My Year End Reflection for 2023

OWNING UP & MY SUCCESSES

I have wanted to write on this blog for the past couple of months but every time I think about doing it, many other things happen. Enough excuses, I am about to blog about what has been happening in my life and what’s been on my mind. I will talk about my failures and my successes this year. It’s time to reflect. If you know me, watch my YouTube videos, or have stumbled upon my website, you will know that I am a very ambitious individual always striving to be the best. I live for completing goals. I live for failure because without failure, you will never grow. I live to provide meaning to myself and to give back to society. I live for pain because, without pain, there is no growth and success. I live for purpose because without purpose, I am truly not living. Risk needs to be taken and this year, there has been a lot put on the line. Before I go any further, I will show 2023’s successes. I am truly proud of myself. The fire in me is always high and as I type this, I am feeling extremely emotional in a good way. As always, you, the reader/watcher helps me push my limits believe it or not. My family (especially my sisters) are also my driving factor in my successes. Without you and them, I wouldn’t be here speaking my mind and being more open, something I’ve always struggled to do.

2023 Successes

• Purchased my first home (my first investment property in the making)
  • Updated plumbing, updated electrical, painted the walls, updated the flooring, replaced the ac and furnace, updating every window, and new cabinets are being looked at.
• Obtained my Honours in Bachelor of Art – Sociology from McMaster University (8 years in the making)
  • Took on 5 courses in one semester to graduate faster. I went full time while working full time
  • Read more than I have ever read in my life. I’m very proud of this.
  • Got the references I needed for law school and did great in school
• Completed Around the Bay Road Race (30km) with minimal training
• Completed Milton’s Subaru Sprint Triathlon (my first race of the season)
• Completed Gravenhurst Triathlon (I jumped off a boat in Muskoka!)
• Completed Rose City (Welland) long distance Triathlon. My last race before my Ironman
• Completed my second IRONMAN (70.3 MUSKOKA)
  • Ran my third-fastest 20km
  • Averaged 32kph on the 90km ride
  • Had an amazing swim (39 minutes)
• Completed Grimsby Subaru Triathlon (52nd overall, my best result for 2023) as my final race for the season
• Completed a large scale million dollar deployment IT Project at work while learning new technology
• Taught another coop in my job adding onto my teaching skills from the several youth I have taught in my IT career
• Worked on my website and increased traffic. The most visits than any other year.
• Traveled to Colombia
  • Completed Alto De Letras (the third longest climb in the world)
  • Hiked two massive mountains with only 1 hour of sleep in Bogotá
  • Cycled, hiked, and embraced the Hispanic culture. This trip was physically, mentally and emotionally tough.

Time management is key

Early on in the year was insane. I was working full time, working on a massive hardware deployment project, training for my several triathlon races, while I also took on 5 courses in one semester to graduate as fast as possible. I was in acceleration mode. Just thinking about the amount of pressure I put on myself makes me think how much more we can all take on when we ignore our mental barriers and push our limits to newer levels. Fear is what prevents all of this from being done. Being in a stable position halts growth, my current job is not allowing me to grow in any way. Risks need to be taken, this is why I took on many risks. To change careers and eventually leave my hometown and live in NYC.

I learned a lot about myself from the several risks I was taking. My self growth has not stopped. While I was taking those risks, I was also applying several of the sociological lens being taught from all of my classes. This was widening my perspective on how I can change my life and see myself using the newfound knowledge to help others. I was becoming fascinated with how scholars interpreted the world and saw how they used it to reveal how humans and society behave/function. I was constantly thinking about all of the fascinating material and the more I read, the stronger the urge to become a lawyer kept coming back to me. Law school was looking very doable and I could see myself in a suit practicing law to provide help to those who were in disadvantaged positions. This was and is constantly on my mind. I had to move my LSAT test to April 2024 since the house was taking up a lot of my time but I will be studying hard for that. I can’t believe that something I’ve wanted to do for the majority of my life is actually manifesting from years of doubt. I remember doing a project over a decade ago and stating my goal on becoming a lawyer. I’m so close to doing this that I can feel it.

I am proud to say that I graduated and I’m very proud of myself. I was never been seen as an intellectual person. I was always seen as the slow kid since schools/people/teachers saw me as that kid. I wasn’t and no one is. People just need that push of confidence to move forward. A mentor is also beneficial to push you. When you push forward even when you fail, that’s what makes you different from the rest. When you’re seen as weak, you push harder to grow. Growth from several failures and being seen as a failure has made me who I am. The failures I have endured have made me a better person. I embrace my past failures because fighting failure will allow you to grow by overcoming the obstacle. Take them on and do not be afraid of it. Any time I’ve thought about quitting, I think about where I was, where I am, and where I will be. Most importantly, believing in myself because at the end of the day, it’s just trusting yourself and ignoring what others say. Trust yourself, ignore the rest. If you want it, do it. Ignore the doubt and follow through with it. I will guarantee if you do this, you will surpass your expectations.

As a second generation Latino Canadian whose parent’s left their home country looking for a better life (survival from the civil war), I am the result of their hard work. I am not even close to being the success I want to be but I am definitely getting there. They are also a driving factor for me to be successful. It is not a burden that I put this much pressure to myself but a goal to show my true potential. Success requires a lot of work and sacrifice. My parents coming to Canada and providing me with this opportunity with their sweat, blood, and tears will not go down the drain from what they had to endure to get here. I will use all of my will and ambition to succeed no matter what it takes.

I finally bought a house

For years, I saved for a house and as I continued to save, I also bid for homes and kept losing on the homes… by $100,000 over asking. I kept losing on homes and just felt defeated and frustrated that even though I saved more than half my paycheque, I was not even close to affording a house. A reason I visited Ottawa/Gatineau for my “cycling trip” was to see if I could see myself living there because of the low cost of living compared to Southern Ontario. I was warned several times not to even think about living there for several valid reasons.

I finally stopped looking into Ottawa/Gatineau homes and bid on several homes this year (in southern Ontario) and kept losing but my offers were finally getting closer to the asking prices. I remember going to a home, seeing myself being in it, seeing it as an investment, and just knowing that this was going to be my first house of many. The house had charm since it was a brick home that was over 70 years old. The bones (the structure) looked fantastic compared to every other house I had visited. The backyard was massive. I was right beside the largest trail in Ontario and by my recognized university and a world renowned children’s hospital. There have been times in my life where I know something will happen, this was one of them. I bid on the house and won. I was officially a home owner.

THE FINAL THOUGHT

If it wasn’t for you, the reader. I would not be here. I’ve been writing this since the start of December and I end it off with this. If you want to change, do something about it. Be afraid and go for it because once you’re doing it, the fear begins to go away. Whatever goal it is, just start it. 2023 was great. 2024 we will crush this thing called life together. Life is short. The car accident definitely showed me that although it was a very dark moment in my life, I now value everything single moment and it allows me to keep doing what I really want to do and what I should have been doing years ago. Do not let your age, gender, sex, negative people, negative thoughts or anything get in the way. You take that negativity, use it as ammo and we’ll do everything we’ve ever wanted to do. Change your perspective for the better. See you in 2024!