So every time someone asks me, "How's wrestling?", I'm like, I like it or it's cool to do, but if that person really asked me, then wrestling has affected my life the most. I really had to fight for everything while growing up. My parents never graduated college, and they taught me how to fight before anyone else did. My dad was always fighting for promotions, and we moved around a lot because he didn't have a college degree. Neither did my mom. I think all the moving around made me feel like I was always fighting for stability. I would always say to my parents, "I would rather have a tight-knit community than more money." I didn't understand at the time that we were struggling financially. I just thought that they were always after more money. When I was a sophomore in high school, we moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. My father, feeling guilty for moving me around so much, promised he would stay in the city until I graduated. By then, we had finally made some financial progress. During my school tour, I met the wrestling coach, Coach Arvin. He was such a kind man who made people push themselves to be better. When I met him, he invited me to attend a practice the next day after school, so I did. Upon arrival to practice, I was introduced to a team of people who made me feel accepted. I immediately felt the success that came along with learning new moves and getting better every day. Through sticking to the program, it took a lot of time before I could take great pride in finally being part of a community that actually cared about my growth. I learned self-discipline, hard work, and resilience in wrestling. It became much more than an after-school activity; what I put into wrestling, I got back. It taught me that success doesn't come easily but with dedication and effort, and that one should never give up. Lessons on the mat like perseverance, teamwork, and hard work paid off, translating into other areas of my life. I found that the skills I developed through wrestling gave me the strength to face challenges outside of the gym as well. Wrestling helped me build the community I had been searching for. This sport really became my platform to never have to pursue stability anymore, as I found a place that nurtured and encouraged me. It was a place where I could push myself to be the best version of myself, and where my hard work was recognized. In many ways, wrestling gave me stability that I never had throughout my life. In the end, while many people may view wrestling as just a sport or an after-school activity, for me, it's been so much more than that. It has been a life-changing experience that has shaped who I am today. It has taught me valuable life lessons and provided me with the community and support I had always needed. Wrestling didn't just teach me how to fight on the mat; it taught me how to fight for my future.

So every time someone asks me, "How's wrestling?", I'm like, I like it or it's cool to do, but if that person really asked me, then wrestling has affected my life the most. I really had to fight for everything while growing up. My parents never graduated college, and they taught me how to fight before anyone else did. My dad was always fighting for promotions, and we moved around a lot because he didn't have a college degree. Neither did my mom. I think all the moving around made me feel like I was always fighting for stability. I would always say to my parents, "I would rather have a tight-knit community than more money." I didn't understand at the time that we were struggling financially. I just thought that they were always after more money. When I was a sophomore in high school, we moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. My father, feeling guilty for moving me around so much, promised he would stay in the city until I graduated. By then, we had finally made some financial progress. During my school tour, I met the wrestling coach, Coach Arvin. He was such a kind man who made people push themselves to be better. When I met him, he invited me to attend a practice the next day after school, so I did. Upon arrival to practice, I was introduced to a team of people who made me feel accepted. I immediately felt the success that came along with learning new moves and getting better every day. Through sticking to the program, it took a lot of time before I could take great pride in finally being part of a community that actually cared about my growth. I learned self-discipline, hard work, and resilience in wrestling. It became much more than an after-school activity; what I put into wrestling, I got back. It taught me that success doesn't come easily but with dedication and effort, and that one should never give up. Lessons on the mat like perseverance, teamwork, and hard work paid off, translating into other areas of my life. I found that the skills I developed through wrestling gave me the strength to face challenges outside of the gym as well. Wrestling helped me build the community I had been searching for. This sport really became my platform to never have to pursue stability anymore, as I found a place that nurtured and encouraged me. It was a place where I could push myself to be the best version of myself, and where my hard work was recognized. In many ways, wrestling gave me stability that I never had throughout my life. In the end, while many people may view wrestling as just a sport or an after-school activity, for me, it's been so much more than that. It has been a life-changing experience that has shaped who I am today. It has taught me valuable life lessons and provided me with the community and support I had always needed. Wrestling didn't just teach me how to fight on the mat; it taught me how to fight for my future.

So every time someone asks me, "How's wrestling?", I'm like, I like it or it's cool to do, but if that person really asked me, then wrestling has affected my life the most. I really had to fight for everything while growing up. My parents never graduated college, and they taught me how to fight before anyone else did. My dad was always fighting for promotions, and we moved around a lot because he didn't have a college degree. Neither did my mom. I think all the moving around made me feel like I was always fighting for stability. I would always say to my parents, "I would rather have a tight-knit community than more money." I didn't understand at the time that we were struggling financially. I just thought that they were always after more money. When I was a sophomore in high school, we moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. My father, feeling guilty for moving me around so much, promised he would stay in the city until I graduated. By then, we had finally made some financial progress. During my school tour, I met the wrestling coach, Coach Arvin. He was such a kind man who made people push themselves to be better. When I met him, he invited me to attend a practice the next day after school, so I did. Despite my worries of being an underdog because of joining the sport so late in life. Upon arrival to practice, I was introduced to a team of people who made me feel accepted. I immediately felt the success that came along with learning new moves and getting better every day. Through sticking to the program, it took a lot of time before I could take great pride in finally being part of a community that actually cared about my growth. I learned self-discipline, hard work, and resilience in wrestling. It became much more than an after-school activity; what I put into wrestling, I got back. In the beginning of competing in this sport I lost many times but that only taught me that success doesn't come easily but with dedication and effort I can achieve anything, and that one should never give up. Lessons on the mat like perseverance, teamwork, and hard work paid off, translating into other areas of my life. I found that the skills I developed through wrestling gave me the strength to face challenges outside of the mat as well. Wrestling helped me build the community I had been searching for. This sport really became my platform to never have to pursue stability anymore, as I found a place that nurtured and encouraged me. It was a place where I could push myself to be the best version of myself, and where my hard work was recognized. In many ways, wrestling gave me stability that I never had throughout my life. In the end, while many people may view wrestling as just a sport or an after-school activity, for me, it's been so much more than that. It has been a life-changing experience that has shaped who I am today. It has taught me valuable life lessons and provided me with the community and support I had always needed. Wrestling didn't just teach me how to fight on the mat; it taught me how to fight for my future.

Every time someone asks me, "How's wrestling?", I'm like, I like it or it's cool to do, but if that person really asked me, then I’d say wrestling has impacted my life the most. I really had to fight for everything while growing up. My parents never graduated college, and they taught me how to fight before anyone else did. My dad was always fighting for promotions, and we moved around a lot because he didn't have a college degree. Neither did my mom. I think all the moving around made me feel like I was always fighting for stability. I would always say to my parents, "I would rather have a tight-knit community than more money." I didn't understand at the time that we were struggling financially. I just thought that they were always after more money. When I was a sophomore in high school, we moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. My father, feeling guilty for moving me around so much, promised he would stay in the city until I graduated. By then, we had finally made some financial progress. During my school tour, I met the wrestling coach, Coach Arvin. He was such a kind man who made people push themselves to be better. When I met him, he invited me to attend a practice the next day after school, so I did. Upon arrival to practice, I was introduced to a team of people who made me feel accepted. I immediately felt the success that came along with learning new moves and getting better every day. Through sticking to the program, it took a lot of time before I could take great pride in finally being part of a community that actually cared about my growth. I learned self-discipline, hard work, and resilience in wrestling. It became much more than an after-school activity; what I put into wrestling, I got back. It taught me that success doesn't come easily but with dedication and effort, and that one should never give up. Lessons on the mat like perseverance, teamwork, and hard work paid off, translating into other areas of my life. I found that the skills I developed through wrestling gave me the strength to face challenges outside of the gym as well. Wrestling helped me build the community I had been searching for. This sport really became my platform to never have to pursue stability anymore, as I found a place that nurtured and encouraged me. It was a place where I could push myself to be the best version of myself, and where my hard work was recognized. In many ways, wrestling gave me stability that I never had throughout my life. In the end, while many people may view wrestling as just a sport or an after-school activity, for me, it's been so much more than that. It has been a life-changing experience that has shaped who I am today. It has taught me valuable life lessons and provided me with the community and support I had always needed. Wrestling didn't just teach me how to fight on the mat; it taught me how to fight for my future.