About Leo: My life wasn't all that exciting growing up. I was never the popular kid, I was never bullied, I kind of just existed. I waaas always the tallest in my class, so I had that going for me I guess! I've [more]My life wasn't all that exciting growing up. I was never the popular kid, I was never bullied, I kind of just existed. I waaas always the tallest in my class, so I had that going for me I guess! I've always been around music, however. My dad has voiced for countless radio stations, and (as of writing this) has DJed for Kearth101 for just over 10 years now! (He also has a food review account on all platforms called GrubWithGreg. Follow him and tell him I sent you!). My mom was a dance teacher, which of course meant I was in all of her classes and shows. Tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, The Nutcracker, you name it. She teaches acting now, but that only means she switched from playing pop music at full volume to songs from musicals. The only one who isn't into music in my family is my older brother, but he's too busy traveling the world and being famous for his fingerboarding content (TechDecks for the uninitiated).

If you've seen me around in school, chances are you've heard about my big experience regarding covid, and how it affects me to this day. Well, the FULL story is this: On June 2nd, 2022, I was extremely sick and was fainting left and right. The first time was unfortunately over our short patio wall, and I have the scar on my left leg to prove it! I was soon taken to the hospital (where they soon found out it was covid), but luckily there was no bigger underlying issue. Fast forward about a week, and I'm perfectly fine... like nothing ever happened... until about two months AFTER that when I pass out at my first checkup since the hospital. After that, I started to feel a bit more tired than usual, but nothing too bad. Doctors figured it was just something wrong with my thyroid (which was not the case... I'll explain later.), so we didn't think too much of it. Fast forward ANOTHER few months, and suddenly one day I feel like I am DYING out of nowhere... and that's NOT an exaggeration. My heartrate and blood pressure were super elevated, I felt extremely hot, I was very dizzy, and I could barely breathe. I was rushed to the hospital again, but they just thought it was general anxiety (they were... actually partially right). After that, I was almost completely bedridden. I saw countless doctors, did multiple tests, but they couldn't find anything wrong with me. It was only when my aunt spoke to my mom and said, "Hm, that kind of sounds like this thing called POTS syndrome." If she had not been there that day, if she did not have that conversation with my mom, I would probably still be looking for a diagnosis. Talk about a God moment! So, with this information in mind, we actually had a direction to go in now. Turns out, she was COMPLETELY RIGHT! I was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS for short. Specifically HYPER pots. I was also diagnosed with chronic fatigue, general anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. With an actual diagnosis, treatment became... somewhat easier. This was still very new, since before covid, it was EXTREMELY rare (lucky me, I know...), so a majority of the doctors we came across had never even heard of it. Even so, I was able to find treatment that helped make life a little easier. As of writing this, I am still not 100% back to normal. I still struggle with going long distances on foot, being in the heat, and a multitude of other small things, but God has been there by my side on my road to recovery, and he is the reason why I am able to pursue my dreams today.

Oh, and before you ask when you see me again... I'm 6'7. [collapse]