Me and Roberto “Bob” Floro. I think I am 3 years old here. I don’t remember much about my life before we lived in Hidden Glen. Our house over by Montgomery Elementary/Silver Creek I only vaguely recall. What I do remember is loving to hug my dad because I liked the way his cologne smelled.
Growing up, I always enjoyed drawing as a hobby but fully acknowledged that there were kids that were far more technically talented than I was. Because of that awareness, it never really occurred to me to even consider a career as an artist. I had this fantasy that perhaps I could be a writer of some kind like Carrie Bradshaw or even a lawyer, since I loved debate and watching true crime documentaries and news magazine programs like 20/20.
All that fell by the wayside once I took Art-1 with Ms. Miller my sophomore year of high school. She recognized I had some decent skills and got me into Prismacolor pencils. Those pencils, in so many ways, really made me believe I had the talent to perhaps do something in the art world.
And so, by the time I was a senior, I decided art school and majoring in Animation & Visual Effects was the way to go. I had always been into Disney and anime growing up and it really shaped a big part of who I am. I told my parents about it, and they were more or less supportive. They didn’t ask many questions. I think in their minds, I had everything together and didn’t need much guidance.
I do wish, however, I had more direction from them — in particular my dad — and that I had done more research into what a career like that would actually look like. Or even what specific area within that field I should specialize in. How much would it pay? How would I finance it? How does interest work? Those things matter, obviously.
I may be a decent writer and artist who loves history… but I was always terrible at math. Ask my elementary teachers.
But it happened the way it did, and it was full steam ahead. I was going to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco come fall 2004.
The first two years of college I thoroughly enjoyed the classes. Most of them were geared toward sharpening skills — figure drawing (nude and clothed), anatomy, color and design (I loved classes like this), still life painting… those were amazing. I felt confident in my work, but I really had to try hard.
Going straight into art school as an 18-year-old with no real art experience or training aside from Art-1 was quite the choice. I was humbled quickly. A lot of my classmates were adults with lived experience — many already working in art-related fields, well into their 20s and 30s, or had been taking private lessons for years.
I averaged As and Bs. I did well in those classes. Grown adults would cry or get into arguments with professors during critiques. It was brutal. I’d receive some decent feedback here and there, but I was never on the receiving end of scathing critiques or glowing praise. To be fair, I also didn’t try as hard as I could have.
By the time a lot of the animation classes kicked in, I knew immediately that animation wasn’t for me. The idea of sitting in a cubicle in dim lighting with a glowing screen in front of me in silence did not sit well with me.
Problem was, I had already made the commitment — two years of general art classes completed. So I decided to pivot.
I was always good at working with people. In high school, I learned I was more sociable than I thought. I also had years of experience working with kids already. That’s when the light bulb turned on — what if I became an art teacher?
I explained the situation to my counselor and we agreed to structure my remaining classes to be more well-rounded so I could become a more prepared art teacher. I finished school, got my teaching credential, and went on my way.
The aftermath of that decision in terms of career has been great. The financial part of it, however, placed a tremendous amount of stress on me during my 20s. I had over 200k in student loans, 120k of which had a 16% variable interest rate like a damn credit card. I struggled with that for the longest time.
There was a moment years later during the pandemic in 2020 when my dad came to my apartment to help me fix our garage door. By then, I had been living in Campbell with Jey for almost 10 years and not once had my family been over. I ordered food and we sat down to have lunch.
The subject of those loans came up.
My intention was not to invite my dad over and ambush him. The topic came up, it was a sensitive topic for me, and for the first time I finally expressed frustrations I had been carrying for years.
He told me he didn’t force me to go to art school and that ultimately it had been my choice. It got silent for a second and then I followed up with, “it was my choice, but it was your job to help me figure out how to make that happen — you’re my dad. Why didn’t you sit me down and explain how the private loans work? Why didn’t you explain how a 16% interest loan would be hard to pay off?”
Now he was silent.
I then followed up with some harder questions. I was confused how we were living so comfortably with two parents working, and I had to pay for college entirely on my own with no financial assistance, when I know others with far less whose parents were able to finance most, if not all, of their tuition.
After swallowing his food, he said something I will never forget to this day, and in many ways it was all I needed to hear from him:
“Your mom and I made a lot of mistakes.”
My intention was never to hurt my dad or make him feel bad. I appreciated him being vulnerable and owning up to falling short in that regard. That was all I needed from him — and the topic has never come up again.
I think parents always want to do right by their kids. As a middle child, my parents often thought I had things together because I appeared on top of things. But in my view, guidance is ongoing — and I hope for youth growing up, they have parents who continue to do so well into their kids’ adult lives. And as a parent, it is okay to continue checking in.
As a teacher today, you’d be surprised how often the topic of money, school, loans, and debt comes up in my classroom — especially with seniors. And I will always take the time to sit, pick up a paint brush with them, and talk about it.
If I can save even one student from decades of stress because of financial choices they do not yet fully understand, it will bring me great joy in knowing that.
Quick Notes:
- I do not regret art school — quite the contrary, it was amazing.
- I sometimes fantasize about going back as a fully realized adult and taking those classes even more seriously. Maybe in chapter 2 of my life.
- A lot was happening socially during this time, and I will revisit that in my next blog.
- My dad is one of the nicest men you will ever meet. He is calm, highly intelligent at math (go figure), and full of dad jokes.