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[nwin24-blog]

His Legacy

It was on October 9th, 2009 that my world would be changed forever. Let’s start from the beginning. 

I grew up in a small house with my mom, dad, and sister located in Fullerton. We didn't have much, but my parents always made sure to give us as much as they possibly could. As a kid, I wanted things any kid would want. Legos, a gameboy, wrestling acting figures you name it. When I was 7 my dad gave me my first camera. It was a small little point and shoot digital camera with a display so small you’d need a magnifying glass to see. Every weekend we would go to downtown Disney or the gardens at Huntington and spend hours taking pictures. My dad would teach me along the way but most of the time he just left me to do whatever I wanted to do. Before I had even knew it, the so called “photography bug” had bit me. 

Fast forward a bit and now I was 9 years old. Again I still wanted things that any child would want and by now my itch for photography had subsided a bit. After school one day, I came home and I see my mom and dad crying. As a 9 year old kid I was terrified. That night we ate dinner together as per usual and nothing was said. That summer, we went on a 3 week vacation to Europe as a family. My dad and I would always be taking pictures occasionally getting lost and having to spend the rest of the day trying to find my mom and sister. 

When we got back from the vacation, my mom sat us down as a family and told us that my dad had cancer. The vacation was our first and last together as a family. 

October 9th, 2009. My dad passed in our home with his family surrounding him. 

Fast forward again a few years and I was now a freshman in highschool. As a freshman in high school, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do in the future yet. I decided to try out photography as a way to connect to my dad. I taught myself outside of school and eventually signed up for two photography classes in school. I created a photo club, joined yearbook as chief photo editor, and participated in galleries. Before I knew it I was a senior getting ready to graduate. 

Present day. After I graduated I decided to go to UCI as a Educational Sciences Major since my mom didn't want me pursuing art. She wanted me to have a stable career and so I thought that I could become an art teacher which would allow me to pursue art and please her as well. Three years at UCI had passed and now I’m currently a Junior. My grades are mediocre and by this point I have been on academic contract twice already. Countless nights I stayed up wondering why I couldn’t be as studious as my sister. Tirelessly I tried to focus and study but things just never worked. After weeks, months, and years of struggling and never finding a solution, I decided that I needed to change.

So, with all the courage that I had, I told my mom something no mom probably ever wants to hear. “I want to drop out of UCI” At first my mom was sad too saying I only had a year left and I was so close. However, after 2 hours of crying and honesty, she said she would support me in everything that I do. Now, I’m preparing to transfer to an art school to pursue my dreams of making art and telling stories through my photos. Although the future is still uncertain and quite daunting, with my mom’s support and the dream that my dad left to me, I’m ready to take whatever life has to throw at me.