When I had a kindoftoomuchcardswhen I gotovermyfearwhen I wentintheocean, I droveallthewaydowntothepoolsfloor.
Itwascrazydoing a backflipinto a pool.
I wenton a zipline, goingon a rollercoastermathtestaboutclimbingsomereallyhardmathhomeworktryingoutforthesoccerteamclimbing a largestaircase.
I didthehardcourseoftheziplineparkthat I wenttostanduptopolicelearnhowtoswimbecause I'm scaredofwater.
A little, uh, doing a 20 pagepaperinmy 12thgradeenglishclass, comingintotermswithwho I amfighting a drugaddictiononmyown.
Very, mydad, I wroteaneightpagefinalincollegeintwohoursbeforethedeadlineand I gotan a, I'm animmigrantand I thinkthehardestthing I'veeverdoneistrytotrytoadjusttoTheus, honestly, anythinginvolvingmathorscience, I don't know, I guesswakingupandtryandlifeagaineveryday I cameouttomyfamilywhen I was 19.
getmyselftocertification, decidingtostartseeing a therapistmovedtonewyork, probablyattempttoclimbatthehalftombnearsomebodygraduatingfromCornelllawschool, moveallthewayfromTennesseetonewyork, switchedcareerpaths, probablyleaving a relationshipthatwasnotgoodformeandwasnotwhatwasgoingtohelpmegrow, terminateanemployeedata.
Inhighschool, I gotbulliedandhadtogive a speechandwheneveryone's lookinglikekindofdownatyoulike, andthen I gotupthereanddidit.
I feltlike a senseofaccomplishment.
I thinkthemostdifficultthing I everdidwasmovingtotheUSrebuildingmyself, leavemycountry, gettingintoColumbia, Survive, highschoolinDetroit.
Uh, I wasplayingfootballin 7thgradeinBloomingtonIndiana.
Um, sowehadtoplayfootballgameKnowingthattheKlanwasinthestandsontheotherside, managed a teamof 40 peopletoquitmyjoblearningmath, takingmyfirstflightfromnewyorktoDenver, allbymyself, trytowalkwhen I wasparalyzed.
I workedinchildprotectiveservicesfor a numberofyearsand I'vehadtodo a numberofremovals, Thinkaboutittomydad, bootcamperwalkingfromkatmanduuniversegoingthroughlife, beingdeafinoneearandthat's aboutthehardestthing I cando I havedoneand I accomplishit.
I did a searchoneat a location.
uhtherewasoneby a coldburyingmydaughter.
I hadtoovercomemyshyness, hadtogoandfindmyfirstjob, goingtoschoolparttime, thegraduateschoolparttimeandworkingfulltimeandhavingTwojobsatthesametime, a bigworkprojectthat I didn't think I wouldgetthrough, but I didgetthroughitdecidingtochangecareersmidlife.
When I was 17, mybrotherwasinmedicalschool, medicalschool, calledupthefamilyandsaiduhMrfranco, youhavetocomepickupyourson, there's somethingwrongwithhim.
Andwebroughthimtonewyorkhospitalandtheydiagnosedhimas a chronicschizophrenic.
At 18, I toldmydaddadgotakecareofDominic, I'llrunthebusinessdealingwithmymother's healthandthechallengesthatcomewithit, quitsmoking, Openingtothemysteryofmylife.