By Leonardo Rodriguez Carrion

When I met my friend

He did not ask me what roads

Took me to meet him

Instead, he asked me “who are you”?

Who am I? I am

I am a man born in Mexico City, living in the United States

I am the child of my grandparents, younger brother, second child, to my mom and dad

I am the kid who learned English at a young age, to read, write, and speak it

I am the kid who traveled all around Pennsylvania in the summer of 2004

I am the kid who was denied entry into a casino in Atlantic City

I am the kid who visited New York City in December

I am the kid who went to catholic school

I am the kid who moved to public school in middle school and made many great friends

I am the kid who moved to a small college town, and stayed ever since

I am the kid who took karate classes until he obtained a black belt

I am the kid who would come home and play video games all day

I am the kid whose dreams spoke to him

I am the teenager who joined the swim team, the cross country team, the tennis team, and the track team

I am the teenager who did mock trial

I am the teenager who wrote Sweet and Salty in high school and had praise from his classmates

I am the teenager who stood his ground and never turned back on his values and principles

I am the teenager who volunteered at a retirement home

I am the teenager who met his first girlfriend the day before Saint Valentine’s Day

I am the teenager who fought his own brother when pushed to the limit

I am the teenager who never forget his first true friend, true friendship

I am the teenager who graduated high school

I am the teenager who worked at the university cafeteria and then Einstein’s bagels

I am the teenager who bought his first car with his own money in cash

I am the teenager who went to Spain in a foreign exchange program

I am the teenager who survived a car crash head on

I am the teenager who learned wushu

I am the teenager who volunteered at a volunteer center

I am the teenager who worked at Starbucks and Home Depot

I am the adult who graduated from community college

I am the adult who witnessed true evil in the form of cultish love

I am the adult who worked at his undergrad department as an intern

I am the adult who remote viewed

I am the adult who wrote a whole novel

I am the adult who goes to the gym

I am the adult who worked for nonprofits

I am the adult who graduated from university with two bachelor degrees

I am the adult who traveled to Egypt and Peru

I am the adult who went to comedy shows with his pals

I am the adult who worked at an advertising agency

I am the adult who worked for Verizon

I am the adult who worked in Print Sales

I am the adult who went to job fairs and networking events

I am the adult who works for a Halloween store

I am many iterations in my life, past, present, and future, my friend

I am the adult who fell in love

I have walked many roads, yet they led me to you

I ask you back, who are you?

What experiences I have gone through, who will they touch, who will hear them, see them, read them, I do not know. You are here now. Let’s continue on this journey.