The author shares his life story, beginning with his parents' backgrounds. His father was previously married and had an abortion, while his mother had a past relationship with a dishonest man and contracted HIV, which was a death sentence at the time. However, after meeting, they fell in love, and his father had a supernatural experience where God told him not to abort their child. They got married, and his older brother was born healthy and HIV-free.
The author was born 15 months later, also HIV-free, and grew up in a close-knit family. He was homeschooled, and his parents encouraged his love for the arts. He started taking drum lessons at 10 and later taught himself guitar. In middle school, he joined a community theater group, which sparked his passion for performing.
After high school, the author attended Florida Atlantic University but struggled to find his place. He discovered the app Vine and quickly gained a large following. With the support of his mother, he decided to pursue a career in entertainment and was accepted into Florida State University's acting program.
The author's Vine following continued to grow, and he started making money through brand deals. He dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting opportunities. He booked his first acting gigs, but struggled with loneliness in the city.
Eventually, he met his future wife, and they got married after a long-distance relationship. The author is now 22 years old, living in Los Angeles with his wife and puppy, and pursuing his career in the entertainment industry.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The narrator's parents, JC and Grace, were both in previous relationships before meeting each other.
2. The narrator's father, JC, was married to a woman during his last year in college and had an abortion.
3. The narrator's mother, Grace, was in a relationship with a man who wasn't honest with her and left her feeling like her life was over at age 27.
4. The narrator's mother contracted HIV and was told she had 10 years to live.
5. The narrator's parents met in 1990 and started dating, despite the mother's HIV diagnosis.
6. The narrator's father had lost his mother to cancer at the age of 16.
7. The narrator's parents decided to have a child despite the mother's HIV diagnosis, after being advised by many to abort the child.
8. The narrator's father claims that God appeared to him and told him not to abort the child.
9. The narrator's older brother was born on July 14, 1993, perfectly healthy and HIV-free.
10. The narrator's parents started exploring their faith after the birth of their son.
11. The narrator was born on October 24, 1994, in Miami, Florida, and was also born HIV-free.
12. The narrator and his brother were homeschooled by their mother.
13. The narrator's sister was born and was also HIV-free.
14. The narrator's family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
15. The narrator started attending school for two years before being homeschooled again.
16. The narrator received Jesus into his heart and was baptized at the age of 7.
17. The narrator's father had him wrestle as his main sport, which he did from age 6 to 16.
18. The narrator started taking drum lessons at age 10 and later taught himself guitar.
19. The narrator joined a community theater group in middle school.
20. The narrator graduated from high school in May 2013 and was set to attend Florida Atlantic University.
21. The narrator and his brother got their real estate licenses, but the narrator failed the test twice.
22. The narrator discovered the app Vine in 2013 and started posting videos.
23. The narrator gained 10,000 Vine followers in five months.
24. The narrator's mother encouraged him to pursue entertainment.
25. The narrator auditioned at colleges and was accepted into every one, but decided to attend Florida State University.
26. The narrator worked hard on his Vine videos and grew his following to 100,000.
27. The narrator did his first brand deal for $40.
28. The narrator decided to focus on growing his social media presence instead of getting a real job.
29. The narrator's following grew to 700,000 by the time he left for college.
30. The narrator attended Florida State University but didn't like it and decided to move to Los Angeles.
31. The narrator booked his first two solid acting gigs, including a national TV movie on Fox.
32. The narrator moved into his first apartment and bought his first car.
33. The narrator felt lonely in Los Angeles and struggled to make friends.
34. The narrator met his girlfriend, Jes, in 2016 and they started a long-distance relationship.
35. The narrator proposed to Jes and they got married on December 18, 2016.
36. The narrator and his wife have a three-month-old puppy and live in a new apartment in Los Angeles.