I used to be an objectively worse student than my peers in elementary school: I got lower grades, was worse at physical activities, and was immature for my age.  Three years later, I got into Cal State...

Growing up, I never prioritized academics. My weighted grade point average was 2.7 when I graduated high school.  I thought baseball was going to take me far in life. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The...

I will never forget the color of the sky that day: A vivid blue flecked with clouds. It was a slightly cool day Nov. 18, 2020, at the outdoor skatepark my friend and I frequented. But on this day,...

In high school, I didn't have many friends. I was shy, a bookworm and simply was the person who didn’t speak much. That was until I met my best friend, Robert Canales, in senior year. It would change...

Some of the toughest battles I have faced in life came from within: Not feeling accepted, doubting my self-worth, feeling angry and depressed. It all seemed to hit me at once in a series of unfortunate...

When I was 4, my dad was shot outside of our home in Tijuana. Though he survived, my parents knew we had to leave but where to? The answer was clear: Maywood, California, where my mother was raised. That...

It took me five-and-a-half years to finish college. Go ahead. Make fun. I can laugh about it now because I am on the other side. I have a degree that nobody can take away and found a career that...

That annoying ringing. I often asked myself, “Why?” when I heard it. I would stare at the pitch dark ceiling for a few minutes then look to my left.  The time: 4:25 a.m. I’d turn off the alarm,...

It started when I was 10 years old. “You need to start eating less,” my friend told me. That’s when it hit me: My classmates are almost all thin. Over the next few days and weeks, self-doubt...

“Godzilla vs Kong.” I keep wanting to write “King Kong vs Godzilla” since that was the title of the original 1962 showdown between these two nasty heavyweights. A film that I actually owned on...

“Sweetheart, could you transfer me over to a guy? I’d like to speak to someone who knows what they’re talking about.” I had heard versions of that a number of times before working at the Guitar...

In some ways, Oct. 29, 2017, was a typical morning. I woke up early, showered and got ready for work. But something gnawed at me all morning and my anxiety only grew worse when my mom, Susan Raya, called...