Hello, my name is Aaron and here’s “the beginning”

I’ve wrestled for a while with how writing this openly instead of in a journal or on a private document, in an era when watching every single word, picture and #hashtag that you put out is imperative, would reflect on me. Over the past 6 months or maybe more, in favor of transparency and being honest, I’ve decided to say the truth: I don’t care how it will reflect, I just hope that it stays honest. The world is full of people just faking it and versions of those people faking more things online. I don’t want to continue to be either. This is going to be either a messy rambling or a messy rambling that someone besides myself connects to. Either way, it’ll be honest and true.

It’s a Sunday afternoon (I practice Christianity) so my mind is reflecting on church from this morning and spirituality. I am also thinking about writing my own personal story and how my religious practice relates to, is a part of and is connected to the narrative of my life as a whole. That brought me to remember a perspective I read in a book. The church should be less like a modern religious institution and more like AA. I like that. The idea that we can connect, support each other and know one another over the rough parts of life rather than the shiny parts is comforting to me.

So in AA fashion, or at least what popular culture tells me is AA fashion:

Hi I’m Aaron and i’m tired of faking it!

So, what do I mean by faking it? I mean, online it seems like most people are only presenting a partial, honestly minimal part of themselves and that’s always bothered me. I’m not one to blame technology for our problems as a species though, so I took a step back. We fake it just as much, or at least I do, in job interviews, in relationships, in the art we create and even with ourselves. How then do I start this thing in the most honest way possible? I’ll start from the beginning.

I was born and raised in Austin, the capital city of the state of Texas. I grew up (according to the PEW research center) in a pretty typical, upper-middle/lower-upper class, 2 parent, dual income, single race, privileged household. My parents paid for my undergrad and when I finally became a real adult- “on my own,” I was/am middle class. I’m hispanic/latino/of Mexican-American descent and while that looks good on some applications and bad on others I haven’t figured out yet how to discern that when I’m filling out equality of employment act questionnaires and surveys. Also, I can not speak Spanish. Like Selena, I’m too American for the Mexicans and too Mexican for the Americans.

My parents, both attending different high schools here in Austin, met on a field trip in San Antonio that student activity clubs at each of their schools had taken at the same time. I was born, as they love to tell for the sake of thanking God, with some complications: 12-weeks early at just 1 pound and 10 ounces. I lived in an incubator in the hospital for the first 3 weeks of my life, I believe. I, thankfully didn’t have a troubled childhood physically as a result and at 25 I have a clean bill of health. Knock on wood, I’ve never even broken a bone. My parents have worked for the same employers advancing in their careers gracefully, at least in my eyes, for my whole life. My mom is close to retirement from her career and my dad will retire with her whenever she chooses. I’ve lived with my parents in three houses in the same zip code, had my own apartment in that same zip code a year after attaining my undergraduate degree and then before completing my grad school career (for now), bought a house of my own in the adjacent zip code.

I played the typical American sports growing up. Two of the “big three” if you will, mostly. Baseball and American football, with track and field as well as power-lifting to supplement in High School. I always enjoyed writing and I’ve played musical instruments since I was a young boy. The first instrument I learned, other than that awful neon blue recorder, was the piano. I took lessons with my grandparents as they learned. I played the trombone in middle school band and I began playing guitar and the bass guitar in church when I was twelve.

Speaking of church, I grew up in an Assemblies of God church that my grandpa bi-vocationally pastored until I was about 17, when events, that elude me to this day led him to step down from his position and my family to leave that church with him. In my house we bounced around for a little while before joining into the new church my grandpa started first in his home, then in a hotel conference room, to an elementary school cafegymatorium and so on. I started college and explored other expressions of the christian church that at the time, resonated more with me. After college and through to today I have observed several different expressions/denominations/interpretations/camps/whatever trendy nickname you have for “versions” of the christian faith, each time to the delight or disappointment of my family and loved ones.

Now let’s talk about work, I had a brief stint at 16ish working very part time for a property management company that a family friend owned. I think the idea was that driving around to parking lots at 1 and 3 am picking up trash and cutting grass would scare me straight into dreams of college and pursing a “real job”. I’ve got a Master’s degree so I guess it did. In my senior year of high school and through until I started grad school I worked for an Italian restaurant in different capacities. I had a lot less kitchen time than I now wish, but I made more money doing a lot of front of house serving and being catering staff at events, mostly weddings. After I graduated with my bachelors degree in Mass Communication I jumped into the non-profit world. Sort of.

I worked for a church for a year as an intern/resident/insert-fancy-word-for-cheap-labor, learning about the inner workings of a religious organization; and I served as the worship leader and was a regular part of planning the Sunday services, executing the services by singing songs, arranging music and leading a band of volunteers, helping with communication and creating an environment that adequately supported the vision and heart behind our church. After a year I moved on to working in the fancy life that is technology sales. A year into what has now been job for three years, I decided to go back to school to get an advanced degree and learn some new skills. Today I freelance as well as continuing my day job and work to serve clients in all sorts of industries with communication and content strategy. In English and without the embellishment:

I help create and target messaging from point A to point B in the way that best serves a brand, entrepreneur or company’s motivation. When I’m not doing that I cold call and email on behalf of B2B companies.

That’s me. More to come soon.