“Shout-out to all my day brothers man, no new brothers in the circle.”

That is a code that me and my brothers live by, although we aren’t all blood, we’re like a big family. We do what brothers do–we fight, we laugh, we eat, we get together. The kind of bond that I have with my brothers is replaceable. I would give up my life for my brothers to live. You don’t build that bond with just anybody, you’re not willing to die just for anyone.

I would start with my two blood brothers, Christian and Jerol. Christian is 16 and he is my mother’s second child, born after me. Me and Christian are two years apart, we’ve been through a lot together. We survived an earthquake together, we’ve moved in and out of shelters together, walked in snowstorms to get to school together. Christian and I will always have each other’s back no matter what the situation is.

Jerol, the youngest, was born after we moved to the United States. Ever since he was born I’ve always felt like I had to protect him from the world. I can tell he looks up to me and what I have accomplished in life. He started playing youth football after coming to watch my high school games. I love him and Christian to death.