I didn't really have a good childhood growing up because my family split up, and my mom went to America without my father when I was just 4. When I was 4, I had to say goodbye to all my family in Peru and to my Uncle, whom I loved very much, who said he was getting milk and travelled to America. When I arrived, I recall the car ride from the airport to my new home. I was surprised to see the well-built buildings and houses, unlike those Peru had, which made the area a little better. When I came, I saw my Grandfathers, who were the main reason I was able to come to America, and they were happy to see me. Well, the journey wasn't easy to continue with life. My Mom was a single mother with two children, my little brother and me, and she was trying to get her degree while working a job, which meant that I couldn't see her often. I remember that some nights I stayed awake till late at night so I could just see her for a little while before I went to sleep.  The family was always in discussions, and it was a challenging time at first; school wasn't any better. I was bullied most of the time by others and beaten up, as well as laughed at for my improper English, but I had one friend and a group of friends, which made my life so much better.  My little brother was also one person with whom I spent most of my time, and we were the closest duo in my family; it was as if we were the only two against the world. Then my mom graduated and was able to get a proper job, and I graduated shortly after. When I graduated, my mom started her own business, and we made a lot of money. As a result, my mom was able to purchase the tablets and toys I had always wanted. Then, in 6th grade, I made good friends, and life seemed to be getting way better. My mom also married my stepdad, who is a very chill guy.  And life seemed okay, but then quarantine hit. My uncle came from Peru after getting the milk, and this caused our family to get into a heated discussion, which led us to move out to our own apartment. Although it was sad, we finally had our own room. Then it was 8th grade in person, and this is when my life changed. At this moment, I wasn't doing very well; I was very depressed, I was getting very fat, I was very shy, and this caused me to interact less. I went to the doctor for him to say that I just kept gaining weight and that if I didn't stop, I was going to be obese. I didn't really care about it at all, but then I fell for this girl, and it prompted me to try to change my physical appearance for her. So I tried to look to do stuff to lose weight, which caused me to participate in physical activities in Abbe Boys Club, and this caused me to realise that I wasn't really in shape at all, so I quit and got very interested in 3d media and printing, and I became very good at crafting stuff. I made friends there, and we had a very good group of friends. 

One day, this friend and I decided to go for a swim, and that is when we decided to race each other. We didn’t notice it, but a coach was watching us from afar. When we finished our race, the coach asked us if we wanted to join the swim team, and I looked at my friend and said, “We're not athletic,” but he replied, “Yes,” and I followed him to the swim team. Well Now I thought “ Well this is great I can finally lose weight and impress the girl”,but I remember about in 5th grade when I tried out for the basketball team and was kicked off and got laughed about it the next day, so I was scared of failing again, but my friend encouraged me to go again and again, so I found the courage and I went to the practice. At first, I saw a lot of young kids and said to myself, “This sport isn't for me, look how young these people are”, but those young people were fast, so I pushed myself in that practice so much that I remember having to sit out and rest for a little while, but the coach encouraged me to keep going. I gave it all that I had, and little by little I started improving. Then it happened I got moved up lanes , and raced harder people, and this kept happening again and again, and that's when the sport started to feel interesting for me. I learned new ways to swim and watched videos so I could be better and I lost weight. I lost a lot of weight and my doctor was happy for me . Then the day of the Championships the coach hinted that we should train more before we were considered for the championship and this made me slightly sad, because I worked so hard and still didn't make it. For the rest of the year I kept training and getting faster for the next year, and the faster individuals started to pay more attention to me. Then I made a lot of friends in my first year of swimming and formed a small group of swimmers, whom we called the Dangerous 10, because we were able to complete 10 seconds for one lap in the 20-yard pool.  

Then I met the Francis Lewis team Captain, and he told me that I should consider swimming for his Swim team. I originally thought, “Are you crazy? I'm not that fast”, but he looked at me with a smile, and I told myself, “Sure, why not ``.I didn't know where to try out, but I kept it in the back of my mind. Then graduation hit, and it was my only time to ask this girl out, and I just looked at her and decided to myself that I wasn't going to attempt to get her because she was doing well by herself, and she was going to another school than I was, and I probably wasn't going to get her anyway. This made me very sad, and I was sad during my graduation. However, time doesn't wait for anyone, so I continued with my life.That summer, I spent most of it with my family, but never forgot to swim during my break, so when it hit September, I was ready. When I returned to the swim team, I had already surpassed most of my teammates, who were surprised by my progress. I was happy with what happened, and I finally made it to the official swim team practice, which was way harder and had more yardage. The swimmers there were ruthless and were very dedicated. They were very fast as well, making me feel like a slow swimmer, but then I met people who were starting just like me, so I pushed myself to move lanes.Then the next championship hit, which we won, and we celebrated it very dramatically. This championship was the first championship that our club won, and it was very important for us. The coach was proud of me, and I really felt good for once. After the championship, I trained to join the team next year. Then it was time to join the Franny team, and I was scared, but Danny helped me a lot during this process, and I managed to join. I was very shy during this year because there were very fast swimmers on the swim team, and this is where I was pushed almost daily to try and do my best. The team events were nice, and I enjoyed my team on the Franny swim team. When we won the queens division championship, all of the Abbe, which swam for public schools, specifically the Boys Club and Abbe,  got together to take a picture, which was posted in front of the school, and Franny celebrated, and all my friends were there, including one who is going to become important later. They invited me to their championship, but there was a conflict. 

The boys' club championship was at the same exact time. This caused me to choose between the Franny swim team and the boys club swim team, and I chose the boys club team. I was sad, of course, but in this championship, I gave it my all for the boys club.We won the championship that year, and the whole team was overjoyed; we celebrated it with great enthusiasm. I showed it to everyone I knew, and some of them were proud of me, others were haters. Then I remember carrying someone to the championship, little did I know this individual was going to be one of the most important people in my life, the same individual I took the photo with. Then i trained with this Individual and we got closer and closer, but he got to fast for me and he moved lanes with his bayside Captain and he got faster but then suddenly he stopped coming and started working, I felt saddened by this  later the coach who accepted me to the team moved out to another swim team and I felt very sad and decided to take a pause for the swim team for a while, but the the Francis Lewis coach wanted me to teach some kids how to swim. I said Sure, why not. So I taught these kids, and here's where I became friends with other teachers and saw that the team had a whole other side, or the girls' team. I taught the kids, and I felt happy because I was spreading my knowledge to others. They gave me a certificate when I was done, and I was thrilled. I remember putting it out there as if it were more important than all my medals combined and all my awards, because it showed my hard work being used for something other than myself. Then summer happened, and the season started again. This season was more enjoyable for me, but then our main coach left, and one of our top swimmers disappeared. I asked him where he went, and he said I went to another swimming Club. He said I should join, and I thought about it. When I saw that it could make me even faster, I joined. When I joined, I met even harder swimmers, and it was like starting from zero again. However, for some reason, I was happier and felt more motivated to swim. When it was time for the B championship that year, I gave it my all and managed to secure 1st, 2nd, and 4th place, and my team celebrated my advancement to A champions.The next day was the boys' club championship, but we weren't well-prepared, so we lost badly that year. I still swam for Queens and learned new skills, and I continued to train.

Then I saw the friend who we lifted up, and he “told me are you still swimming,” and I said yes, but honestly, I have completed everything I wanted to do, so I didn't know how to answer him.Then I saw him with this girl; he told me, 'Hey,' and I said, 'Hey back.' One day, when I was preparing my training schedule, I received a phone call from a friend of mine. He said, “Did you hear the news?” I said “no”, He said “he died”,  I said “who”, he said “your friend”. At that time, I recall dropping my pencil from the work I was doing and experiencing a full-blown panic attack. My friend, the same one I saw, was dead, and there was nothing I could do but just see memories from us, how happy he was, and to accept that he's just gone was brutal. The next day arrived, and I signed up for lifeguard lessons with the team. We took a moment to hug each other. Then the next day, we went to his casket to say our goodbyes. Well, when I saw his casket, I couldn't step into the room. Every step was a memory we shared together, and seeing his little brother, who swam for us too, made it even worse. I couldn't step into the room; I just cried.After that, I went to my room, and I couldn't sleep. I still remember his brother's eyes, the coaches' distraught expressions, and many people just broken.I taught the kids, and they motivated me to try to become captain of the franny team. I decided to become a captain for Franny that year in honor of my friend, and with the help of my captains and my team members, we managed to make me a captain for the Franny swim team.  

When I became Co-Captain, everyone celebrated, and it was the happiest moment of my life. Then it hit this season, and I was offered the opportunity to become the manager for the girls. I've felt down about swimming, and I was really demotivated, but something about seeing these individuals swim and win their races, as well as seeing others improve, made me like the sport again. Then, when I saw them lose, it was sad, but the way they congratulated each other for the hard work was very encouraging. And now I'm here, Co-Captain of Francis Lewis. We had some meetings. I've swam a lot, but I still miss him. There's not one moment that goes by that I remember going to the place he was killed and seeing blood on the floor, but thanks to my friends, I managed to be able to make this pain feel a little less heavy, and his little brother, who is almost just like him, makes me feel like he's still here supporting me for whatever I do. Losing someone is hard, but when you have individuals who support you and make life seem way more fun, it makes this loss hurt a little less. In the end, losing someone isn't easy, and much of the stuff you go through isn't easy, but if you have good friends, any moment in life seems a little better.