Espinosa - Matthew Espinosa

For my family, friends, fans, teachers, mentors, and any other people trying to make this world a better place to live in.

And to anyone going through a tough time, know that it will get better!

CONTENTS

Its Matthew!

Ive got a lot to sharemuch more than I could ever put in a six-second Vine, an Instagram caption, a quick YouTube video, or a tweet of 140 characters or less. And none of the above tells you much about who I really am as a person. What youve gotten up till now was just scratching the surface. So, faced with the question Whats the best way to give my fans a real, deep, intimate picture of myself? a book seemed like a good choice. I mean, thats a lot of pages to fill up, and they can always make the type really small if I go on and on. My teachers didnt call me chatty for nothin....

Truth is, theres a broad spectrum of who I am, who Im not, what gets me going as a human being, what I like, what I dont like, and what makes this a joyful life to live. I have visions, goals, and dreams, and Ive done a lot of growing up over the past few years. Its kind of crazy when I think about it: how far Ive come in such a short amount of time. How? Why? I couldnt tell you 100 percent. Im blessed, thats for sure. Looking over my life in this way helps me appreciate it even more. I get to take a step back and really be grateful to the people who got me here. Without God, my family, friends, teachers, coaches, mentors, and fans, Id be nowhereso shout-out to yall. Thanks to you, Im in LA, following my passion and my purpose, with an incredible support group behind me.

And I want to put that back out there to everyone flipping these pages: I believe in you, too, and I know that we can be legendary together. I love it when someone tells me, Hey, you gave me confidence. You taught me to be myself. If theres one thing I hope you take away from my story, its this: every person has a voice and every life has a purpose. Personally, I want to be a motivator, a communicator, an influencer, someone who projects positivity to my peers and the world. I will keep working for youyour love and support dont go unnoticed!because I believe its my purpose and duty to do so. And if I make you smile or laugh in the process, thats even cooler. And if that isnt enough, theres all these totally embarrassing personal pictures of me that I let my mom dig up.

Enjoy and love you,

LETS START AT THE BEGINNING

W hen I came along, my sister, Kristen, was nine, and my brothers, Ryan and Dylan, were seven and two. Yup, Im the baby of the family, and they never let me forget it. My parents will tell you that, from day one, I was one happy little dude. Somewhat adventurous, sure, but never jumping off the walls or acting crazy like a lot of other boys. My mom insists I didnt give her a hard time and thanks me for it. If she put me in a time-out, Id just go stand in the corner by the stairwell. Dylan would try to argue his way out of it, but I knew better. I knew by the time he was done arguing and just beginning his time-out, Id be out of mine and already back outside playing. You did the crime, do the time!

I have a summer birthday, so I started kindergarten at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional School a little late. I was six and the class clown who cracked the other kids up. When my mom would ask the teachers at parent/teacher conferences, Hows Matthew doing? theyd all say, Oh, hes doing great... but hes a little bit chatty. Couldnt help it; I always had something to say (and still do).

I was into sports, big time. From the time I was four, I did soccer in the spring and fall. When I was in first grade, around seven years old, I started swim team, and that went on until high school. I also did T-ball, basketball, and lacrosse. I wanted to play football, but my mom wouldnt let me start until I was tenthat was her magic number. As much as I begged and tried to wear her down, she said no. So I played other sports and waited for the day I turned double digits and, when I did, Mom caved. All in all, Id have to say football and lacrosse were definitely my favorites, although each sport and team really has a special place in my memories.

Despite all the sporty stuff, I guess it was pretty clear from the start that I would grow up to do something creative. I believe I got all my comedic personality and the ability to speak so well from my dad. I loved to make my family laugh, pretending to be different characters. My fave was this little old man with a cane. Id play him hitting on my mom and sister. My whole family would be in tears cracking up. Jim Carrey was my favorite actor on the planet, and I wanted to grow up and be him. Starting in fourth grade, whenever we were given a group project in school, other kids would want to do a diorama, a poster, or a book report. Me? I would always be the one to say, Can we do a video? I also did a lot of stuff with photosI loved to make montages with music. I remember starting in fourth grade doing lip-synching videos with Dylan. In middle school, I did acting and theater, and honestly, thats where I want to be headed one day. Id think about being a serious actor, someone like Leonardo DiCaprio, with a wide range of roles that challenge me.