Winston Hills University : House of Trauma

Jadon

     Now we move on to the next individual whose story I will be chronicling: Jadon "Jay" Castro. Unlike me, who messed up a lot in high school and had to work through community college before getting accepted into Winston Hills, Jay earned himself a full scholarship. It was said he was one of the best in his class at multiple subjects and had a 4.0 GPA.

Jadon resided in one of the ghetto cities of Chicago, so moving all the way to San Francisco was a breath of fresh air for him. Not only was he happy to get away from all the violence and crime that plagued the streets, but mainly he wanted to be away from his family. Jay's folks were very different compared to mine; despite having more than one child, they didn't divide their attention between the two of them. They gave them both an equal amount of attention. Like most kids who were among the brightest of their peers, Jay's parents were very strict with him, limiting his freedom and restricting him from enjoying many things kids these days are fond of. All of these restrictions on Jay caused him to develop severe anxiety and depression.

One thing I had always admired about Jay was that despite all the emotional and mental stress his parents put him through growing up, it never stopped him from being a genuinely caring person. It was a few weeks after high school graduation when Jay received his acceptance letter to Winston Hills University. He was laying in his room with his headphones on, listening to loud rock music like he usually did in the mornings when his sister burst into his room with the letter. Jay had applied to many different colleges all across the US, but San Francisco had mainly caught his eye due to the type of people that resided in the city.

One of the major things Jay never revealed to anyone was that he was gay, and since his parents were raised as hardcore Catholics, they were homophobic. The only ones who knew about his sexuality were his sister and his next-door neighbor, Waiza, who was lesbian herself. Jay took the letter from his sister's hand and opened it quickly. He nearly jumped for joy when he read the acceptance letter.

"Lucky you, you're finally free from this chamber of horror. Now go and be free to be who you really are," his sister said encouragingly. Jay gave her a big hug and then quickly got dressed and ran next door to his neighbor's house. Waiza was already outside sitting on the porch, holding her acceptance letter as well.

"Bitch, we got in! I'm so excited!" she said as she hopped off the porch and ran to hug him. "I'm so happy I finally get to get away from this crazy-ass neighborhood!" said Jay with so much excitement.

"Hey, this neighborhood is a piece of shit, but at the end of the day, it is still home! My mom's still bitching, wanting me to go to the University of Chicago, but I keep telling her, 'Hell no! I'm 18 now, so I can do whatever the fuck I want now!'" she said.

The two of them stayed chatting for another 10 minutes before Jay was called back inside by his mother.

San Francisco? I don't like it. There are so many better colleges you've been accepted to, and you choose to go to the one in the most ridiculous state. California is full of nothing but gays and weirdos. I'll be damned if you come back here wearing pride colors or preaching a bunch of Democratic bullshit!" said Mr. Castro.

"Dad, we aren't even Republicans, so why does it even matter if he becomes a Democrat?" said Jay's sister.

"I think it's a good idea for Jadon to get out of this city. We raised him to be smart enough to make rational decisions, so I doubt he's going to let four years corrupt everything we've taught him in the last 18 years," said Mrs. Castro.

Jay finished his breakfast without saying a word and quickly went back into his room to finish filling out the rest of the forms he needed. He had the option to come to campus two weeks earlier than he was originally supposed to arrive, and he decided to do so.