What are you searching for? "I think I'm searching for a lot of things. I'm searching for people to do life with, I'm searching for people to love and feel loved back by, and I'm searching for what I think the deepest meaning of life is and how to share that with other people, which I think is love and sharing love with others." Azusa, California
If there were a book about your life, what would the title be? "I have no idea. Maybe that should be the book title: I Have No Idea. How about Being a Roe-bot? It came up at lunch with my dad the other day because we always make fun of our name, like when we joke about owning the Roe-se Bowl. I was brought up being goofy and corny. There's a county, well there's two counties in California named Kern County and Inyo County and they meet as you're driving up to the High Sierras. There's turn off for Inyokern and I was driving there one time with my sister and I said, 'In yo' Kern.' I can't do it right because I'm not from the city, but you know what I'm talking about. Somehow at lunch, we were talking about Facebook bots or whatever and I said, 'Maybe we're the Roe-bots.'" Azusa, California
What are the little things that make you happy? "I mean, there are so many but here's a few little things: Seeing people's heart, which is obviously super broad. Like seeing someone who's passionate about something is a huge thing that makes me happy, but it's also a little thing that makes me so excited; seeing the sparkle in someone's eye when they're excited about what they want to pursue or excited about what they're doing in life or something that makes them so happy. That just make me happy. Also, seeing God's creation in every way: through people or through nature or through what people make. All that kind of stuff. I would say those are the little things that make me happy." Azusa, California
How do you want to change the world? "I would like to change the world one day at a time. People my age think, 'What are you going to do with the rest of your life,' but I think the way you can change the world is to show people the love of Jesus in everyday circumstances. You don't have to be a superhero to do it and what I've come to see is that if you're about converting people to Jesus and believing that He died for your sins, you're not going to see that in going up to one person in one day, but you can plant the seed or help grow the seed that's already planted. Maybe it'll grow into a plant a couple years down the road, but you won't see that so I think it's definitely one day at a time. You can change the world by just loving on people and putting others needs before yours." Azusa, California
What has moved you recently? "This is kind of broad, but go with me. What has moved me is the way people treat each other. Through my personal experience in all facets of my life, I've seen the negative and positive outcomes of that. Specifically, unfortunately, the negative and the reoccurring habits or themes of families or groups of friends that perpetuate that kind of negative behavior and think it's okay. It's moved me for those people that have positively impacted me because I've seen them act positively amongst groups or act that way to other people. It's moved me to double check what I say and what comes out of my mouth and how it's going to affect people. Negatively speaking, in particular, what has come up more often than not is the selfishness that goes into how we treat people and how negative that can be. It all goes back to the Golden Rule: treat others how you want to be treated. So I think for me, in particular, it's like we've lost all sense of that. You treat someone negatively, but if they do it to you, you have some sort of defense as to why you shouldn't be treated that way. So my question: Why do we continue to perpetuate that? I'm so moved by it to be very careful of the words I speak to people so I wouldn't do that, especially in my family." Azusa, California
How do you feel about regrets? "The past is the past and there's nothing you can do about it, so why continue to dwell on negatively looking at the past and regretting. I try not to regret anything because everything that's ever happened in my life has, in some way, allowed me to become who I am. Even the shittiest encounters that I've had in my life have allowed me to grow and learn and become the person I am today. So I try not to have regrets. There's no point in dwelling on something you cant' change." Azusa, California
Do you believe in magic? "Yes. Why do I believe in magic? Because it enables us to believe beyond our expectations." Azusa, California
What do you do for fun? "I really do enjoy being out with friends and meeting new people, as well. Just for fun. I think it's a lot of fun just getting to know people for who they are and being able to share stories. It's actually very exhilarating and life-giving for me. For fun, I enjoy just being with people." Azusa, California
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
"I really did want to be an NFL player. I think everyone says that they want to be a pro athlete or singer or whatever. They want to do, basically, what their hobby is or whatever they think is fun and they want to do that professionally. Like, get paid to do that. Even now, I think if I would have pushed even to play just college football, I don't think I would regret it. I would still enjoy it because I like playing football. I think that is a testament to a bigger thing: that it's not a bad thing to pursue something that just makes you happy. When you find joy in something, it's so much more valuable than whether it pays a lot or whether it pays a little. That was the first formative process in how I want to pursue the rest of work, life and relationships. Is it bringing me joy? Am I having fun doing it? Is it bringing me happiness?" How did you meet the most important person in your life? "That's a loaded question. I don't even know if I can answer that. I think the person that has had the biggest impact on my life is my mom, for sure. I mean, my mom was the one who raised us. My dad was around but my mom was the one who really emotionally raised us. She taught us what it meant to be a Christian. She taught us what it meant to love people and to sacrifice for people. She taught us what it meant to be sons, or I guess men, in a world where the meaning of being a man is so different than what the Bible teaches or what truly being a man is about. So I think being raised by my mom for most of my life has really affected me a lot. I've seen that the role of a man is more than being a financial provider, but to be a person who isn't afraid to be emotional and connect with people on a deeper level. So I would say my mom." Azusa, California
What are you most proud of? "I don't know if this is weird to say, but I think the friends I've made at Azusa Pacific University because I feel like they're really encouraging. My friends in high school were really great too, but this is just a different type of friendship than I've ever experienced." Azusa, California
What have you learned recently? "I don't know... I guess most recently, I learned on the drive over here, while listening to the radio, about retail stores tracking your data and the ways they can market things to you. Yeah, it's kind of scary. We have different ideas of the future and how it's going to get more and more intense. They could put chips in everyone's arm and measure your moods and interests somehow, maybe using body temperature to find out what kinds of things you would want to buy or what shade of lipstick to wear or something. It's crazy." Azusa, California
Are you a good person? "Yes? I try to be. Sorry, you caught me off guard. Yes, I am a good person. I'm a good person because I genuinely want other people to experience the joy that I experience on a day to day basis, even though it's hard sometimes. I think everyone deserves that right and I want to try to make that happen for them. So I'm a good person." Azusa, California
You have an hour to live, what do you do? "Probably what I would be normally doing. I wouldn't want to make it something really different than how I normally live." Azusa, California
How do you want to be remembered when you die? "By the stuff that's eternal, like helping and loving people. That's the stuff you take with you. Even though I like material possessions very much, I would rather be known for the eternal stuff." Azusa, California
How can you help? "I don't know. I feel like there are so many ways that everyone could help. It's such an open ended question. How can you help yourself? How can you help others? Do you need to help yourself? Do you need to help others? How do those interact and how do they play into each other? Is helping yourself helping others and what does that look like for every individual? This is not an answer, I'm realizing. I'm just spewing this philosophical bullshit. I guess I could help by just continuing and doing what I'm doing: trying to be better and helping those around me in whatever ways I can." Azusa, California
What makes you feel alive? "Hanging out with friends,having fun and going on adventures. Even if they're really lame and stupid adventures." Azusa, California
When was the happiest moment of your life? "Probably when I got three jobs in one day. I was pretty stoked about that, but none of it is relevant now." Azusa, California
True love and a broken heart or never having loved at all? "True love and a broken heart. It's better to have loved than to not love at all. You learn more in the sense that next time you can be more into the relationship because you have more of a well rounded experience. And love is a fun thing, even when it sucks." Azusa, California
If you had the choice, would you give it all up for love? "Yeah. I think I would. I'm pretty sure I would, if I was put in that position. I'm hoping I won't." Azusa, California
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