A Biography about a dad
My father, Nat Umpornpuckdi was born on October 24, 1962 in Bangkok, Thailand. His parents Wanna Umpornpuckdi (mother) and Kanit Umpornpuckdi (father) and Pam Ratawessnant (sister) were all well educated people. My father was primarily home schooled up until sixth grade due to my grandfather Kanit needing to move around frequently due to his job. After being home schooled, he was sent to a boarding school called Bangkok Christian College for the remaining years of his education starting at age 11.
At Bangkok Christian College, my father did well in his studies and was popular among his friends. Although the school was all boys, there was also an all girls school down the street that would come to join his school for Sunday prayers and special occasions. My father also was a great athlete setting and breaking several school swim records. He learned not to swim in the pool or at the beach like we do now, but in the river like most kids during those days. He said once told me that, “There were three rivers that came together and if you were strong enough to swim out of that without dying, you could make it anywhere.” He also told me, “During those times, several large boats would be in the water speeding through not caring if people were bathing, swimming or just wading around and sometimes people would get hit and die.” He was lucky and was a very strong young man.
During his high school years, he wanted to become either a policeman like my
The Birth of my first, Jayden, was pretty normal, and he was on time. I was in labor for
Hey dad I'm writing to you because I feel it's easier and it gives you more time to think. I wanna just tell you how I have been feeling lately and what I'm going through, okay here it goes. Ever since I was about 12-13 I've noticed that I never had any feelings towards guys and it wasn't till I started hanging out with a close friend of mine that I realized I really did like her. I noticed every little thing about her, I worked out her flaws, I could be myself around her she made me feel safe. The day I actually confronted her about it she said it was disgusting and that she couldn't be friends with me anymore. It hurt a lot that someone would say that and so from then on I didn't say anything about it I kept telling myself that I liked guys but all I did was lie to myself and I don't wanna do that anymore.
“Prove them wrong” When I was in fourth grade my dad and brother and I were playing basketball at our house, to help my brother practice. I had never played basketball except against my brother, Brayden. My dad would always be our referee and it was a lot of fun. Even though I never beat Brayden. Brayden didn’t think I was very good, and he would have to play easy on me instead of playing as well as he could have played. It really annoyed me I wanted to be as good as him or better because I wanted to actually have a chance to be better than him at one sport.
If there was one thing that my father made sure I experienced from a young age, it was hard work. When he first traveled to this country, the only thing to his name was his suitcase and a handful of money. Shortly after when I was born, he worked from the ground up to ensure I had a good upbringing. When I graduated high school, he didn't have the money to send me to college, and I didn't want to be snared by student loans, so I had to find another way. I wanted to work for everything that I earned, so I joined the military.
This is what biking means to me. This is a simple moment but in my mind it’s quite complex. How it makes me disappear and how i feel quiet, and calm. My moment is biking down a big hill.
You know how when your a kid and you dont think anything could go wrong: well thats what I thought and then everything went wrong. Let me start at the beginning though I was born July 1st 1996,i was sort of an unexpected surprise my mother had only wanted one child and she was already planing on leaving my dad when she found out she was pregnant. Not wanting to leave two kids without a father she tried working things out with my father again that only lasted 6months after I was born and mom came back home with her parents with not one but two kids. My grandparents immediately took charge of the situation and helped there single daughter raise her children in doing so they took us in as there children. How you may ask well by they took us in as there children they literally took us in my mom
My father was a lifeguard, but not in my lifetime, so maybe loving the ocean was in our blood. As children we grew up in Brooklyn and we would go to Riis Park for our day at the beach. One very distinct memory is of my father as he stood waist deep in the ocean with my brother and sister; the waves periodically lifted and dropped them in the water at his side. Waist deep for my father meant it was well over my head so I remained a safe distance (or so I thought) behind them. Suddenly, a wave appeared and before I could turn and rush to the shoreline the ocean attacked. I found myself in a world of foam, pockets of air allowed me to breathe as I was tossed about like a wet sock in a dryer. Head over heals I tumbled, my skin scrapped by the crushed sea shells that covered the sand. After what felt like an eternity I found myself on the wet sand as the wave retreated out to sea; I’m pretty sure it laughed and gave me the finger as it left.
My dad is driving all the way to Minnesota to get a motorcycle. At least, that’s what I thought. He woke me and my brother up and showed us a picture of a motorcycle. To be honest, I thought that was what we were actually getting because we didn’t have any suitcases so it wasn’t a surprise vacation. I didn’t know we were getting a kitten. I did ask for one more than 5 times. My mom did show me a picture of a kitten that was ready to be adopted. Ok, I’m finished talking.
a choked sob escaped my throat as i curled up on the empty bed, the ache in my chest not seeming to calm down. i felt so alone, and so wrong. he wasn't here anymore, and i wasn't able to talk to him. he was the only one who knew that i was transgender, and he seemed to be he only person who could cheer me up when i needed it.
I dashed into the brush to find cover, the rain was pelting on my back. It was my first Boy Scout outing and we were playing a game of capture the flag, but the lightning was coming, we all could see it off in the distance.
I remember when my Dad and I were at my old house playing catch. After we would finish playing catch he would tell me what I need to work on and help me out. My Dad helps out a lot of people, like his patients. He is a very skilled eye doctor and helps many people everyday. He is also a very good athlete, ever since he was a kid to a grown man.
When I was eight years old, I realized I was slightly different from my dad, but very similar. My dad, and my brother, and I were sitting upstairs in our room and my dad said, “I’m gonna draw something for you guys to guess.” So my brother and I sat there waiting and watched him draw it. My brother and I were interested and what he was drawing and we really liked it. My dad made sure the drawing was well done so we could all guess what it was. He was getting close to the end and me and my brother kept trying to guess it and have fun with it. It took a minute for my brother and I to guess it, but when we finally got it is when I realized I wasn't talented at drawing like my dad and I don't like to draw as much as him. Although I had fun with him, we are very different.
I was in like 7th or 8th grade. One night, my mom comes and asks to pack for a night and get my shoes on. I ask her where we’re going. She wouldn’t tell me, so I didn’t get ready to go anywhere. Then my dad comes down and they start arguing. Earlier that day, my dad had drank like 2 beers while me and him were cleaning out our garage. We were going through some cabinets and there were bottles of alcohol in one. My dad took them inside to hide them inside because her and one of her friends had gotten drunk one night and her friend hit his head and fell down his steps. So as he was carrying them inside, my dad dropped one of the bottles and it fell down our step. Luckily it didn’t break. My dad and brother were arguing over something earlier
What keeps me up at night is how privileged I am. My father grew up in a very poverty stricken town, Guanajuato. Even though his family owned a great deal of land to cultivate fruits, they were barely able to make ends meet. My Grandma and father would have to wake up at 5 am to walk all the way to the other side of town and then catch a bus to a nearby town, Celaya, to sell what they had harvested. While there, my father would go to a nearby wasteland to find any old toys or clothes others had thrown out. This was a continuous thing until my dad, at the age of 15 decided to come to the United States, with nothing else other than a few extra pairs of raggedy clothes, that he had gotten from the wasteland. My father stayed in Texas to help provide
My dad and I were in the car going to our my first organized basketball game. My heart was pounding I was already sweating and I was the most nervous I have ever been in my whole entire life!