My Second Chanceat life

2017–2020 · Old San Juan

Puerto Rico: the first chapter after

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Going back after recovery was not a retreat. It was where I rebuilt my identity.

Home again

The best three years of my life.

I lived in Old San Juan for three years. I became more comfortable alone, kept trying to work for myself, and improved my e-commerce work little by little through trial and error.

Puerto Rico was the bridge between surviving and eventually leaving to see the world.

Nighttime view from Alex's life in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Old San Juan was not a vacation. It was home for the first three years of my second life.Old San Juan lived experience

2019

I was living inside a historic moment.

I was in Old San Juan during the mass protests that ended with Governor Ricardo Rosselló announcing his resignation. I was not reading about it from somewhere else. I was there in the streets, taking photographs and videos.

A crowd carrying Puerto Rican flags during a protest in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rican flags in the streets during the protest era I witnessed while living in Old San Juan.Historic protest atmosphere
A person with a Puerto Rican flag during the protest period in Old San Juan.
A human moment from the streets during a historic political period in Puerto Rico.Protest-era human detail
I wanted to hold survival up as a trophy. Not because the tumor was good, but because I had gone through it and was still here.