I sincerely miss him so much. I would rather he be here, but that would be selfish of me. He is doing well at Colorado State, has gotten good grades thus far, and a part-time job with Flemming Security He works 12 hours shifts, 6 PM to 6 AM Friday and Saturday nights as a security guard, he will also work special events and at the library, I am so proud of him, he has overcome more than most people know.
Christian Ray Cardenas
His first badge,he is so proud of this.
When Christian graduated from Delta High School, he published a post on Facebook, thanking the people in his life who had supported him and given him the tools to start a new chapter in his life. In the final sentence he thanked his father for giving him life, and for telling him he would never be a success, that he would be a failure because that just made him stronger and more determined to show the world that he could be successful and he could follow his dream. His father was so cruel and mean to him, he resented Christian because Christian was becoming, all the things that his father was not strong enough to become. Christian was strong, set goals and accomplished them, he followed the rules, and was academically, athletically and socially successful, all the things his father was not. I think his father would have been more accepting of him, if Christian would have been hanging out on the street corner, getting in trouble at school, and following in his father's footprints, but he was not that kind of young man.
His father had not been a part of his life until he was 5 years old. He had spent 4 of those 5 years in prison, so Christian has his Great Uncle Richard, his Uncle Jarrod and his grandfather as role models, successful, strong men. It is my personal philosophy that the first 5 to 6 years of a child's life builds the structure for the rest of their life. Even after he came home from prison, he was not a stable parent for Christian or the for Christian's sisters. He often chose alcohol and later drugs over his family. He thought he had to please everyone at the expense of his family. He expected unconditional respect, Respect is something has to be earned, not just given. Christian's father did not earn his respect, even though Christian tried and tried, but everything Christian did was wrong and criticized. He never supported Christian in his athletics, an example: Christian was playing baseball 4 blocks away from the mechanic shop that his father owned, rather than coming to the game after he closed the shop, he chose to hang out and drink and smoke pot with his buddies. This was just one of many times, Abe, Christian's father, chose substances over his family.
High School Baseball - Delta Panthers
Christian had played baseball since he was 5 years old, and I can count on one hand the number of times his father came to watch him play..... and then he demands Christian's respect.
Christian tried and tried to please his father, but could not please him no matter how hard he tried. Abe was co-owner of a mechanic shop with Christian's Uncle, Jarrod, and Christian tried to please his father by coming to the shop and helping him, learning as he went, but again, Abe found fault with everything Christian did, finally Christian refused to go to the shop. Of course everything that went wrong, in Abe's eyes, was someone else's fault. He blamed everyone but never took responsibility for things on his own. He never accepted the responsibility for Christian not wanting to be at the shop, he always blamed everyone else for influencing Christian.
He never supported Christian in his academics either. Christian had always been a good student, he learned at an early age, that if you came home and did your homework immediately, then the rest of the afternoon and evening were yours. He was never one to put responsibilities off until another time. From the time he was in first grade, he immediately did his homework upon arriving at home. This habit has paid great academic dividends for him. Another thing that has served him well, was his mother's choice to keep him out of school for an extra year. He turned 6 in July and started 1st grade that August. This made all the difference in the world when he started school he was ready, whereas when he was just 5 he was not.
Christian started school in Delta, Colorado. When his parents bought a house in Montrose, he transferred into 9th grade at Montrose High School, He "hated" it, the environment was so different from Delta, that it was extremely difficult to adjust. He completed his 9th-grade year and started his 10th, he asked if he could go back to Delta. His grades were not as good, he felt uncomfortable and was not happy. His mother said he could go back in January, the new semester, but his father was "ugly" about it. He insisted that he just want to go back because of his girlfriend and baseball, that he would fail, that he would get his girlfriend pregnant and then be a dropout. He told me that he could not wait to rub Christian's failure in my face, for supporting his return to Delta.
I can tell you this, it did not happen. Christian was extremely academically, athletically and socially successful. He won numerous academic awards and held a GPA of 3.74, was accepted to Colorado State University in January before he graduated from high school in May.
Christian wrote a Facebook post upon his graduation from high school, he thanked the people who had supported him and were important in his life. At the end, he thanked his father for giving him life, and for telling him he would be a failure, because that gave him the strength and determination to be successful, to prove him wrong. He was going to prove that the name Cardenas has a good meaning and that there were good people with that name.
I finally graduated and couldn't be more excited! But I didn't get there alone. I wanna thank Shey, for being the big sister I never wanted. Helping me through situations of all kinds from school to family. Thanks mom for taking on 3 kids all alone. For being strong and the backbone to the family. Thanks grandma for literally doing anything and everything for me! You were never not willing to do something for me, even if I was being a pain the day before. Thanks grandpa for being the fatherly figure I needed to guide me in the right direction! Thanks Emilie and Gabby for just being my little sisters to pick on and hang out with. I am so proud of you two! Congratulations on state gymnastics! I couldn't be more proud of you! I appreciate all you guys do for me. And a special thank you to my dad, for giving me life and for telling me I would fail, telling me I would never make it. Trying to shoot down my dream of becoming a cop! You gave me the motivation to do everything you said I couldn't just to prove you wrong! And look! I'm here and am only going up!!
Christian is carrying a full load of academics at CSU and has a position with Flemming Security, they provide security for businesses and agencies in the area, such as the library and landfill, they also do special events. Christian did his first special event a couple of weeks ago, and now he is working security at the library in the evenings and at where needed on the weekends overnight
6/2/18
It has been awhile. To be honest I completely forgot about this blog Christian is now a senior at CSU and a Team Leader for the CSO's at the CSU Police Department. He had planned on graduating in December 2018 but plans changed with the Colorado State Patrol changed the date for their next applications. He had to drop a class from his spring 2018 schedule and not take summer classes so that he could add another semester and graduate in May 2019. He has to be a CSU student in order to retain his position with the CSU Police Department.
Applications for the Colorado State Patrol Academy will open in October 2018. The application process takes between 8-9 months. If he is accepted into the Academy he will start in July 2019. This has been his dream since he was a little boy. He attended the Colorado State Pattrol Youth Academy between his junior and senior year of high school.
Even though it scares the 'ever living hell' out of me, due to the current environment in this country, I knwo it is his dream. He is always cautious, never leaves anyting to chance
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