After his final surfing competition, Solomon finished first. I'm was so proud of him, but I couldn't push away that void in my heart for not having my family in my life for almost 12 years. Just imagine that, missing all the marriages, births, deaths, birthdays...

That night we went home and I ended up crying…

I moved away at about 16, my junior year, unable to take the pain of losing my mother, Sarah. I decided to drive down to California along the coast till I came across Santa Cruz where I was enrolled for high school classes. I had a small one bedroom apartment in a secure building where I stayed when I was in school. …