What's in a Name?

Moses Guzman

Moses Guzman- Afro-Panamanian (mother); Jamaican (father); Moses Guzman is Eli Fonseca's closest friend, who works at a local grocery store and has also been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. He is a polite, friendly, and athletic student with a passion for track and field, among other sports, and is also a member of the school's JROTC group. He has a fun personality and is generally agreeable and easygoing, with a playful side and love for teasing, although it is often noted that he is always hiding a part of himself. He is warm and outgoing by nature and generally wins people over with his good looks and vibrant smile, but can appear intimidating to less popular students, as seen with his initial interactions with Eli, due to his highly extraverted demeanor. Despite his outwardly calm and even-keeled personality, Eli comes to realize that Moses isn't always the seemingly happy-go-lucky, flawless person he idealized mentally. His grandfather passed away from a heart attack when he was young, causing him to have limited memories of him and a propensity for bottling up his emotions. He was raised by a hard-working and loving, but strict mother in a working-class environment and deeply affected by the death of his grandfather from a massive coronary that took his life one late November morning when he was nine years old. He was very close to him as a young child, and has since made a habit of distancing and preventing himself from becoming too emotionally attached or invested in people. Known for his cheerful smile and geniality, Moses enjoys running to keep in shape due to his diabetes, hoping to keep himself healthy through continuous exercise. He is known for his exceptional athletic abilities and often keeps himself active by going on jogs with his pet Golden Retriever Cosmo and participating in the activities he does in Navy JROTC. He works out three to four times a week to help keep his weight in check, which in turn helps him manage his illness. 

His chest and shoulders have become massive for his young age as a result, which often makes it difficult for him to find shirts that fit properly and aren't too short for his torso. Moses works part-time as a bagger and cart attendant at the Guzman family's grocery store, and he hopes to help make ends meet and pass the time. He often tries to put on a chipper façade, refusing to cry or show negative emotions around others and breaking down only when alone or under extreme stress in the privacy of his room. He never forgets to buy his mother a bouquet of her favorite flowers and vows to earn enough money to buy her a larger and better home once he gets older. He usually has them ready when she comes home from her work in the loss prevention department at Burlington, and he also has a significant fraternal instinct around his little brother Miguel, going extreme lengths to protect him. One of the few things that offers Moses a momentary escape is his love for paintballing, and he is a closeted geek who finds any new fact he learns about a conspiracy or legend fascinating. He also enjoys reading the comics in the newspaper and is a fan of the popular show House, along with his friend and slightly older counterpart Connor Tran. He loves some old-school anime as well, such as Dragon Ball Z and Inuyasha, and considers Vegeta to be his idol. His friendship with Eli also allows him to open up more significantly and share his hidden depths as well, such as his knowledge of other languages, including Spanish. Moses is often seen as a caring person and is protective of his mother, whom he considers the most important woman in his life. He has a bit of a sibling rivalry with his elementary school-aged younger brother Miguel, whom he tries to create quality time for as they strengthen their bond as siblings. He feels a particularly special connection to his father, whose name he shares along with an uncanny physical resemblance and similarly steadfast attitude. 

He tries to appear more brave and confident when he is confronting others and his surroundings but will sometimes fail to express his needs in his efforts of peacemaking. Since Moses works often, he always keeps a spare insulin bag at his workplace in the staff refrigerator in case of an emergency. Like Eli, he is considered to be a good conversationalist as he greets the people he encounters during his after school shifts with a welcoming smile. He recognizes that keeping his insulin cold allows for it to not spoil as quickly as it would if it were at room temperature. He has to eat every 2 hours and take insulin every 6 to prevent feeling physically ill and becoming weak to the point of passing out. Moses was also a peer mentor at his school up until he reached 10th grade, during which he began to focus more on his studies and limit his extracurriculars. He enjoys going to the lake with his family in the summer and is good at wake boarding, in addition to skating throughout the neighborhood. When he is not outside, he likes to stay indoors and play video games with his little brother or friends, owning an Xbox and hosting game nights in his living room. He is also very good at math and enrolled in a Calculus course despite being a sophomore in the high school, although he struggles with his English courses. Moses took Eli Fonseca under his wing and would often refer to him as "little buddy", encouraging him to be more open when it came to pursuing girls he liked. The two quickly bonded due to finding the numerous similarities they had with one another and occasionally turn to each other simply to vent when they need to understand and empathize with their diabetic struggles. Eli's relationship with Hannah Quigley and negative behaviors following their surprise pregnancy put a strain on their friendship however, as Moses became incredibly upset and called him a hypocrite for not owning up to his responsibilities as a man.  

He has since managed to reconcile with him and frequently messages him or visits him during school breaks even after his family relocated to upstate New York, finding forgiveness in his heart for his friend. Beyond Eli, Moses is also good friends with Damien Frasier and Reggie Cox whom he sits with during his lunch period along with an extended group of boys. He and Damien temporarily made plans to help renovate a historic restaurant in the city and open a hot dog stand while recruiting Eli to be one of their workers, although their idea ultimately failed. He admits that he has "mature interests" and sometimes looks at images of Playboy models in his bedroom, in addition to having a a bit of a dirty mind by wanting to name their restaurant "dikinbaus". He nevertheless claims to be a Christian and has a strong belief in God, although he approaches his religion much more loosely than Eli does. As a "miracle child" according to his parents who doctors believed would be born with devastating birth defects, Moses considers himself a survivor who was blessed by God and given a second chance at life, causing him to choose to devote his life to his faith and praising the lord. His grandmother was also a firm believer in West African spiritual practices and carried "La Negra Tomasa" close to her heart as she shared stories of the mythical figure with her grandson. He has a creative side to his personality and likes to write movie scripts in his spare time, having written over 20 pages of a movie about boy whose home is split in two by an earthquake. He is also a big fan of Twenty One Pilots, although he listens to MGMT and Arcade Fire on the side, as well as some rap music on occasion. Moses' resourcefulness shows in his ability to turn ordinary objects into storage items, turning coffee cans into bag dispensers and a binder ring into a hair tie holder. 

He also has a mini refrigerator in his bedroom, where he stores smoothies and protein bars and food such as sandwiches and his mother's leftovers. He briefly tried to date a bespectacled female student at his school named Noona Buckley, who is adopted and of Indian-Canadian descent. He ultimately could not hide his true feelings for Olivia Garcia-Colon from other people however, concluding he would never like another girl the way he liked her after they kissed. Generally well-groomed and concerned with keeping a neat appearance, Moses is considered attractive by Olivia's friends and seems to experience a mutual attraction toward her. He is a tall boy with afro-textured hair that he keeps neatly trimmed, gentle golden-brown eyes, and a milk-chocolate complexion. He enters a long-term relationship with a different girl at one point, but gets closer to Olivia throughout the years and eventually becomes romantically involved with her. He hopes to one day study business or finance in college and work as an officer for the US Navy. Although he initially had dreams of running track professionally for his country, Moses grows up to enlist instead in the US Navy for four years to pay off his college debt and later pursues a career in cybersecurity after attending college in Florida. He and Olivia develop a solid relationship throughout their teen and young adult years, and despite breaking up several times due to some stressful life circumstances, manage to find their way back to each other and remain supportive of one another's dreams. He relocates to the Virgin Islands with his wife during his middle-age and assists her as she works on a non-profit that produces bracelets to help soldiers who are overseas. The two vacation in Olivia's native Puerto Rico after marrying in their late 20s and go on trip to to California to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary alongside their three sons, Byron, Ekon and Malik. ENFJ 9w8