Sometimes the Best Things are the Things That Don't Happen

A long time ago, but not in a galaxy far far away, I made an attempt at graduate school. Did I really need it? No, probably not. I was already married. I had a small child. I had just received my first check as a sole proprietor business owner; 4,000 bucks! I thought I needed something, like a type of distinguished prybar to blast open doors. I do good work and I am confident in my abilities, but I needed something to act as a tool to elevate and connect. Maybe I do not need to open doors, I will just knock them down when I need to. I needed a solid bridge and I thought graduate school was the way.

Fortunately, I was rejected. I am sure they saw my application and said: “OHH HELL NO! NOT THIS GUY. CAN’T HAVE THAT.” Or the application was never opened and flew straight into the waste bin - SWISH!

Graduate school is a year and a half and I had just started my one-man band architecture business. In that span of a year and a half, I procured my first real design project as a registered architect and I started the fabrication and assembly of my proof of concept project here at home.

Dwayne Johnson, also known as “The Rock” of pro wrestling circles, speaks about his dream of playing professional football. He did not make the cut, but in hindsight, realized that had he played pro ball, he would have never crafted the life that he is living today. In an interview he said something that rings so true: Sometimes the things that don’t happen are the best things to happen. Or something like that. Maybe it was: The best things are the things that never happen.

Had I gotten into graduate school, I would have missed out on so much. It seems as though I am still in the beginning stages of the journey that is my craft and I seek to learn and improve everyday. Yesterday I was looking for an old document and came across the Statement of Purpose Letter for Graduate School Admission. It was such a difficult letter to write and it took seven attempts. I spoke to a few people about it and they suggested that I simply be honest. For me, I feel like there is a part of my life that is totally inappropriate. There is a section of my mind that is inappropriate, yet, not ineffective. It is raw and dirty and disgusting, but it is there. I believe it is there for all people at various levels of severity, but it is there. It is the truth that we all have and it doesn’t matter if it is right or wrong, it just is. It’s you not me, so, in all honesty, I don’t really care.

So here it is below, the Statement of Purpose. I thought I would share it just for… well, maybe for no reason at all, but maybe for every reason, or for the spirit of not giving a damn. Keep going, keep learning, keep being your very best and BUILD.

Statement of Purpose 

A broad concept of the multi-dimensional definitions of urban design and planning is important to understand each intricate facet. Through processual investigations, I attempt to decompose subjects to simpler terms. For example; my definition of architecture, at its simplest terms, is a reaction to a stimulus. This formulation of definitions, flexible and rooted in context, provides the strands to form a nexus with components of complex subjects. Those complexities are partitioned into manageable fragments, critiqued and recomposed into solutions. Then, perspectives are formulated to augment the initial definition and recomposed to align with specific contextual conditions. This process becomes a solid launching platform to navigate avenues of exploration.

Urban design and planning can be defined as: the establishment of rituals that delineate the built environment. The multitude of urban issues, their definitions and structures, are fascinating. What interests me is how a complex social component integrates into design and planning? How are social conditions affected by existing constructs and how can our research influence the way we implement new strategies?

I bring an alternative perspective and experience to the <School Name Entered Here> that resembles the complexity of urbanism. I am of Japanese and Black heritage; however, I do not look Asian and I do not look Black. I look Mexican and grew up in a diverse; yet, predominantly Mexican neighborhood, ten miles north of the U.S./Mexico border. You can only imagine the types of conflicts initiated by that existence. I have been touched by racism and social injustice at innumerable levels. Those occurrences are not always direct; they stem from being incognito. My identity spans the fringes of multiple social dynamics and I have encountered many challenging situations. I had countless physical altercations, fought off bullies, witnessed a murder, lost friends to violence and substance abuse and consoled a mother whose only child lay in a cardboard box before being shipped off for cremation. Those intense experiences, along with losing my father just before embarking on my undergraduate studies, is the type of fuel that will inspire a lifetime.  

I seldom express these experiences; not even with close colleagues. I am committed to forward thinking and to echo the past outside of my mind seems inappropriate. I only share them now to fervently reinforce the understanding of how an environment should not be. I often question the realities of my upbringing and struggle to find meaningful connections to my work in architecture and construction. In retrospect, I do not know if these life conflicts could have been avoided. Was it simply a product of that environment? Can our neighborhoods, education system, political policy and social structures be designed in ways to elevate those less fortunate? Although the hardships I experienced are only a fraction of what many endure throughout the world, I have found great value and purpose through the expansive scope of urban studies. With the same mental resiliency necessary to reinvent my challenging life, I am confident that I have the gracious tenacity to ignite transformations in the world.

My journey as an architect, constructor and urbanist, has reached a plateau. The <School Name Entered Here>, through its tremendous faculty, can invigorate new possibilities to surface. I understand that the <School Name Entered Here>  cannot re-open closed doors; but it can, however, give an opposition a reason to listen. Throughout my life, I have been confronted by monstrous obstacles that were traversed: over, under, through and around. As I ascend to greater heights, the obstacles become larger and the action of smashing them is troublesome. <School Name Entered Here>, one of the most prominent learning institutions in the world, will provide the tools to penetrate barriers, fabricate openings and build settings where discussions can materialize to achieve positive results.

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————-brrrrrr… boom! Boom! Brrrrr. Grrrrrrr. That is the sound of the recycling truck dumping the trash and driving away. “REJECTED! As the clock goes to zero!” However, A year and a half saved, oh and yeah, hundreds of thousands of dollars too.