Memories are all I leave you
October 1997
Sitting in the car with Edison, Melvin, and Francis as we leave for my very first Los Angeles trip with my friends. I still have the video footage that I took during my weekend there. As a freshmen, this experience was thrilling, exciting, and eventful. The first night, the four of us shared a room with four other people. The moment we put down our baggage, we are already in the car heading on over to other hotels. It was crazy back then, with the lobby of the hotels filled with filipinos, drinking, lounging, and just having a good time. It's not like nowadays that they trap you in your room and you have quiet time. Things change and stay the same, I'm just glad I was there when the craziness was alive. Like it was before my twenty-first birthday, I was the non-alcoholic. I fell distant from my friends and landed myself into a room full of females that offered me some drinks. I was just struck on how friendly people were when newcomers showed up. Just a few months before, the only people or group of people that I hung out with were guys. It happens when I'm the shy type at an all-male high school. From this point, I knew that college was going to be a lot different than high school. Unfortunately, all the females that I was a tiny bit attracted to in college rejected me. Until one day, a particular female destroyed the shielding that made me invinsible.
October 2002 Uncensored
We had arrived from our little trip to Downtown Disney, and I found myself walking back to the hotel alone. Through the back door, I stopped at the end of the 100's hallway - the exact hallway where Cal State Hayward was residing in. Earlier that day, I had been invited to come chill at Room 151. I had no idea that this choice would lead me to where I am today. I took one step toward my room, and then took a step back and looked down the hallway. I thought to myself - Joey, this is your last friendship games, leave the realities of life and have fun. Next thing you see is my hand knocking on that new open door that we call choices in life.
November 2003
Where would I be if I took the blue pill? Who cares, I took the red, for Hayward, pill and I'm enjoying what I have in life. I have no regrets. And I thank you, Aivy. I love you forever.
note: Don't let life control you. You control your fate and what happens next. Everything is worth the fight.