Spotlight Sunday: CJ Santoyo
While brainstorming things to talk and write about on this website, I started to think about all of the people that have made a huge impact on my life. So, I decided that I would do something called a “Spotlight Sunday” post where I take the time to write about a person and share what they mean to me. When I sat down to think about the important people in my life, I immediately thought of my older brother.
CJ is three years older than me and I wouldn’t say that we were always best friends. Not like we are now. Growing up, we were constantly arguing and fighting about the smallest, most insignificant things. But, the anger and arguments never lasted long. If you grew up with siblings, you probably understand me when I say that when we were together, a fight or argument was pretty much guaranteed but when we were apart, we were bored out of our minds. When I started high school, CJ and I started to fight less and count on each other more. We’d go to each other to keep our secrets, ask for advice, or if we just needed somebody to hang out with and a good laugh. When CJ left for college after my freshman year of high school, that was when we really started to appreciate each other more. We realized that we weren’t going to live in the same house and be around each other forever. We would eventually have our separate spaces and lives to live so we made sure that we were always in contact and keeping up with each other. As a senior in college, I rely on my brother more than ever. He graduated and lives in Arizona but we always make an effort to talk about what we have been up to and our plans for our lives. We run so many ideas by each other because neither of us really has any idea what we’re doing. All we know is that we will definitely have to live in the same city again.
There are a lot of reasons why I admire my brother and am grateful that he is in my life. First of all, he’s a go-getter. If he sees something and wants it, he works for it and gets it. Seeing him grow up playing baseball, I can confidently say that was something he was relentlessly pursuing. All he wanted to do was play baseball, so he did. He had a glove on his hand pretty much everyday. He spent days in weight rooms, in batting cages, and on fields. He went to a high school solely for the baseball program and then went on to play in college. He was never afraid to make sacrifices or bounce around to other schools in order to find the perfect fit for him to keep playing. He is so driven and lazy days are not common for him. He taught me that when you really want something, you just have to go for it, work hard, and never make any excuses. He is incredibly caring. He loves people and will always make sure that those around him are doing okay. He’ll offer up whatever he has to whoever needs it. He is the funniest person I know. CJ is hilarious and leaves a trail of joy and laughter everywhere he goes. He brings life to every situation he encounters.
I have him to thank for a lot of things. Our games of tackle football gave me tough skin. We had so many wrestling and boxing matches that I really thought I could be hired by WWE. My love for baseball comes from spending long days in the sun and late nights under stadium lights sitting in the stands watching his games. I thank him because there was never a dull moment growing up. We were always cracking jokes with each other and finding something to laugh about. I always had a partner in crime, somebody to blame, and somebody to get in trouble with. My life would definitely be different if CJ wasn’t in it.
