Growing up as a kid, I was never interested in the crafts, or any other art form. On the other hand, my siblings were very talented and would help me or do my art assignments for school. When I was on the sixth grade I went to a technical high school where students rotated around
six different shops in the first two years. On eight grade students would pick one where we would stay onto finishing our high school careers. The shops varied from modeling, metallurgy, auto, industrial,
technical drafting, and electrical. I enjoyed most of them except auto and electrical. There, I discovered an interest for the industrial and technological and became disciplined of the technical procedures spending numerous hours perfecting a single drawing. When I was on the eight grade I moved to the United States where I went to a public High School that did not have any shops. As a way of learning English I spend most of my time reading and writing, most specially about my life experiences as an immigrant. When I finished High School and was accepted into UIC, I was invited to a summer bridge program for ESL students. I loved writing about my own experiences, which my professor seemed to enjoy. On the last day she told me, “you have a gift for creative writing, I know that whatever you do here at UIC you will be successful.” When I first started my career in architecture, I felt out of place because I did not think I had a creative or artistic mind. I remembered it clearly, I was at the Art Institute when I first produced a free-hand sketch I was proud of. It was a horse sculpture I liked. I spent 2 hours standing there drawing, when I realized that everything is possible with discipline.