Freddie Avila:  

MY story like my years at Mountain View takes many turns and twists. Things I did while I was at Mountain View had an immediate impact on the rest of my adult life. On graduation day June 1984 I started my morning in a sleeping bag on the pep rally steps in between the boys and girls gym. A bunch of us decided to spend our last night of high school at school. We had a good time. Throughout the day the future for the first time was surrounded by positive possibilities. I made it despite being stabbed 4 different times and shot once my sophmore year almost dying and missing the rest of my sophmore year. Being active in a ganglife that was filled with violence and drug abuse. Many of my childhood friends ended up dead or in prison. My turning point occured after I got shot. I witnessed my mother crying for me in the hospital after I got shot. The person I was even at my worst always had compassion for others. I was the bully of the bullies. I didn't like seeing people pick on others. Many of my worthwhile friends were made from me stepping in. When I saw mom crying for me the deathwish I desired no longer existed. The education part of Mt. View came very easy to me. I caught up on the credits I fell behind on and I was ready to move on in life. As we graduated the journey on the Viking ship overwhelmed me with happiness and joy for us all. One thing happened I didn't foresee. My ex-girlfriend showed up to the graduation. She had a broken smile and she said she came to see me graduate. After taking several photos with classmates I noticed she was still there. I asked her what was wrong. Hesitantly she informed me she was 2 months pregnant and that I was the father. I had a date to the all night party at Disneyland I had to cancel. My future took a different turn than I planned. Fatherhood completed the transformation I began after I saw my mother shedding those tears. The only ...Expand for more