WEBVTT - Episode 1: Becoming Luna 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:04.200 Up next, Luna talks with Anna Paulina. Luna part of 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:09.200 the gang, which young poor Hispanic raised by a single mother, 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:11.319 people who grew up like me. You are supposed to 0:00:11.440 --> 0:00:14.440 end up just another statistic, another life full of so 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:17.200 much energy and potential that becomes trapped in a web 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:20.520 of welfare and poverty. But not me, not in this life. 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:22.439 Let me tell you how I refuse to become a 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:25.159 victim and made my own reality and now hosting my 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:31.440 own podcast. Hey everyone, thank you so much for tuning 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:35.519 into my podcast. I'm so excited to have this, especially 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:39.280 with I Heart Radio. But this week, instead of talking 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:41.640 about what we will be usually talking about every week, 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:46.080 which is issues not just politically but social and nationally, 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:49.760 I wanted to share with you my story. And it's 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:52.400 a little bit different because I want you to know 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.320 exactly who I am. Every single week that we do talk, 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:57.320 I said, from this one, We're gonna be talking about 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:01.280 other issues, especially the national ones, but I want you 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:04.200 to know where I come from, my perspective and why 0:01:04.280 --> 0:01:07.039 I believe what I do, So please tune in. This 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:10.640 one's very special to me, very personal, and other than 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:13.160 that each week will have I'm an awesome meeting time 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:15.600 where you guys can come tune in, find out information, 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:21.200 straight talk, no political influence or propaganda, just my opinions, 0:01:21.240 --> 0:01:22.840 me and you, and a place where you can come 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:25.360 with the whole family. So a lot of people, I 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:28.840 think looking at me, the general assumption is that you know, 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:32.240 I'm a young woman, probably didn't experience much other than 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:36.240 Starbucks and yoga pants right at ug boots. But I 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:38.959 think that there's so much more to that. Growing up, 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:43.520 I think that my unexpected path into politics was really 0:01:43.560 --> 0:01:46.760 influenced by God. I think that a lot of times 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:51.200 when we look back at previous life circumstances and we 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:54.320 might not necessarily have an understanding as to why certain 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:56.320 things are happening the way that they are. But what 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:59.080 I found is in my journey that a lot of 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:01.880 what I've a id on to give me strength and 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:04.040 my voice to fight for what I believe is right 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:06.360 and for fighting for the American dream in this country 0:02:06.560 --> 0:02:09.359 has really come from what I experienced as a child 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.400 and as a young adult and starting out. And I 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:14.840 give so much credit to my mom because she really 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:18.000 did raise me. As a young single mother. My mom 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:21.239 had me at around twenty years old. She had my 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:26.360 father actually when she was fairly young, and my mom 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:28.920 realizing it now, you know, you see how much I 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:32.160 think a young mother would go through. But ultimately, my 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:35.560 mom made the decision to choose life over abortion, and 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:38.400 that's not I think an easy decision for a lot 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:41.040 of young women, especially from the circumstances in which she 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:45.200 came from, which was essentially a really rough upbringing. I mean, 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:48.679 my maternal grandmother actually died of AIDS studo heroin use. 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:52.520 Drugs were prevalent, not just on my mom's side, but 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:55.400 really on my father's side as well, and she was 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:58.800 the only person that could take care of me. She 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:01.440 had no family to rely on. It's not like we 0:03:01.520 --> 0:03:04.800 had a strong extended network of people that could really 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:06.880 care for her and care for me, and so we 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:09.000 did it on our own, and I remember those struggles 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:12.239 growing up. I mean, the earliest memory I have from 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:15.600 toys is actually going to this place called the Giving Spot. 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:18.120 And at the time I thought it was awesome. You know, 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:20.000 you'd go into it and it was like all these 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:22.640 toys everywhere and they were free. But what it was 0:03:22.720 --> 0:03:25.480 is it was actually a donation center. And I look 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:27.200 back at that now and I see all of the 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:29.840 success that I've experienced, and then sometimes I bring it 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:32.960 up with my mom. But those are some of my 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:37.160 early memories as to what I thought was normal and 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:40.280 I didn't know any different. With my story, I want 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:43.760 people to remember that this is not a victim story. 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:47.200 This is about coming across being dealt with cards that 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:50.200 might not necessarily be in your favor, but being able 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:53.320 to take control of your life and change the outcome 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:56.880 if you're willing to put forward the hard work and 0:03:56.960 --> 0:04:00.840 the effort in order to create your own reality. So 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:05.360 moving forward from that, it was hard. My dad was 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:08.960 not really in the picture. He as much as he 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:11.240 loved me and as much as he loved my mom, 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.560 ultimately their relationship did not work out because my father 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:19.520 really struggled with addiction. And for me as a child, 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:22.479 my father was such, you know, a superhero, and I 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:24.520 think a lot of younger kids you look at your 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:27.320 parents and they're just your night in shining armor. It 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:29.680 wasn't until I think I was really in high school 0:04:29.720 --> 0:04:32.159 that I realized that my dad did have a severe 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:35.320 drug problem. He was using meth. Some of the times 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:39.039 I actually do remember I would come across different paraphernalia, 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:43.080 and I'm actually lucky that I was smart enough to 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:47.880 as a child navigate that and not try that stuff 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:51.040 or not ingested, because I think, honestly, probably could have 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:55.560 killed me. But those stories, especially now when we talk 0:04:55.640 --> 0:04:57.960 about what's happening, you know with the Southern Board. I'll 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:00.599 get into the political aspect in a second. Seeing the 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:02.520 direct impact that all of this has had of my 0:05:02.600 --> 0:05:06.640 family really does give me this fire and compassion to 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:09.320 want to share my story and fight the good fight 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:11.760 so that other people are aware of the impacts that 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:13.960 it has, especially to when we talk about the welfare 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:18.040 state and what impacts a fatherless home has on family 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.920 development and longer term impacts, whether it's the juvenile justice 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:26.279 system or whether it is talking about the welfare system, 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:29.040 the welfare state and then really setting children up for success, 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:32.159 the father is instrumental in all of that. Moving forward 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:34.440 from that, just to kind of give you guys some perspective, 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:41.480 you know, my dad again, having these experiences my father. 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:43.520 If I didn't go through them, I wouldn't be the 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:46.200 person that I am today. But you know, I do 0:05:46.279 --> 0:05:49.360 remember things like we were at this hotel once and 0:05:49.440 --> 0:05:52.600 my dad was using with one of his friends, and 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:56.640 he left actually me there at the hotel with my 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:59.960 friend den Hey and her older sister and her younger sister, 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:02.200 and so it was just the three of us, and 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:05.000 my mom actually ended up having to come get me 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:06.920 and found out that I was left at this hotel 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:09.280 because later on that day my father had been arrested. 0:06:10.000 --> 0:06:12.640 And you know, you talk about these experiences and people 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:16.080 look at me and they just don't understand the magnitude 0:06:16.200 --> 0:06:18.919 of what I've been through and why I'm conservative. People 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:20.920 so many times you're like, I don't understand. You know, 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:24.479 you're half Hispanic, you're half white, like you're a young woman, 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:27.520 and they assume because of how I look, that I'm 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:29.080 going to vote a certain way, and it just it 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:31.560 could be the farthest thing from the truth. So that 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:35.560 broken home mentality really did again provide me with a 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:39.839 lot of insight as to what things work and what 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:42.640 other things don't work, especially when it comes to policy. 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:45.760 But it wasn't necessarily all bad. Some of my youngest 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:48.479 memories with both my mother and my father is you know, 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:50.159 my my my own side. As much as she tried 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:53.200 to shelter me, I remember going to visit her family 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:55.920 on the weekends, and they would have these massive, I 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:58.280 want to say, like house parties, not like crazy drinking. 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:00.400 But we have a very musical family on that side, 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:02.760 so a lot of people would be singing and playing 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:06.880 the guitar, and very large family extended on that side. 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:09.040 And then on my dad's side, when I would go 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:11.640 to see him, you know, on the weekend instead of 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:13.800 going out, and you have like the ice cream truck guy. 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:15.920 When I would be with him on visitation, we would 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:17.640 have the alote guy, and so he would go around 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:20.560 with this basket and he'd be squeezing this horn, you know, 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:22.600 kind of getting people to go outside, and for a 0:07:22.680 --> 0:07:24.720 dollar you could get two pieces of a lotte, which 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:28.960 is basically corn with mayo and and the chili pepper 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:30.960 on it and everything. And we'd got there and we 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:32.920 sit on the curb and eat that. You know, we'd 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:35.360 have the carne sava and tacos and or chata, or 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:38.320 we'd stop by my uncle Phelippa's house. And it was 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:40.720 interesting because as a child, you know, I grew up 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:44.240 actually with my father speaking Spanish around me, but I 0:07:44.240 --> 0:07:46.840 didn't necessarily learn that, and I actually to this day. 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:48.600 Sometimes I asked my dad, I'm like, you know, why 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:50.840 didn't you teach it to me growing up? And I 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.960 think that from my father, he more or less wanted 0:07:54.000 --> 0:07:56.160 me to assimilate. He grew up going back and forth 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:59.800 to Mexico City a lot, and for me, for whatever reason, 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:03.520 he wanted me to, I guess, embrace being an American. 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:05.960 He you know, he was first hin, I was second generation. 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:08.360 But you know, it wasn't ntil later on in life 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:10.440 that I realized, you know, being able to speak Spanish 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:13.600 is actually important, especially culturally to me as well. And 0:08:13.640 --> 0:08:16.040 so I actually was able to spend a couple of 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:18.880 years in high school and college learning that. But you know, 0:08:18.920 --> 0:08:21.680 you have these memories and then back to kind of 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:24.480 as who I am. You know. One of my best 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:26.920 memories as a child was with my great grandma Luna, 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:29.680 and she had come to visit my mom and me, 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:32.040 and we were sitting in the living room and there 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:35.040 used to be back in the nineties. It was a 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:39.000 Spanish soap opera and it was called Luz Gladita, and 0:08:39.080 --> 0:08:41.679 it was about this young girl and she would always 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:44.199 wear her hair in two different braids, about three quarters 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:47.840 braided down and My grandma loved watching this show, and 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:49.760 so I would sit there in the living room with her, 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:52.719 and she would actually sit there pet my head and 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:54.600 do my hair like the little girl in the show. 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:58.520 And you know that, to me, whenever I thought about 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:01.200 the bad, I also remember the good. So I think 0:09:01.200 --> 0:09:04.200 that that's actually been in part a big reason why 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:06.480 I've been able to push through is because everyone, no 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:09.360 matter what walk of life you're in, I think people 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:13.440 are going to have both negative and positive experiences, and 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:15.640 it's how you choose to move forward with that. You 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:18.320 don't ever fully dwell in the past, because that won't 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:20.839 help you as an adult moving forward, and it won't 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:23.400 help you or your family in regards to how you 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:27.520 can better your life for everyone. So, when I turned 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:31.360 about fourteen years old, my mom had actually gone through 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:35.160 a pretty crazy divorce and we moved to Los Angeles, 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:39.000 and for me, growing up in southern California, especially during 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:42.560 that era, what I experienced I thought was normal. I 0:09:42.600 --> 0:09:44.720 didn't think that anything that I was going through at 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:47.640 the time was anything that anyone else didn't go through, right. 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:49.520 It wasn't until I actually joined the military that I 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:52.920 realized how abnormal those conditions were. But when I moved 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:55.280 to Los Angeles, I think that was the time where 0:09:55.280 --> 0:09:58.520 I started becoming a teenager and my world just expanded, 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:00.720 you know. I started working from the time that I 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:05.760 was sixteen, and having gone from basically being in Santa 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:09.000 Ana area and South Orange County and then moving to 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:12.440 Los Angeles, you do have a change in the education systems. 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:14.240 But it's not just that. It's it's a change in 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:17.360 the demographic as well. Right you have inner city Los 0:10:17.360 --> 0:10:21.040 Angeles being probably one of the most prevalent gang infested 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:24.720 places in the country, and here I was this young 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:27.160 girl basically moving into that with a young single mother 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:30.200 and then my younger two siblings. It wasn't just a 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:32.720 shock for us in regards to some of the things 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:36.440 that I would experience, but for me it was eye opening. 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:39.280 I mean, one, I ended up going to six high schools, 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:42.040 and one of the six high schools I went to 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:45.800 was really, really bad. They had tried to bust in 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:50.920 kids from Crenshawn Inglewood. And what a result of it 0:10:51.040 --> 0:10:54.920 was is that you had gangs, you had gang wars, 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:58.680 and you had people fighting over turf. But there was 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:03.360 also I think this aspect of racial fighting between the 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:07.640 predominantly black and the predominantly Hispanic gangs in the area, 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:11.160 and I saw that. I remember the riots at Santa 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:14.480 Monica High School and basically all over you'd hear rumors 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:16.720 of them calling in the cops and shutting down because 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:20.120 they were having these serious gang issues. We're about to 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:22.720 get into my story where I tell you guys about 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:25.960 the gang shooting on my high school campus, So stay tuned. 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:31.040 We'll be right back after this quick break. I remember 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:35.000 being on campus. It was in the afternoon, and I 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:38.160 remember hearing two gun shots. I ultimately ended up being 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:41.480 right outside my classroom. There was a gang shooting on campus. 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:44.760 Between it was a I think an older boy and 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:46.600 a younger boy, and I think they're actually I don't 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:49.600 know what they're fighting over, but I remember leaving the classroom. 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:51.480 I didn't know what to do, Okay, I was like 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:53.640 someone pulled the fire alarm. We heard the shots. I'm 0:11:53.679 --> 0:11:55.920 walking out of the classroom. I walk out to see 0:11:56.000 --> 0:12:00.720 this group of kids huddled around. I get it was 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:03.720 the boy who had been shot, and another boy runs 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:06.319 away crying. And at the time, like we didn't really 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.960 have cell phones, so I just walked home and I 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:12.080 remember getting home and my mom grabs me. She's like, 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:14.160 oh my god, are you like kissing me on the forehead. 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:16.600 She's like, I just heard what happened. I'm never sending 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:18.560 you back to that school. And that this is, mind you, 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:21.440 after I had been jumped at that school, actually got 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:24.640 a concussion, This is after, you know, I was basically 0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:27.200 at this point, so traumas highs from I think the 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:30.360 education system there. I mean I had girls in my 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:33.560 Spanish class that would come back in after fighting people 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:35.920 in the bathroom and one store in particular. And I 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:37.880 know you guys are probably thinking this is crazy, but 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:41.040 it's true. Her name was Paula, and she had come 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:42.600 back in from the bathroom and I noticed her hair 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:43.880 was messed up. I was like, are you okay? And 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:46.680 she had told me that she had literally just cut 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:50.320 some girl's face in the bathroom. Okay. So I got home, 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:53.360 I told my mom this, and I think after this, 0:12:53.440 --> 0:12:56.000 in conjunction with the shooting and then obviously me being 0:12:56.080 --> 0:12:58.320 jumped to my mom made the good decision of pulling 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:00.319 me out of that school, and then I ultimately ended 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:04.960 up graduating barely. But the point was is that, you know, 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:08.240 these experiences. Again, going back to who I am talking 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:10.840 about being battle hardened. I really feel like I kind 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.080 of went through all of the fire early on in 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:15.439 life and it prepared me for this political arena that 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:18.439 I'm now stepping into. But you know, through all that, 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.559 I did have dreams. I wanted to go to college. 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:24.319 I just I didn't know how. And I know that's 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:26.200 a weird concept, but I didn't know how to apply. 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:28.960 I didn't know that you had to take the A 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:30.480 C T or the S A T. In fact, I 0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:33.440 didn't even know what that was. I didn't know how 0:13:33.480 --> 0:13:35.400 I was going to pay for it. And the one 0:13:35.480 --> 0:13:38.040 thing that my mom always told me, she goes, you know, like, 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:41.320 try not to take out loans. And I give her 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:44.240 so much credit for this because now I think a 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:47.760 big discussion is about the student loaned up. And for me, 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:50.880 I just remember my mom saying, you know, you're so caring, 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:53.559 you would be an incredible doctor, but but don't take 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:55.719 out the loans, like, try to do it on your own, 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:57.880 try to pay for it, because she's like, you don't 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:00.000 want the debt. It can really you know, like her 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:03.679 you in the long run, And so I always kind 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:06.440 of kept that in the back of my mind. And 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:09.480 I stayed in l A probably about a year after 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:12.280 my mom had left, which would have made me about 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:16.160 eighteen nineteen years old. And then I remember being at 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:18.840 a party. Of course, you know, being a young kid, 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:20.640 that's what you do out there, especially when you're on 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:23.680 your own, and I met this really incredible girl in 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:26.680 her name was Julianna. It was actually Juliana Redding, and 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:28.280 you know, I was out close with her, but I 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:30.360 would see her out and I just remember her being 0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:34.000 so pretty and so kind. And then one day I 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:35.840 get a call from my friend Michelle to tell me 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:39.680 that Juliana had actually been murdered. And when that happened, 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:42.080 I think that that was when I basically cashed in 0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:44.080 my chips with l A. I said, I'm not I'm 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:46.040 not doing this anymore. I like it was just too 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:50.080 much for me. And I ultimately ended up basically going 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:52.760 back to my mom's for a little bit and and 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:55.120 I just I was like, it actually traumatized me. Think, 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:58.120 And after I got back to my mom's, she was 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:00.880 she lived near Ocean Side, which is where a large 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:05.240 Marine Corps based installation is, and I actually ended up 0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:08.360 being out at a house party and I heard these 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:10.960 two guys talking and they were about my age, maybe 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:13.920 nineteen years old, and they're talking about how the Marine 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:18.280 Corps would pay for college. And I really had no 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:23.000 immediate family in the military, and so I was obviously eavesdropping, 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:25.280 and I apologized for that, but I said, I'm you know, 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:27.040 excuse me, but can you just tell me a little 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:29.200 bit more about that? And I asked them everything that 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:31.240 you could possibly want to know about the military, was like, 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:32.960 do you guys live on your own? How does the 0:15:33.000 --> 0:15:37.720 schooling work, what is your training like? And they basically 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:40.320 convinced me at that point in time, at least with 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:44.440 their responses, that I should consider going to talk to recruiters. 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:47.160 So I went on Google. And this is at the 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.200 time when people printed out map quest directions. I know 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.360 everyone has it on their phone now, but I printed 0:15:52.360 --> 0:15:55.880 out map quest directions to go talk to recruiter and 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:58.520 I showed up, and I think the recruiter thought I 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:00.360 was joking at first. He took one at me and 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:02.160 he's like, can I help you? Like, are you lost? 0:16:02.440 --> 0:16:05.160 Are you looking for a CVS? Where are you? And 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:06.960 I said, now I'm here to talk to you. And 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:11.200 so I actually I met with my recruiter and I 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:14.120 was considering joining the army at first, but then settled 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.160 on the Air Force. And I didn't even tell my 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:20.760 family that I was doing this for me, especially being 0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:24.120 that young. I was excited about it. I looked at 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:26.800 it like an adventure, but I was also looking at 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:29.040 it as kind of a way out, a way that 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:32.160 I could find some form and type of way to 0:16:32.200 --> 0:16:36.880 help my family. And so I enlisted. And mind you, 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:39.440 this is in the middle of the war in the 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:42.920 Middle East, And of course, the minute I told my mom, 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:45.000 I like had to hold my phone away from my 0:16:45.040 --> 0:16:47.520 head because she was like freaking out. She thought I 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:49.680 was going to die. She was crying. She's like, oh 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:52.400 my gosh, what have I done, Like You're gonna get hurt, 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:56.160 And obviously I did not. And then you know, later on, 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:59.600 especially right before I ended up leaving, she was the 0:16:59.600 --> 0:17:02.000 one that actually drove me out to MAPS, which is 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:04.399 your military in processing station, with my dad, and they 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:07.040 dropped me off and they ended up being okay with it. 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:11.800 But having that experience, having joined the military at such 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:14.680 a young age, if there's one thing I can say 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:17.760 that was probably one of the best decisions I ever 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:21.240 made in my life. And having been that young from 0:17:21.400 --> 0:17:25.320 that type of environment and upbringing, a lot of people 0:17:25.359 --> 0:17:27.560 like me are supposed to end up statistics like I 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:31.040 should have probably been sixteen and pregnant. I probably should 0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:33.600 have a rap sheet, but I don't, and I think 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:36.159 that that's in large part because I was able to 0:17:37.000 --> 0:17:39.800 literally find some form of structure and find a way 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:42.919 out that was going to empower me to help myself 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:45.399 and to help my family. So I left for the 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:49.639 military in February, and it was in the military that 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:53.160 I actually ended up meeting my husband. I also shortly 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:56.520 thereafter started going to school full time after I finished 0:17:56.560 --> 0:18:00.280 my training, and it was also in the military terry 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:03.640 that I was able to not just pay for college, 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:05.840 but they literally sat me down, helped me and roll 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:08.480 told me what the a c T was, and I 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:11.119 think it helped me develop as an adult, right like 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:13.359 I spent my young adult life for the first time 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:16.560 in my life with a structure that I needed to excel. 0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:20.040 I knew that I had rent paid, I knew that 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:23.640 I had a car because I was getting a reliable job. 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:28.040 I had health insurance, and my sergeants at my base, 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:31.000 wherever I was at, they almost more or less took 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:35.119 this i'd say parental type of role with me and 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:37.439 really did look out for me. And that's something that 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:39.440 I think a lot of times when the military, when people, 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:42.359 especially politicians, they talk about the military said, they say, 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:47.760 you know, the military, according to these people, unfairly targets minorities. 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:51.040 And I look at these people and I just I'm 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:55.080 shocked because if these people saw the environment and the 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:58.879 circumstance that some of us come from, and the opportunity 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:03.560 that the military allows and gives you to really succeed 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:05.879 in life, I think that these people would have a 0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:08.600 different opinion. You know, I worked from people all the 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:12.080 way from the inner cities of Chicago, Detroit, two kids 0:19:12.160 --> 0:19:14.600 that were trust fund kids that wanted to just prove 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:16.919 to their parents that they could essentially do it on 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:20.480 their own. So you're talking about the one place in 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:24.679 the country probably that everyone is created the same. You 0:19:24.720 --> 0:19:26.640 were the same uniform. You show up to work. You're 0:19:26.680 --> 0:19:29.520 working with people who you would probably never outside of 0:19:29.520 --> 0:19:31.840 that environment maybe talk to because of how they look 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:34.040 or how they dressed, or where they're from. And yet 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:36.560 it's in the military where you can come together and 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:39.119 work towards a common goal and put the mission first, 0:19:39.160 --> 0:19:42.320 and that again is probably one of the most incredible 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:45.560 experiences I could have had early on, and it was 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:47.679 in the military that I think I started developing my 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:51.680 leadership skills. So I was obviously awarded the Air Force 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:56.320 Accommodation Medal, and when I got to my first duty station, 0:19:56.560 --> 0:20:00.200 I also became the President of the Airman's Council, which 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:02.359 at the time I didn't think was a big deal. 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:05.760