Grad @ Grad
By: Ricardo E. Suarez
Open to Growth/intellectually competent

THE BEGINNING

• I was born January 7 1996
• In the beginning everything seemed like a dream
• Then when I was 8 my parents got a divorce
• As I got older reality became so much more real
• Life consisted of soccer, family, school, church,and my parents.

MY FAMILY/OPEN TO GROWTH

• My family really shaped who I am
• My parents have influenced me the most
• My family is not nearly perfect
• On my dads side everything is done for the family
• On my moms side a lot of family members are distant

Dad/Open to Growth


-As I said earlier my parents were the most influential to me.

-My dad has made me more intellectually competent.

-A couple things that I'm used to him doing are calling me stupid, treating me like a kid, punching me, showering me with gifts, and calling me 15 times a day.

MOM /OPEN TO GROWTH

• My mom has been the most influential person of my life
• She has been there consistently taking care of me
• Shes put me through 3 private schools with the little money she makes
• She's helped become open to growth in many ways

ANGIE

• My sister is 7 years older than me
• My sister helped me to become more intellectually competent and open to growth
• Her umbilical cord got stuck around her neck while in the womb
• She suffered a mental disability
• I was told this in bits and pieces a little after my parents divorce

BEFORE DIVORCE

• Everything was given to me being the youngest of two brothers and one sister
• I was always in Ricky's world running around like Huck finn
• I looked up to a lot of people
• Everyone showed me love

AFTER DIVORCE

• After the divorce a lot changed
• I recall thinking to myself its time for me to grow up
• After the divorce I became intellectually competent and less open to growth
• After the divorce reality became clearer and life got harder

RELIGION

• Religion has always been a big part of my life
• I go to church almost every Sunday
• I pray almost everyday
• I try to be spiritual rather than too traditional
• Church has always made me open to growth

FRIENDS

• I didn't start paying attention to who my friends were til middle school
• I tried fitting in in middle school because I was the new kid
• They helped me to be intellectually competent
• They made me think bout my future and doing better because they did better

Cansius

-school has been one of the biggest struggles in my life
-freshman and sophomore year I was still trying to find who I was as a man for others
-junior and senior year really had the most defining moments
-my suspension, kairos, nearly failing, getting cut from the soccer team, Track, and passing with flying colors this year have made me a better person

WHERE WAS I

• As a young kid I've always been open to growth
• I always had a smile and I would always say hi to people
• I became open to growth through people, relationships
• I hadn't been really intellectually competent until my parents divorce
• I was doing poorly in school

WHERE I AM NOW

• Right now my faith is stronger and way more responsible and mature
• I am constantly thinking about my future and trying to improve time management
• I'm getting straight A's
• I'm competing at states for track
• I've gotten accepted to 3 colleges NYIT, Philadelphia, and Howard

WHERE IM GOING

• I'm going to school to be an architect
• I want to be influential to everyone I encounter
• I want to be a man for others
• I want to be successful in everything I do