Follow Your Dreams

When I was just a boy of 14, I was very young and naïve. I had so many dreams, but I didn’t yet know what the world was really like or what the world would require of me. But it wouldn’t be long before I found out.

At that age I wanted a motorcycle because all my buddies had one, but my Dad could not afford to buy me one. So he suggested I get a part time job. Our neighbor who had a large 30-acre avocado ranch, offered to put me to work pruning avocado trees for $1.25/hour alongside his migrant workers. I had never had to work before, and I quickly found out it wasn’t fun. But I stuck with it for nine weeks over the hot summer months and made enough money to buy myself a brand-new Yamaha 175 Enduro. That was my first real “life lesson” and there would be many more to come.  

Two and half years later, my Dad retired from the USMC and moved us to San Francisco. By that time I was 16 and I had a truck, a motorcycle, and a part time job at a gas station. I hated the weather in the Bay Area and missed my life in rural Fallbrook, CA, so I begged my Dad to let me go back. He agreed, but only if I kept up my grades and stayed out of trouble. I left immediately and let’s just say I kept up half the bargain, my grades were really good. At 16 ½, I found myself living in a plywood shack on my neighbor’s avocado ranch and working part time at a gas station out on Highway 395. I was often cold, hungry, and lonely. I missed my family and the love and security they provided… and the life lessons began to pour over me like water flowing over Niagara Falls.

I remember not being able to afford a new pair of shoes and being embarrassed about it at school. But all that did was remind me that if I wanted something, I had to work for it. For the next few years, every time I found myself struggling, I would also find a way to survive. And with each passing month I became smarter and stronger. After graduating High School, I tried college, but I couldn’t afford it and didn’t really enjoy it. So I started thinking about my future and all the life lessons I learned living in that plywood shack and working at several different gas stations. For example… I learned that not every business owner is honest, that not every employee follows the rules, that the general public can be hard to deal with, and that if a rogue motorcycle gang like the “iron Horsemen” from Oceanside pull into your gas station, the best thing to do is to stay calm and stay inside the building. I also learned that if a drunk dairy farmer from Pauma Valley pulls into your gas station and starts yelling at you, you should run. I didn’t and I spent two days in the hospital, and a lot of money at the dentist replacing a broken tooth.

Funny thing is, I never did lose my optimistic outlook. My Dad warned me that life on my own would not be easy and boy was that an understatement! But at the same time, he told me to either call him or talk to God if I was struggling, so that’s what I did… I both talked and prayed a lot… and I would have to say that overall my life has turned out pretty darn good!

So… If I could go back and give some advice to myself as a teenager, it would be fairly simple.

1. Work hard and put out the effort asked of you.
2. Give people a chance but be careful who you trust.
3. Keep moving forward and believe in yourself.
4. And lastly, follow your dreams and make your own path, but don’t do anything you can’t tell your Grandpa about!