My Life Story: An Introduction
My life in 849 words
I was born in 1969 in Caracas, Venezuela, a fantastic year and place to come into the world. Venezuela’s economy was prosperous and the country was in its 10th year of its emerging democracy. I am the third of seven children and my parents were -still are- devoted to their family and our education. My family did well economically; we wanted for nothing.
My childhood was idyllic, I suppose. Growing up in the tropics, I spent a lot of time playing outside or at the beach.
I believe that life is determined largely by when, where and to whom you are born (as we say in the US, “your zip code”), and by the obstacles you face.
I first learned of the existence of obstacles in life when I realized my father was different. Physically and behaviorally, he was different.
As a child, my father had an accident where he burned half of his body with acid. Can you even imagine? Half of his face burned off. He was also different in that he didn’t care much what people thought. He wore sandals and shorts when other dads wore suits, and he went to sleep on a couch if he was tired when he was a guest at parties.
My first personal obstacle was having scoliosis and wearing a hideous brace through high school. This obstacle was the reason I came to the…
