Finding Balance

Rest and Relaxation are vital for people, and especially for those who serve the public, like educators, it is essential to find balance in one’s life.  For me, I do many things to keep myself occupied and to recharge my passion as an educator.  I accomplish this goal by focusing on faith, family, and friends (collecting). 

FAITH

Church and the relationship I have with Jesus Christ is significant to me.  My grandmother Kathy would take my sister and me to her Baptist church whenever she could while I was growing up.  During my childhood and teen years, I felt I was more spiritual in my beliefs and acknowledged a higher power, but did not regularly attend church service.  It wasn’t until I met my wife Sandra, a Protestant, that I started to change my perspective on life and choose to have a relationship with God.  In 2012, my wife was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and my faith in God increased as He watched over our family and took care of us.  All of these moments and how I overcame obstacles in my life led me to make the decision to get baptized in 2016.  I appreciate all the gifts He has given me and feel very fortunate to attend a faith-based college such as Concordia University Irvine with such wonderful people. 

FAMILY

My family is everything to me.  I suggest that when you have extra time spend it with the people you love.  Growing up, my parents had me at a young age.  The struggles of everyday life were difficult at times with a tight budget, but my parents did the best they could with what they had.  Throughout my life, I have had a hard time identifying with others because of my multiracial ethnicity. Having a father who is Danish and a mother who is Mexican and Filipino, I know a lot of my history but never really felt connected to others because of being mixed. Over the years, I have learned to appreciate who I am and focus on being the best PERSON I can be.  I was fortunate to have a sister, Cassie, who has been supportive in my life and made me an uncle to three awesome nephews.  I also have a brother-in-law, Caesar, who has been great to me and given me the brother that I never had.  My wife Sandra is a kindergarten teacher and means the world to me.  She is multiracial, Spanish and German, like me and has many ideas and perspectives on the world similar to mine.  My daughter, Alexandra, is my heart and such a talented and sweet little girl.  We do many things together (eat dinner, watch T.V., and go on vacations) to maintain that bond that I lacked as a child. It is essential to have a family or supportive unit in your life to keep things in perspective.

Friends

It is important to have friends and hobbies to give yourself that time to reboot and recharge as a person.  I keep myself busy with collecting and talking with friends in the hobby.  As an introvert, I tend to be on the quiet side and mostly listen to others. As an adult, I have come to terms with my nerdiness and find enjoyment in learning about antiques.  I collect antique baseball gloves and 1930’s Mickey Mouse plushes.  Baseball gloves and sports equipment have always been a passion of mine ever since playing in high school and college baseball.  The collecting of gloves has connected me with some terrific people (nerds like myself).  I even have a website dedicated to collecting and my hobby https://rickybulldog.wixsite.com/mysite , which has been fun and exciting to create.  My fascination with Mickey Mouse stems from the brilliant mind of Walt Disney.  The idea/concept that so much innovation and imagination came from a simple sketch is impressive to me.