Personal Achievements are exactly that, personal. What I consider to be an achievement in my life may differ drastically from what other people may consider an achievement. Some of my most important personal achievements cannot be represented by an object of status or an official accolade. They are the memories, the relationships, and the feelings of fulfillment that make them so meaningful, important, and personal.

From my earliest memories, I recall the struggle to overcome the learning disability dyslexia. I remember being so frustrated, defeated, powerless to the confusion that occurred with learning to read and write, mixing up letters and numbers in both writing and speaking.  Being fortunate that my parents and teachers caught it in my first years of school, I was able to overcome the learning disability with several years of speech therapy and reading coaching. This was my first achievement in life, one that set the tone for the rest of my achievements.

The next most notable personal achievement of my life was mastering a musical instrument, specifically the clarinet.  This took countless hours of practicing, of squeaking and breaking reeds, of sore mouth muscles, of learning to read music and harness muscicality in a way that I could tell a story with my instrument. I eventually dabbled in the bassoon and oboe, the French horn, and then one day while exploring the instrument room,  I stumbled upon a musical relic. The case was dusty and nearly 5 feet in length, clearly nobody had touched this instrument for quite some time by the thickness of the layer of dust residing on it. Opening the case, I felt instantly connected to the instrument, an E Flat Contrabass Clarinet. This is one of the lowest in pitch instruments that often is juxtapose to the tuba and bari saxophone in sound and musical parts. Learning to play that instrument propelled me into State Allstar competitions and Superior Medal winning ensembles. Starting in grade school, many of my friends were in band too, but it seemed as the years passed by, many lost the interest and dropped out. Another personal achievement was being in marching and concert band in my undergraduate studies at the University of Miami despite not being a music major.  I continued my love for music when all my friends had lost their passion to play.

Another great personal achievement of my life was being Valedictorian of my graduating high school class. Graduating with a gradepoint average of 4.44, I received straight As all throughout high school. Although this was an achievement in itself, I was more proud of the fact that I also graduated with 28 college credits by being a dual enrollment student as well. This was an accomplishment for not only me but my family as well. My mom dropped out of school in the 8 grade due to her debilitating anxiety related to her learning disability, and my dad never made it past 10^th grade. My family was poor by all financial means, living off government support and struggling to pay the bills. My family knew nothing about the advanced courses that I was taking, the assignments, the tests, the clubs, the competitions in both band and sports, nor could they ever give me the answer to the questions that I needed help with or how to apply to college; but the one and most important thing that they were always rich and generous in giving was support and encouragement; telling me that they knew that I could do it and by doing my best, whether win or lose, that they would always be proud of me. My parents couldn’t tell me how to do calculus or chemistry, but they could tell me that I was capable of doing these things if I believed I could. This is a personal accomplishment that not many people can lay claim to.

As the first member of my family to attend a University and graduate with a degree, I received a BA in Psychology with honors with a minor in Spanish in 2006. During my time at the University of Miami, I studied abroad in Ecuador. This life experience is a personal achievement because not only was I the first person in my family to every leave the country, but I did it in the true fashion of living to just live and experience the world. I traveled the country visiting hot springs and volcanoes. I lived with the daughter of a former president of the country. I spent a week with the Hourani Indigenous tribe in the heart of the Amazon jungle, where I saw an anaconda, went monkey hunting, drank questionable spit fruit alcohol, formed lifelong friendships, and saw life in its rawest most natural form. My travels in Ecuador also took me to the famous Galapagos Islands on an 8 day 10 person boat cruise where I swam with penguins, sealions, sea turtles, and sat inches away from wild giant and marine iguanas, the blue footed boobies without even the slightest flinch of predatory fear form them. Experiencing this unique environment was a meaning for solidifying Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory. Living in Ecuador took me many places: from full moon drum circles on the coast where dancing all night on the beach until the next afternoon was the custom; to the snowcapped mountain tops where guinea pig and potato soup is the foods of choice; to the riots of a presidential overthrow that shut the city down in sheer chaos and violence. My father always used to tell people that he was “able to experience the world through my eyes since he was unable to do it himself.”

To date, two personal achievements in my life that I am proud to share are becoming a licensed Registered Nurse and getting married. My pursuit to become an RN started in 2010 when I felt like my options for bettering myself in this community were bleak. I knew that I always wanted to be in a role to help people, but a bachelors in psychology did not open the doors for this role. I made a pact with a friend that I we would be in the 2012 Fall Nursing Program. I stayed committed to this goal and if fact was a part of that Fall class. I graduated in May 2014 took my NCLEX in JUNE 2014 and begin my first nursing job on Telemetry floor on June 23, 2014. Being a nurse has helped me to a better person in more ways than I could ever properly describe, and thus hold it as an important personal achievement. As much as I am passionate about nursing, my marriage is even a greater achievement in my life. As a gay man, I never imagined that I would have the prospect of marrying the man I have dedicated my life to. The evolving cultural acceptance and equal rights that is emerging in our society has given me the chance to true be happy within the social constructs that define our society. Being married means more than shared assets, it means being able to make life decisions together or for each other when life may call upon us to that for each other. Being able to say that I am married, that I am proud to be married, and that legally my marriage is just as valid as any other heteronormative marriage, means that my life and love are legitimate and recognized as such. This achievement is not just a personal one, but a societal achievement that speaks to the freedom of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that this great nation was founded on.