Yesterday on my Linkedin page, I shared a little bit about my journey and some of the challenges I faced. Today for my first official blog post and before I start posting about technical stuff, I wanted to start out by recognizing the people that mean the most to me and who have helped me along in some way in my professional journey.
My Parents
Without my parents, my journey would have been very short. Both my Mom (Enriqueta Cardoso) and Dad (Jose Luis Cardoso) have a telenovela-worthy backstory that would make a good Netflix mini-series. My Dad first came to the United States at the crazy young age of 15 to find work. (By himself !) It's pretty crazy when you think about it, considering that at the age of 15 you are still just a kid, and yet here he was living life on the edge because he had no other options. Back home in Mexico my Dad and his siblings were farmers, they would wake up early before school and would go work their plot of land with my Grandpa to feed themselves and bring in some income. They weren't exactly rolling in the big bucks and education and healthcare are not like they are here in the United States. Every year my Dad would have to work to have enough money to attend the local public school where students and families were responsible for the cost of uniforms, supplies, and books. As a kid, my Dad dreamt of becoming an Agriculture Engineer to help develop and cultivate the land better, but being from a poor family in a not-so-developed town there were not very many options or resources available to him to help him succeed. What do you do when you don't have options? For him, his option was leaving his home to come to the United States to find work to be able to send money back to his family. My Mom has a similar story, back in Mexico she had dreams of becoming a nurse. Her and her family also being poor did not have the resources to have their basic needs met. My Grandma would have to go around begging and cleaning houses just to help make ends meet and my mother being the oldest was always left in charge of her other 5 siblings. With no money, time, or opportunities available back in Mexico her family came searching for work and a new beginning here in the United States. My Mom was only 16 when she came to the United States and being the oldest, she also had to give up her dream to work to help provide for her family. My parents never got to live out their dreams so instead, they helped me reach mine with a lot of love and prayer. Shoutout to my parents!
My Wife
I met my wife (Irene Cardoso) back when we were still kids in Highschool. We were both 15 at the time, she was trying to be an A student and sit on the stage with the top 10 percent of her class meanwhile, I was trying to be too cool for school and get out of class. We met while on a school field trip, with the Art Club. We both enjoyed drawing and painting but I really only joined the Art Club to go on Field trips. Like I said I was trying to be too cool for school and I had a love-hate relationship with Academics (more on that later in a future post). We met on the field trip and became really good friends, we didn't date in Highschool because I was a bone head and I also did not catch the hint that she liked me. ( It literally went over my head ) . We both graduated Highschool and went our separate ways until one day, it just so happened that she was visiting my alma mater UT Dallas and we ran into each other. She mentioned that she was going to be transferring in the next semester. My wife and I started dating later that year in 2008, we got engaged in 2009 and we decided to tie the knot in 2010. This might not seem too crazy but keep in mind we were still both in college when we got married and I was still in college a year later when our son David was born in 2011. My wife also has a back story that is telenovela-worthy, she did not have the easiest childhood growing but she was able to overcome those hardships. I greatly admire and love my wife, despite the difficult childhood she has been able to accomplish so much in her life. Against the odds she graduated top 10 percent in her Highschool class, she got her BA in Historical Studies, she completed her Texas teacher certification, she is google classroom certified, holds an MA in Curriculum and Instruction and I think those are probably the easiest things she has had to do in her life. I honestly do not know where I would be without my wife, she may not understand what "df -h" means and all the stuff that I geek out on but she does love me, she encourages me on a daily basis to be the best version of myself for me and I know she is always praying for me. Shoutout to my one and only!
My Brother
My Brother ( Richard Cardoso ) is pretty much the poster child for CHISD ( Cedar Hill Independent School District ). Don't believe me, just Google him.
My brother and I are 14 years apart, so it was a little weird growing up because of the big age difference but once he got into those teenage years we really started to bond. From video games, gaming conventions and midnight releases my Brother is ready to ride at a moment's notice. My Brother with the help of all of us was able to carve out his own path and I am very proud of my little brother. My Little Brother was the Salutatorian of his Highschool class, he served under the Mayor of Cedar Hill in a special student program, he was able to participate in many summer programs and internships free of charge because of his academic performance and he received a full scholarship to Yale. Even though he is my Little Brother and I specifically take the time to bully him and give him a hard time, it has been really encouraging to see him grow in his own journey. No matter how busy my Brother gets he is always willing to drop whatever he is doing to come to help me out in whatever I ask of him. (Especially if there are tacos involved.) Shoutout to my Little Brother for always being someone I can count on! Before we move here are some Google search pictures of my Brother, only because I know it will embarrass him.
My Son
Last but not least is my Son ( David Esteban Cardoso), he is a true miracle baby. For Health reasons, we thought that we were not going to be able to have kids. Well, the joke was on us and God had other plans because it did not take him very long to get here. My Son definitely is one of my main sources of encouragement and one of the reasons why I always try to push myself to be better than I was yesterday. David is my mini-me for sure and we spend a lot of time together hanging out and just hacking stuff together like raspberry pi's, old retro video game systems, teaching him python, unity game dev, or whatever. Shoutout to my son, my partner in crime!
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