PERSONAL BIO

BIRTH DATE & PLACE

I was born on May 4th 1993 at Kaiser Permante in San Diego, California.  I have grown up in San Diego and love the city i call home.  My parents both moved to San Diego when they were young teenagers, my mother moving from Tijuana and my father moving from San Jose California.

FAMILY

 I have a very large family that i am very close with and love very much.  The most influential people in my life would have to be my father, my mother and step-father, grandparents and baby brother.  My mother, Marubia Weissenberg, has always taught me to be a strong individual and pursue my goals to the best of my abilities.  My Step-Father, Gary Weissenberg, is an amazing individual, who else could come into a situation and take up the responsibilities of a father (having no children of his own) from a single mother home?  My stepfather has stepped into my life from a young age, raised me as his own, and showed me what it means to be a man even when faced with the most difficult of situations.  My Grandparents (maternal) , Gregorio and Teresa Torrez, helped to raise myself and about 20 of my cousins.  They have always been there to feed me, teach me right from wrong, and most importantly keep me out of trouble.  My Father, Edward Griffith, has been influential in a different way than the others in my life.  My father has more than supplied me with a "what not to do" guide.  I can not say he did nothing constructive, he gave me a great love for sports, and the always seeing him laughing and conversing with people taught me that having confidence, a firm hand shake, and a good sense of humor can get you places.

CHILDHOOD & SCHOOL LIFE

Growing up, I lived with my mother and stayed with my father every other weekend.  Although most people would frown at the idea of that situation I LOVED IT.  It meant that if I was in trouble at my moms house that I would be off the hook as long as my fathers weekend was coming up or vice versa.  All joking aside it was somewhat difficult at times but mostly worked itself out accordingly.  Schoolwork always had priority at my mothers house, she would not allow me to do less than my full ability, she enforced this rule very strictly.  I have always been an outgoing and energetic individual so when my mother started putting me in sports, I loved every second of it whether it be soccer, baseball, basketball but most of all football.  I contribute me not getting into as much as my cousins due to my mothers expectations for school and keeping me busy with sports.

ANECDOTES

When I was a junior you could say my life revolved around football, we had just won league, won the first two playoff games, and were headed to the semi-finals to face an opponent that we had lost too earlier in the season due to injury in many starting positions.  Coming into the playoffs we were favorites to make it to the Championship, having already beat cross-town rivals, and defending champions Cathedral Catholic High School.  Then it all began, one of the most emotionally demolishing weeks of my high school life.  My great grandmother (grandfather's mother) passed away on the Tuesday before the Semi-Final Game on Friday.   the open casket and funeral were on Wednesday night and Thurday afternoon.  This was the first family death that had held major weight in my life because i was close with my great-grandmother.  Friday came and i was ready as ever for the game i had written her name on my tape and had her on my mind.  I was prepared to play my heart out for her!  We lost the game by two points.  I am not one to be emotional when it comes to anything, all i did that weekend was sit in my room and reminisce on the good times with my grandmother and the good times during football that season.

Career Aspirations

I would like to go to San Diego State University and study Economics, and minor in Marketing, all to become a financial examiner for a large investment firm or bank.  Then after a few years of that i would like to become a firefighter.  I have always wanted to become a firefighter but having another career and applying my skills with numbers allows me a better way of life.  Also considering the fact that as a firefighter i would only work 10 or less days a week it is not impossible to do both.