My name is John Reyes and this is my life. Within a year I've become an exchange student, a traveler, a foreigner, a groomsman, a writer, a leader, a motivator, a best friend, a Kuya, a God Father, an outsider, a co-writer, a person who cried, a person who did not know what he was doing, a director of some sort, a go to person, a crier, a believer, a person who questioned his ability, a person who almost gave up, a person who struggled, a person who was lost, an idle being, a boyfriend, a drunk, an emotional wreck, a bus boy, a sever, a person who left home in order to pursue his dream, and a college graduate and most recently a New Yorker. Yes, I do have to admit that the past year has taken an emotional toll on me and to say at the very least I am proud and happy on the "persons" that I have become because it ultimately led to the person I want to be and who I can become. Claiming myself as a New Yorker brings yet another identity that I indeed must challenge myself yet again. It seems that New York has giving me the breathing ground of passion and to be quiet honest the experience has given me yet another challenge and the task of finally knowing what the next step in my life would be. I feel that New York has allowed me to face all my fears: the fear of not having the comfort of home and of mom, the fear of being away from my closest and dearest friends, the fear of facing my identity in the real world without much support, the fear of paying rent on time, the fear of possibly getting mugged on the street and the fear list can go on. However, the most spectacular thing about a place like New York is that it challenges your fears and everyday that I wake up, I face these fears. Yes, I guess you can say that New York as toughen me up quiet a bit but there is still one fear that does stick out and has essentially lead me to follow a career path that I am sure of. Let us go back to sophomore year in high school went an evil english teach told me of my limited capabilities of not being able to continue on with English-3 Honors because of the obvious language and race barrier. It seems that this event in my life has stuck out and has limited my capabilities in life and the fear of writing has always burdened me in a way and distracted me from my fullest potential. Now that I live in a city of fear I am a NEW person opting to face just that and I will face my fear of writing. Instead I taking it and embracing instead of rejecting and ignoring it. Thus, I have found my purpose in New York and it is to become the greatest writer that I can be and in a not so distant future transform this fear into my passion. So we will see what the next year will bring me! Wish me luck!
