Bio

Today is my first day of school at Country Day School... Again. Yup! I left for a year and came back. Not much has changed with the school, except the staff, and the people. I’m really excited to be back. My mother and sisters live in Guatemala and my father and I live here. My parents got separated a year ago and since I get along better with my father, I decided to move back with him. My mother wasn’t too thrilled about the idea at first, but after hearing my reasons, she decided to give me my freedom and to let me choose where I wanted to live. I decided to leave, first of all because I enjoy living here. I enjoy the lifestyle. I missed a lot of my friends, too. My mother and I haven't gotten along well ever. We tend to drift apart in everything. She thinks one way, and I think another way and that also leads to us clashing a lot. She's a difficult person to deal with. She has an explosive personality, and not explosive in a good way. She gets mad really easily, and when she does, she gets mad a everyone. So, I decided I needed a break from that. It sounds harsh, but 16 years of clashing can really get to you.

My sisters are a whole different story. Like typical siblings, there's times when we don't get along well. But we do most of the time. They can be a handful, though. Being the oldest sister, I feel it's my duty to be a role model to them and me moving has affected that. Saying goodbye was probably the hardest thing I had to do yet. I talk to them every day and Skype with them, but in the end, I miss them a lot. I will be traveling a lot this year to visit them, so that gives me a little bit of hope and it makes me really happy that I get to see them a lot.

Another issue at hand is that Guatemala City is very dangerous. It’s pretty, but pretty dangerous. It’s hard to go out with friends without supervision. Most of my friends have bodyguards. It’s tough looking at such violence all the time. Elections are coming up this year, and things are getting pretty ugly. Many candidates to different positions in government have been murdered, even singers, like Facundo Cabral. He wasn't even supposed to be the one dead, which just makes it ten times more worse, in my opinion. Someone innocent died because he was in the way. But then again, someone else would be dead. It doesn't matter who, just the fact that lives are being lost due to grudges. Busses are being set on fire, there are shootings, gangs have fights and try to rescue some of their own from prison, and innocent people are dying for that. Rivalry seems to be a huge issue between people there. Everyone wants to be better, to have power and they do whatever they can to get it. Like kill.

But anyway, back to the topic at hand. I like it here. I like getting away from all the traffic and busy city life. I thought it would be fun and “cool” to live in a big city, since there are a lot of things to do, but truth is, I like the peace there is here better. So I’m back. And I’m back for good. My father leads a very relaxed lifestyle and I cope better with it. I’m very relaxed too. I try to live my life as stress-free as possible. It’s healthier. So, overall I’m very happy to be back home. The 11 years I’ve lived here have honestly been the happiest.

I like going hiking, exploring national parks, going down to the beach with my friends and just relaxing at home. Everything here is great. I like being outdoors and smelling the fresh air when the city is far away. I believe it's one of life's greatest pleasures: enjoying the outdoors. It's a hobby my father and I picked up since I was a small child. We used to go out on weekends to Poas Volcano, Irazu, Arenal. You name it. We just spent a lot of time outdoors.

School here is great, too. It’s a small school, which makes it easier for everyone to know each other. I like it. It’s like a big family and everybody’s nice even if you haven’t spoken yet or aren’t really close. It’s refreshing to learn in an environment like this. I feel it’s beneficial to all of us, even if most of us don’t usually stop and ponder it. But I’m sure we all know it deep down.

For the first time in months, I can say I’m genuinely happy to go to school. I’m just happy about everything going on in my life at the moment, although I miss my family and some great friends I made. I can deal with it, though. I know I'm strong. The experiences that I lived through the past year have made me stronger than I realize. And I am going to go back. I'll visit. It's not like I'll never see anybody again. And I look forward to those visits and being happy again.