include, and what not to. Maybe eventually one day I will share other experiences since they are moments that pushed me and made me who I am today. If you made it this far thank you and I hope it is a bit comprehensible since it is all over the place. I will certainly continue to work on how I want to share my story since it is important in the process of finding me as a person and who I want to be (fully). The options are endless and it is my life to decide what I do with it, which is amazing, exciting, nerve-wracking, and crazy a thought.

The last thing I want to say is that I am grateful and thankful for everything that has happened in my life; both the highs and lows because it is what has made me, well me and it has made me become the person I am now, and I feel proud of that. Regardless, I am still figuring out life which I think is a beautiful thing life has to offer.

It’s crazy how everyone has their own story and life experiences, I guess that’s what I love about meeting new people while moving and traveling. You get so many different perspectives and points of view of life which is amazing and interesting to hear and learn about. The last thing I want to say, never judge a person; at least not until you have heard their life story, it is truly inspiring to hear how others view the world and how they have lived their lives.

On the next blog are the ports that Class Afloat semester 1 will visit!