Greetings All,
I hope you are doing well. It’s a good opportunity to be back here. Lately, I have been getting out to local networking events and roundtable discussions.
A few weeks ago, I attended Columbus, GA Public Library’s Local Lives featuring Christian Ortiz.
His story was quite interesting. Born in Los Angeles to a single Puerto Rican mother with two older brothers, Christian’s older brothers filled in the gap of a father in the early stages of his life. He has quite fond memories of LA until one early morning in 1989, his brother woke him up and told him that they have to leave. They took a cab to LAX to depart their old life with pictures burned into his memory of a building on fire. They were leaving LA in the beginning stages of the LA riots years before the Rodney King story became national headlines.
They relocated to New Jersey to be close to family. They lived in a neighborhood that the Mafia ran. The next day, when he went to the kitchen to greet his aunt, he saw on the news a plane recording the scenes of LA; his old apartment complex on fire. He realized that they left their old life behind just in time. He lost a chunk of his childhood. He learned then that you’re never too young to have intense moments to learn from. To help him enjoy the rest of his formidable years, his brother would take him to NYC to tour. Over time, the experiences and life-changing events began to shape him into who he is today.
In 1996, his brother met his future wife when she had a job in Gainsville, GA. He decided to give up his $30 an hr at a call center to relocate to Columbus, GA. His mother asked, "Where’s GA?" Being immigrants from Puerto Rico, his family only knew California, Texas, and New York. Christian had no idea how different the culture was from the North to the South.
Ortiz attended Arnold Middle School where he was the only Hispanic kid. He spent his entire eighth-grade year fighting for respect and education. His principal proposed that he had to get good grades or get kicked out. He also proposed that if he fought, he couldn’t kill or send anyone to the hospital. He managed to get straight A’s and attended Hardaway High School. He was able to attend college and transitioned into the corporate world.
He got a job at a big employer here in town as an industrial designer. He moved up into a position where experience did not exist for his leaders. Over time, he began to realize that something wasn’t clicking in his career. One day, he went to the doctor and was diagnosed with dyslexia. He concluded that he hated school because he learned things differently. Getting good grades was a challenge and college was a battle.
In October 2019, his health began to decline. Life was financially good but he was emotionally destroyed. His son noticed the change. He realized that he no longer wanted to be locked into a corporate position working for someone else. He decided to walk away from his job with no notice and it was the best decision he ever made; it was liberating and brought him peace. He began to focus on becoming a social media manager by creating Mod Atlas Media and Our City of Fountains.
His goal is to share his story, market photography to do interviews, conduct projects for Our City of Fountains and help people promote their business through social media. He believes that the human connection is extremely important. Helping people along their journey is therapeutic.
In closing, and in his own words, “There’s a way to do anything you have a passion for. No matter what the challenges are, take a step back to let them mold you. Find something you love and go for it.”
I hope you enjoy the rest of the day. I do appreciate you taking the time to check out my latest post. I hope this post uplifts and inspires you to do something that makes a difference.
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