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About Me

Anchor About Me

My name is Gabriel Maldonado, but you can call me Gabe. I am from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I'm currently in college pursuing an applied mathematics major. This major may change in the future whether its to Finance or some kind of science or engineering. I enjoy playing soccer and I never shy away from a couple rounds of bowling. Saying that I'm always willing to jump in where I'm needed for any sport really. I don't believe in holding grudges I'm all for forgiveness. I try to always be a friendly person to approach at a moments notice I'm always happy to chat. I'm a "go with the flow" kind of guy I just roll with it most of the time. I enjoy opening my small world to new things. 

I would like to credit my high school experience for the bulk of my social skills and a lot of my life skills that I have gained through out the years. It has shaped me into a more patient and understanding person. I've learned to accept that not everything I believe in will be believed in by others and I may not agree on everything someone else says and vice versa. I like to surround myself with people that share the same beliefs or people that build me up and instead of being against me they actually support me.

I never really knew how much I liked nature and well the great outdoors until this one summer I took a trip to the lake. This was a couple week trip which was way longer than I have ever taken a trip for. I was with one of my friends and his family, we camped at the Navajo lake and of course got onto the water. However we didn't just stay there we traveled plenty of other places as well. Now those two weeks that we were out there really opened my eyes to what nature had to offer. It was kind of crazy to see how much better life was not worrying about anything not constantly looking at a device or always indoor. It was very nice to be out and about and a lot of my habits out there were pretty much all way better than what I have for habits right now. There almost wasn't anything negative about that trip. If I could I would go out to explore nature all the time.

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Another big life choice was me joining a sport. That sport being soccer my absolute favorite sport. Yeah it's a good way to stay in shape or to keep up with my health, but I'm giving credit to soccer more so for all the life skills I've acquired from playing on a soccer team on matter where it is or with who it's with. First of all you learn so many skills playing soccer and really any kind of sport. On top of that you meet a lot of new people and really learn how to connect to people whether that be your team, other teams, spectators, coaches, other people who play different sports or really anyone.

Anchor 1

Significant Life Experience

Some things that played a big part of my life are my soccer career, high school experience, most if not all of the trips I've taken, the opportunities I've been given to further progress my self. I've played since as long as I can remember and I am so glad I have. Soccer is probably the biggest source of my social life and well every part of my life. In a way it drives me to do the rest of my life chores. It gives me something to always look forward to and always hold dear to me. Not to mention all the wonderful people I've met from soccer related events. Another big marker for me was high school, it was the first time I really starter to grow up a little and seeing more realistic parts of life. Even though I am still learning about the realities of the modern day to this day high school was a big first step in seeing more of the real world and what is expected. The other part of high school was probably the many new things I opened doors to and all the experiences I gained making it a great time. I am just hoping I can get the same kind of feelings while here in college. Many of the trips I've gone on almost always help me find myself more and more. These trips allow me to find out more about myself that maybe I wasn't so sure or about or that I never really thought of. Even as small as the little things that these trips allow me to see is always helpful to see the bigger picture about myself. Finally, the many failures in life or setbacks big or small, have all helped me grow as a human being. especially one of the hardest times of my life when i tore my ACL it  really allowed me to grow as an individual without my physical capabilities and more so with my mental capacity. 

Anchor 2

Influential Figures

Some of the most influential people in my life are my parents, my two grandmas, my brother, especially my aunt, and lastly a lot of my personal role models who are famous and had a tough road to their own success. First of all there is no one more influential than my parents. I owe them a lot, they have done the absolute most for me whether I like it or not. Not only that, but they have always pushed me to be my absolute best even if I didn't always agree with them and I am glad they did. I honestly don't know where I would be without them in my life. If anything the biggest thing for me is to do my best in life and really strive to make them as proud as I can make them. I want them to see how much of a good job they did, and how much it means to me. Both of my grandmas mean everything to me, however they are also very influential in my life. They two of the sweetest elderly women I've ever met and it really gives me a good idea of the kind of person when I grow older. I want to be one of those super nice old people that are always super friendly over the ones who are super cranky all the time who don't seem happy all that often. My brother is another very influential person in my life, I always look up to him in a lot of ways. It also helps that he's older than me so he experiences many if not everything before I do and he always helps me out if I need it and even gives me pointers. In a way I aspire to me onthe level that my brother is on. Finally, I look up to many famous people and their childhood life that wasn't easy. To name one of them a role model of mine is Lionel Messi, he's the best player in the world if not then one of the best players in the world, However he wasn't always in that position. When he was a younger he always showed potential in his soccer skills however he was always a bit small for the competitive game and even at that kind of poor.. Many people would be better off giving up on their dream to play soccer, however Messi was not one of those people. He worked harder and harder until one day soccer clubs started to notice he was exceptionally good to the point where they payed for his growth supplements and everything else while he is still a kid. He never gave up in the sight of no hope and now look where he is. I strive to have as much dedication and persistence that he has while I continue on in life. 

Anchor 3

Personal Goals and Aspirations

Some of my personal goals in life would be getting a bachelors degree, taking my talents as far as I can without putting them to waste, and lastly, one up-upping my parents in basically anything and everything I do. Of course one of my goals in life is to finish college with a bachelors degree, that's what my parents want me to do firstly because it's never a bad thing to go to college and secondly because they want me to be better than them. Obviously I also want to get a bachelors degree for my self, I want to get a foothold for myself to prepare myself for success. I've always wanted to play soccer professionally and even become a scientist or engineer of some kind. It may not look as though I will make it to the professional level in soccer, but that won't stop me to strive for it. I will take my talents and improve still in hopes of going somewhere and doing something with them. Right now collegiate soccer is the next step for me. When it comes to my potential jobs, I want to really make sure I know what I enjoy doing before getting one. I'm pretty able when it comes to the math/science areas however I don't want to go on to become a scientist if I really don't end up liking it that would be just a waste. Same thing goes for me not wanting to take a good job in a field I enjoy, but stop there if there are better options that take a little more work or that I just haven't looked to because that would also be a waste. Lastly, I am always trying to one-up my parents in anything and everything. First of all it's not necessarily for my own personal values or gains, I want to really show my parents some of the hardest working people I know that they raised me well, that they are doing a great job, that their son will go on to do big things. I want to do it for them I feel they deserve to see me go above and beyond, and I can almost guarantee they want me to be better than they were. It seems like that would be their goal, and I've always made that a goal of my own.

Anchor 4

Why I Chose ASU

I chose to chase a college degree because it always just seemed like the necessary next step in my life. I chose ASU for many reasons like the size and the close community, the sports, the typical American college experience, and the relative location of Colorado. Sure my parents always wanted me to go to college as I grew up and I want to make them proud, however I also am doing this for me. I want to get a good start to my life and make the most of it and a college degree really seems like the next step to do that. Plus not a whole lot of my family went or even graduated from college so that gives me a little more motivation and drive to become one of the family that does go on to get a college degree. Along with that I chose Adams State University for many reasons. I really see the small size of the community as a good place that won't have a huge change in pace, but also a good enough change in pace to really help me transfer to this new life style. The smaller classes and community also allow for better relations and better learning with more focused help and support. ASU also has a soccer program that I have managed to become a part of so I came to play the sport I love at the next level. Colorado is a lovely place and that was a big hope when it came to my college search. Finally, I wanted a typical American college experience and ASU offered that for me. I always dwell on my decision to stay here or move to the UK for a soccer academy which is probably better off for my soccer career, however I feel like I am pretty happy with my decision. I feel I will enjoy this decision more than if I had to leave my home and travel as far as the UK.

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