About Gillian

"About Gillian"

The date was November 18, 2000. It was a cold and dreary

Saturday afternoon until my mother and I received a last minute invitation.

My mother's friend's daughter, Jenny, was turning 18. A boring Saturday

afternoon has now turned into an eventful Saturday evening. I wore my

jet-black suit trying to look as dapper as I can, with the hopes of making a

good first impression for the party goers that I have yet to meet. The

evening I was to celebrate Jenny's 18th birthday has also become the same

exact evening I met her friend Gillian. Little did I know, from that night

forward, meeting Gillian was going to impact my life in tremendous ways.

As a young man growing up with an aggressive crowd in New

York City, I used to find myself in a lot of dead end situations. For

example, vandalism, underage drinking, stealing cars and occasional

street fights, I was well on my way to becoming a full fledged criminal. I

did not have much direction nor any motivation in my life. My father left

when I was about 13 and my mother who was left single was too focused

on paying the bills and maintaining food on the table. I felt I was pretty

much left alone to do whatever it was I chose to do. I even used to get

arrested for small misdemeanor crimes. This mischievous period in my

life lasted close to 7 years. I was so oblivious to life. I needed to calm

down and grow up fast. I needed a best friend and a role model.

When I started to get to know Gillian, I didn't think too much of

her. I didn't want her to think too much of me. I guess I was too much of

a heartbreaker and thought that she was just going to be one of the many

women who have come and gone. She was the complete opposite of who

I was. At the time, she was a scholarship student who was well on her

way to obtaining a bachelor's degree. She was raised conservatively and

wasn't exposed to the type of lifestyle I was leading. She was responsible,

well educated and applied towards her future. Think of it as the "good

girls fall for the bad boys" scenario. She exposed me to all the positive

aspects in her life. Gillian taught me it's never too late to start over and

helped me realize that hanging out with the boys every night will bring

nothing but trouble and wasted time. She is a true role model.

When the relationship was young, I treated Gillian unjustly. I

cheated,