| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | I would say my most memorable childhood experience was the birth of both of my brothers and growing up with them. We’ve always been close, and I formed many fond memories with them such as our parents taking us to amusement parks. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I would say that I most closely identify with my father, we have the same name and out of the 3 boys, I look like him the most. We are also both the eldest of our siblings and share a lot of the same hobbies and interests. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | The character traits that I admire the most in an individual are honesty, loyalty, and resilience/perseverance. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | This is a tough one because it’s such a subjective question but a funny experience that came to mind was when I was at a debate tournament in high school. We had just come back from a lunch break, and I was the first speaker which meant I had to present the motion, the position my team was taking, and our first argument. In the middle of my speech, I accidentally burped so loud and so suddenly that there was an awkward pause for what felt like eternity and then continued my speech like nothing had happened. I did end up apologizing to the judges who commended me for my professionalism and not allowing it to break my momentum, they also couldn’t help but laugh as well. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | If time and money weren’t an issue I would travel through Mexico, Spain, Italy, and the Middle East for the purposes of meticulously tracing the path of my ancestors, starting from where I’m from to as far back as history takes me. I believe many people take their heritage for granted. In contrast I’ve always had a fascination, curiosity, and appreciation for my ancestral lineage. Therefore, seeing and learning about the people, places, historical events, and cultures that existed throughout time all leading up to me being alive would be the greatest adventure. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | There are many things I would like to pass on to my future children. On a fundamental level I would like to pass on the lessons that my life has taught me, lessons which have molded me into the best possible version of myself. Lessons that everyone must ultimately experience on their own but with guidance as to how to maximize their potential as virtuous people who are able to make a positive impact in the world. I would like to pass on the truth that life is difficult, life is sometimes painful, life is finite and fleeting, but life can also be beautiful, and a gift we should not take for granted. I would like to pass on the history and the heritage of my ancestors such as my culture, my customs and my traditions so that they may know where they came from so that they may carry on the line and make their own path but to also understand they do not exist in a vacuum but are the next in line of a long and rich history. Furthermore, I would like to pass on the recorded memories and physical heirlooms of their familial history so they themselves will be inspired to do the same with their own children one day. |
