Who I am.

     Living in a big city is amazing. Everything is around you in New York city and I love every moment of it. Today i'm going to be talking about who I am, what I've done, and what I want my life to be. My name is Vincent Tedaldi, I am 21 years old, currently in college trying to peruse many majors but I have yet to figure out what I would like to do for the rest of my life. My life has been a roller coaster, many ups, many downs but I can surely say my life has never had a dull moment. Between my friends, family, the jobs I've had, and the memories I've made. Life has only began and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for me.

     This is my very first post so i'm not to sure if I should go fully in depth into my life or just briefly into it. I'm also told to do what makes you happy and if people like what they read or see, then they will want to become apart of your life. I was born in New York, but I have not lived my full life here. I have traveled a decent amount but my dream is to travel all over the world. I work a full time job while trying to finish college, get 8 hours of sleep, maintain a social life, eat right and stay healthy. Sounds almost impossible but anyone can do it. I keep telling myself struggle young and make your life easier later on. I'm really big into gaming, HUGE into gaming. It's what I grew up on. My childhood was a struggle, but I am very blessed with my life. From my first system which was a Playstation 1, I fell in love. The feeling you get after beating a game, or just spending time doing something you love is what I live for. I'm Italian and i love my heritage. My family is as big as they gets, from both my mother and fathers side. I just want to be happy, I want to laugh, make friends, make my family proud and it may sound like a lot to ask for, but anything is possible. 

     Like I said before, my life has been a roller coaster, but then again who's isn't. I was born in New York but I also lived in Florida for about a year, and went to the winter festival all the way up in Canada! I find traveling so amazing because you get to see such beautiful scenery, you get to meet people from different backgrounds and there culture. I haven't been to many places but that's my dream, to travel the world and just live my life the way I want to. Growing up in New York is different. You have everything here, I can go get Chinese food which is down the block from me, or I can take a train into the city and have what ever my heart desires, which is a lot! I love food, but who doesn't! 

     I went to a lot of schools when I was younger. Nothing seemed to suit me because I always felt left out even though I was fitting in. My parents always told me that I was a rebel because I wouldn't listen to anyone. From Catholic school to public school I never seemed to be satisfied. I was that kid who would always get in trouble but did really good in class so both my teachers and parents didn't know what to do with me. Being bullied is one of the worse things you can go through and it's really tough to confront someone about it because all you want to do is just fit and be happy. I was bullied a lot as a kid because I would do really good in school and not a lot of people would like that. I would be called names you should never hear at such a young age. It's terrible to be treated like dirt because people are jealous of what you have and that you're doing better than them. If i see someone at work or at school doing better than me, it motivates me to work harder and to feed off of there intelligence or work ethic so I can become a better person. I want my life to revolve around those people because it's only going to benefit me. I'm always told to hang out with people that motivate you, that you can build a future with and grow! But this wasn't the case with me. I love my friends don't get me wrong but it's very hard to say no especially what I've been through. I understand people have it way harder than me and that everyone goes through struggles but life is life, its not about them, its about you. 

     Growing up was difficult, as I got older i was brought into new things, new people and honestly the path my life has chosen me, I love it. I do so much that's impossible to explain everything that I've done or what I'm going to do. In the future I want to tell you guys about my life, I have so many stories I want to tell that are hilarious and some that are pretty serious. I'm okay with being open about my life because I'm comfortable with who I am and everyone should be too. Being bullied sucks, you don't have many options and you feel cornered. So I had to adapt to my surroundings in order make myself happy and to continue my life. Looking back at this now I don't regret the decisions I have made, but wish I had the mentality I have now back then. I take things with a grain of salt, but everyone has there breaking point. To adapt I needed to become someone else... I needed to become like the kids around me and it killed me inside because I knew what I was doing and that it wasn't me but I felt like I had to. As the years went by I grew older and my personality changed completely. 

     I started to rash out more, started to disrespect and get into fights. I was a teenager and in public school in order to fit in, I felt like you needed to be liked, so I had to wear all designer clothes, I had to talk differently, I had to stop doing so well in school in order to fit in. It felt like a job.  Playing football... Football changed my life. I remember the day like it was yesterday, my mom calls me into the living room and says to me ''Vin, there's football tryouts right by the park and I really think you should try out''. At first I didn't want to because all I wanted to was eat pizza rolls and play Spiderman. But I finally caved in and went to the tryout. I'm very clumsy and was very out of shape but I gave it my all. It made the man I am today and the doors it opened for me. This is where my life changed completely.

     I played football since I was 8 and it made me get my grades back up, made me respect myself. It taught me that when life gets tough and you're tired, you want to quit, DONT! It made me pick my head back up and made me who I wanted to be. It made me get a scholarship to high school. Going away to highschool hundreds of miles away from home is terrifying. I changed my life around completely, but when there's good, there is usually bad. Freshmen year was amazing, I played football, I met new people, made amazing friends that I still talk to till this day. Sophomore year comes. Before the season starts, I played center. I was suppose to be the starting center for the first game, my gpa was over a 3.0. Life was amazing. I had my first real girlfriend sophomore year. I was happy. 

     Preseason the week before my first game we had a mandatory practice because we weren't ready. I took my position as center and i got down ready to snap the ball. I had the ball off to my quarter back and I fall. My left guard which is the person next to me he was a big boy. He weighed over 300 pounds and he lands right on my knee... In shock I see this happen and he doesn't get off of it. I push him off and my knee is not where its suppose to be. Crying in shock begging for help and to make the pain stop I was rushed into the hospital. The doctor told me I was very lucky to not tear my ACL. But I was out for the season. If you every watched the movie Friday Night Lights, it's an amazing movie and it taught me to always have hope and never give up. In the movie there running back his name was Boobie Miles. One of the best high school runnings backs ever. He gets the ball and starts to run, he gets hit right in the knee and tears every ligament you can think off but he didn't give up. If you watch the rest of the movie it sounds almost like my story. Weeks go by watching the game from the sidelines, not being able to play really sucked. It killed my heart but I never gave up. Two months went by and we had about 4 games left. I begged my coach for me to play and he finally said yes. My knee wasn't fully healed and I had to buy a 1200 dollar knee brace so I can play. Football was my passion and always will be.

     Game day comes and I wasn't starting but I was told I was going to play. The starting center at the time gets hurt. It was my time to shine! First play the defensive tackle nose dives into my knee and I go down. Again i'm in pain screaming. My knee was backed to where it was and I was miserable. To have something you love, put so much time and dedication into and for it to be ripped right out of your hands broke my heart. I got depressed, I couldn't eat, workout, do my homework. Nothing... And I had so much anger built up inside me, I was limping one day trying to train my knee so it can heal faster and get stronger so I can get ready for next season a group of kids come up to me and start to make fun of me. Calling me every name in the book and laughing. This was my breaking point. I snapped and fought all of them. Knocked one out with my crutch but I was out numbered so I got my teeth kicked in. It was on school campus so I got suspended but my Mom didn't like the position I was in so she took me out of the school and I had to go to school back home.

      A full ride to play football and school, for it to be gone killed me. I wanted to give up but I didn't, I couldn't. I come back home on the day of my birthday. December 15th, some birthday present right? I didnt go back to school until January because no school wanted to take me because of my grades and that I just got kicked out of a prep school. So public school it was and can I just say, it was amazing. The school I went to had so many of my old football buddies that i use to play and they convinced me to tryout for next season but I never did because my doctor told me that if I take one more blow to my knee that I won't be able to walk normally again. I was scared for my life, going from a prep school to public school where everything goes is scary. My high school life is a story no one has every heard. 

     I graduated high school with honors and I was very proud of myself. A bright future ahead of me even though what I've been through made me happy and stronger and it made me the man that I am today. For my life ahead of me is a road with many signs telling me to go one way or the other, but I need to listen to my heart and do what makes me happy. My dream is to live stream playing video games on twitch.tv, but my schedule is so busy its hard. I just recently bought a really nice setup so when I have time, ill be sure to let everyone know what i'm doing with that. I'm going to finish college and hopefully pursue computer science, criminal justice and financing. If all else fails I can become a stripper! I want to travel the world with the love of my life and just make memories. Materialistic things are nice but its not what makes me happy, I am a very hard worker, a genuine guy and a just a ant in this big world who just wants to be happy. And right now I am, more than anything in the world. Many stories to come. This is my first time ever doing something like this so I hope you guys enjoyed getting to know me. If no one reads this or just even one person does ill be sure to do this as much as I can. Writing this has taken a lot off my shoulders. Thank you guys so much for reading and if you would like me to read about your life I would be more than happy too!