Ken Melendez

Looking back to when I was a teenager back in the early 2000's, I was a really shy kid. I kept to myself a lot of the time. I even sat by myself in the high-school lunch room occasionally. One thing was for sure though... I liked girls... a lot. Yep, I was that hopeless romantic guy who wrote 2-page notes and placed them inside of girls' lockers in the hallway. When I say girls, I don't mean all of them, but there were a select few I was really fond of.

Turns out they already had boyfriends or were just not interested at the time. Even though I was scrawny, insecure, and quiet, I still put forth the effort to let those few girls know how I felt about them. I wasn't sure of a lot of things in life back then, but I did know this... that one day soon I would find a cute girl, fall in love, and start a family.

I was never into the party scene. Instead, I was more interested in building a life with the girl of my dreams. A woman, in fact, who was like me. One that had the same sense of humor and would laugh at my corny jokes. One that would be there for me and I for her. One that would be a good mother to our children.

During college was the first time I entered into a real relationship. It lasted for 7 months then fizzled out. Turns out she then started dating my best friend a month later and they eventually ended up getting married. Crazy, right? Yeah, it made for an awkward semester that's for sure.

Anyways, fast forward a couple years to 2008 when I met my now wife at a Cracker Barrel we both worked at. We fell in love within a month of dating, engaged after 1 year, then married 1 year after that. In 2014 we said hello to our first child. We were ecstatic. Fast forward to present day, and we now are a family of 5.

I might not have had much confidence in my teenage years, but I was certain of what I wanted. I knew that I wanted to settle down and start a family. Sure enough, it happened. My heart is full of gratitude each and every day I wake up next to her. I have so much gratitude every time I lift up one of my boys and give them a big hug and kiss.

It just goes to show that things can and do turn around in life. It takes having the guts to know what you want and go after them. To take chances even though it might be nerve-racking at times. Stay true to who you are, and treat people the way you want to be treated. Continue giving love, and it will always come back to you in ways you might not have thought of before.

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