Fatherhood.
\\nJune, 2011.\\n\n

Just a couple of days ago, I was thrilled and excited to attend my son\\u2019s Swearing-In Ceremony to the State Bar of California. While waiting for the ceremony to begin, my mind started recollecting the many joys of being a father.
\\nI remembered his first graduation from Kindergarten, and subsequent graduations from elementary and high school. In the U.S., it is a bit confusing for me with all those names, but I never missed any of those important occasions in his life. After he graduated from Pepperdine University in 2000 with a BA in Advertising and a minor in Intercultural Studies, I thought then that it would be his last school function that I would be attending. In between, he participated in many summer and Christmas concerts\\\/plays, and I volunteered to play piano for them. The experience of performing and being on stage with my son was wonderful. Those were incredible and fun times. \\n\n

Growing up, he had aspirations of becoming a veterinarian. He adores animals, and animals relate to him in an uncanny and gentle way. I remember how thrilled he was when I took him to Sea World in San Diego. I had a friend who worked there, and my son was invited into their office where he surprised the marine biologists with his knowledge of the different types of whales that he was describing on a big poster on the wall. (He was also very knowledgeable about dinosaurs and other animals.) Afterwards, he was invited to enter the penguin exhibit to pet the penguins while I watched him from the outside. He was so happy; it was priceless. \\n\n

Because of my love for tennis, I introduced the sport to him at a young age, and he became very good at it. I never missed a tournament or any of his matches. I took him to tennis camps and plenty of private lessons. He even took a few lessons from Alex Olmedo, a 1959 Wimbledon Champion, at The Beverly Hills Hotel. For a while, he thought about becoming a professional tennis player while going to school. We used to play together quite often, until he became too good for me to handle. He is still much, much better than me, and I practically play every day!\\n\n

I was surprised when he told me that he wanted to be an attorney, because that career was never on the radar of our conversations. I realize now that law is his passion. I used to tell him, \\u201cFind a job that you love and then it won\\u2019t feel like a job, and you\\u2019ll be a happy man.\\u201d\\n\n

While waiting for the ceremony to begin, my mind went to so many special places and occasions that we have shared throughout the years. Too many to mention here; it would require probably a book to enumerate them, but a few are now present in my mind. We both love baseball, so I used to take him to see the Dodgers quite often. A highlight of those days was our first and only World Series game at Dodger Stadium in 1988. We had amazing front row seats where you practically could touch the players! The seats were compliments of a guest of the Beverly Hills Hotel (where I was performing those days) who had heard me say how much I would have loved to take my boy to the game, but it was sold out and I would not have been able to afford the tickets. The incredibly generous guest paid $1000 dollars for those amazing seats! We watched the Dodgers beat the Oakland Athletics in a great game. \\n\n

A true rarity in baseball is to watch a perfect game. In the modern era, out of the millions of games played, I understand that there have only been 18 perfect games. We were at Dodger Stadium on July 28, 1991 and we had the tremendous thrill of watching Dennis Martinez throw a perfect game against the Dodgers. That was a game to remember forever.\\n\n

In 1984, the XXIII Olympiads came to Los Angeles. I had played at a couple of functions for a bank, and they gave me some tickets, so my son and I were able to attend our first Olympic games. We were also at the Closing Ceremony on August 12th. This was another page in a wonderful mental book of memories. When the games returned to the USA in 1996 in Atlanta, I wanted to take my son but I couldn\\u2019t afford it. Playing the piano gave me plenty of satisfaction and joy, but not a lot of money. But Fate smiled upon us, because I had heard about a contest on a local radio station. Guess what? Yes, I won and I took my son to see the Games in Atlanta.\\n\n

Since childhood, I enjoyed challenging his mind with problems of logic or as some people call it, lateral thinking. My father did the same with me. With time, my son enjoyed those games, and he became better than me. I always thought that my love of books, classical music and mental games would help to develop his intelligence and his abilities to think outside the box. I taught him how to play chess, and he became very good at it. I took him to the swimming pool when he was a toddler; in no time, he swam better than me. Maybe all those mental challenging games were a small contributor to his intellectual capacities. He is a member of American Mensa.\\n\n

Since he was a little boy, I took him to many concerts at the Music Center. We saw the Los Angeles Philharmonic quite often and attended many Broadway shows. We had the pleasure to see Luciano Pavarotti live at the Hollywood Bowl; it was another unforgettable evening. I was always trying to provide him with as many tools as possible, so he could have a better life. My father used to tell me, \\u201cYou are the architect of your own destiny.\\u201d I shared the same words to my son when he was small.\\n\n

As I watched him being sworn in to the U.S. District Court, Central District of California and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, I was very, very proud of him. His wife Brianna was and is a great help and cheerleader of his efforts, and maybe my influence and conversations while he was growing up were a tiny contribution to his development as a man, but he should take full credit for his efforts and determination. He studied countless hours, got up every day for school, and went through the grueling task of taking the bar. He determined his own destiny and again, all the credit goes to him.\\n\n

I am very proud of my son! He surpassed me in practically everything that I thought him: tennis, swimming, logical thinking, etc. Well, the only little edge I have left against him is that I can still beat him in chess, but I have the feeling that that won\\u2019t last for long. As I am approaching the final stretch of my life, he is just starting the most exciting years of his, so he is becoming better and stronger in every possible way. The Swearing-In ceremony was perhaps the last school function that I will attend for my son, but I\\u2019m hoping for many more celebrations of our lives.\\n\n

There is no other father more proud of his son than me.\\n\n

Sincerely yours,\\n\n

Antonio Castillo de la Gala \\n”watch Hier ben ik 2017 film now\n”A Dog’s Purpose live streaming movie