“I went to Cal State Fullerton. I studied criminal justice, so I got more into the legal aspect of the criminal justice department. And Irvine, Costa Mesa, Newport – that’s where all the big law firms are.
I got into [legal services] through my college roommate, my fraternity brother. He was an attorney courier, so he’d go to different law firms to pick up documents, go to the court, file them, get them stamped, and bring them back to the law firm. And one day, he’s like, ‘Hey, I picked up a file from a law firm. They need a file clerk.’ I was working at Albertsons back then. And I’m like, ‘Yeah!’ I went to go interview, and I got the job. I fell in love with law. So ever since then, I’ve been working in the legal industry.
Personally, I like the litigation part, like the whole having a battle with words, you know. I mean, I work for firms that don’t litigate much, but that’s what I like.
I’m trying to get state-certified to be a criminal court interpreter. I would be the voice for an individual, someone who’s being charged for a crime or violation, that does not speak English. So I would be working for the criminal courts, traffic courts. I would be doing the statement of rights. I would be that voice to interpret from English to Spanish and Spanish to English. I wouldn’t give any advice. And that’s all it is.
Well, right now, I work at an employment law firm. We work on the plaintiff side. So say you worked at a company, and you’re being discriminated against or harassed, they’re not paying your wages and hours, then you would call our firm.
The other practice is insurance law. So if you were to get into a car accident, you’d have to file a claim with your insurance company. Well, our attorney would try to give you the least amount of money possible.
I really enjoy criminal law. Um, but it’s pretty brutal. Because, you know, there’s all types of crime. It’s hardcore. I grew up in a crime-ridden neighborhood in San Gabriel Valley, and I always saw the disparity between, you know, neighborhoods. I always thought, ‘Wow, I’m going to make a difference. Change some laws, change some policy.’
Well, there were a lot of gangs in a lot our neighborhoods. But the gangs were kind of centralized where the apartment complexes were. And there were some neighborhoods where there were just houses, and the gangs wouldn’t really go in that area. Luckily, we lived in a house, but we were right at the border where all the apartment complexes were. We would see it, see a lot of gangs walking around. But you walk to another neighborhood, and it’s like, nothing there.
And I mean, it varies as to what causes the disparity, but I think the financial thing is a big part of it. Another one is just the social ties that people have with their communities. Some people who live in a house, they want to keep their neighborhood clean. Someone who lives in a complex, their landlord has to fix everything, so the care is not always there. It just kind of depends what block you’re in. You’ll find that anywhere. Always the big example I talk about: OJ Simpson in Brentwood. You know, Brentwood is by UCLA – beautiful area. But people were slayed. It can happen anywhere.
My passion is being active, so that’s why I’m out here. I have a passion to be active and be happy. Volleyball, here at the beach, you know, it’s both. The ocean, great people – my best friends live out here.
As far as professionally, I have a passion for language. I took 6 years of French. I took 3 semesters of Italian. Obviously, I’m fluent in Spanish. And I have a passion for language and helping people. Professionally, that’s what I would want to do. Lawyers, interpreters: Those are two careers that make a difference in people’s lives. Sometimes, negatively. Sometimes positively, right? Like attorneys can screw you over and so can interpreters if they interpret the wrong material, you know? It’s your freedom that’s on the line a lot of the times. So helping people, languages, but my real passion is being active.
Besides volleyball, I play tennis on Wednesdays. I do a kickboxing class on Tuesdays. I do a boxing class on Fridays. I do Zumba and hip-hop on Mondays. Weekends, I play volleyball, and I run constantly. I run 10ks, marathons, and half-marathons. Oh, I do a LOT of yoga. I’m actually going to a yoga festival in two weekends. I went to Wanderlust, Squaw Valley, in July. I camped up at the top. Oh, it was beautiful. And the people are just so positive, and friendly, and Namaste! And being active, it’s my form of meditation. I’ll go out on a one hour run, and it’s just me. I don’t put on headphones. It’s just me. It’s a lot of fun. It beats sitting at home, watching TV. I haven’t owned a TV since … high school? There’s a lot more to do out there than just TV.
I am going to start doing open mics, stand-up comedy. I’m super excited. I started writing already. I’m doing a charity event for one of my friends. She volunteers at a bunny shelter. And so they’re having a benefit at the shelter, and they need acts. And comedy is probably one of my first passions. I was always that campus clown. I have three brothers and three sisters, so I was always fighting for attention from my parents. And I would do it, trying to be funny. I would always crack jokes. I’m always telling stories. Sometimes, they have a punchline. Sometimes they don’t. But a lot of times, good comedians are great storytellers.”
Excerpt may be edited for clarity.