Blog: 1 Autobiographical

Well where to begin … My name is Edemir Castano and I’m of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent. I was born in the tiny city Providence which is located in the smallest state in the United States, Rhode Island. (It also ironicly has the longest name ... google it) I was born with what is called a cleft palate and although it’s left me with a small scar and tortured me with years of braces I’m blessed that it was not much worse. Most people are actually shocked to find out I was born with a deformity. My childhood was a pretty uneventful one I spent my days battling warriors like Ryu and Morrigan with my favorite cousin and I spent my time alone reading and writing (admittedly awful) books about the adventures of one brave soul or another. I was a bright student, attentive in class, my teachers loved me and I had amazing grades. I was one step away from going to a prestigious boarding school when suddenly puberty and calamity grabbed my life by the throat and refused to let go. My cousin that I loved like a brother passed away from a battle with cancer that I thought he was going to win. Losing my cousin crushed me and the teen angst that arrived with losing my best friend and an army of raging hormones attempted to finish the job … In short I discovered and tried to refuse to myself that I was a gay man, associated with an awful crowd of people, I let my environment dictate my behavior, I dropped out of high school, and partied way too hard for way too long. So yea I ended up making a ton of mistakes in my teens (as most of us do) but fortunately all these mistakes served to mold me into the young man that I'm proud to have become. I’ve learned through trial and error (and plenty of it!) exactly what it is that I’m looking to achieve in life and that the way to ensure happiness is to always be yourself. I’m at peace with my sexuality and although it does not define me I actually rather enjoy being the gay friend that all my girlfriends come to for advice on fashion and their boyfriends. I still play video games but now I watch way too much anime. I have an awesome job (I work for the BEST chocolatier in the world),I’m finally attending community college and I plan on hopefully transferring to NYU on my journey to becoming a Nurse Practitioner. So yup that’s my life. Oh let's finish with my favorite quote.

"Success is 1% aspiration and 99% perspiration" - a fortune cookie