February 20, 2024 • 51 mins
Embark on a journey of cultural immersion and resilience with our latest podcast guest, Jose from the podcast, Finding Arizona. Moving back from the East Coast to the Hopi reservation, Jose's story is a vibrant tapestry of tradition and transformation. His tale is punctuated by the rhythmic beat of running, a legacy of his Hopi heritage, that became his conduit for community connection and an incredible tool for personal development. As Jose opens up about his family's influence on his life choices, we are reminded of the web of decisions that shape our futures such as the move that brought him closer to his roots, further enriching his world view.
We delve into the age-old tradition of storytelling, with Jose illustrating how narrative resilience have been instrumental in his life and podcasting journey. The episode draws to a close with an invitation to our listeners to embrace their own stories and legacies, and to recognize the universal human experience that connects us all. Join us as we celebrate the powerful lessons in perseverance, cultural pride, and the enduring bonds formed through the art of the spoken word.
To learn more about Jose, visit: https://www.findingarizonapodcast.com/
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Disclaimer: The views reflected by any of the guests may not reflect the views of the podcast host. Some topics may be difficult for some viewers, so proceed at your own risk. This podcast does not replace psychotherapy or advice and is for entertainment purposes only.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Christina McKelvy (00:00):
Well.
Topology stories of hope,healing and resilience.
I'm Christina.
Today we're going to bespeaking with Jose from the
podcast Finding Arizona.
Fighting Arizona is an Arizonabased podcast, obviously, that
highlights businesses andindividuals from this wonderful
state.
Jose shares about his passionfor running and how it connected
(00:22):
him with his Hopi culture.
Jose talks about valuablelessons that he learned through
running, such as resilience andhow it helped inspire him to be
the best he can be, and how ithelped him delve into stories
and just his passion for thestate of Arizona.
So I'm really excited for thisepisode.
(00:43):
I know you will be too.
We'll be right back after avery short break.
(01:05):
Welcome to Hopology Stories ofHope, healing and Resilience.
I'm your host, christinaMcKelvie.
Today we're meeting with Josefrom the podcast Finding Arizona
.
I'm Jose.
How are you?
I'm doing well.
How are you Doing great, thankyou.
I was just on your podcast andI had a lot of fun, and so thank
you so much for returning thefavor and being on mine and the
(01:28):
little bit that you shared withme about your story of
resilience.
I'm super excited to dive intothat.
So let's start off with ouraudience just telling us a
little bit about you.
Jose Acevedo (01:39):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I'm half Puerto Rican, halfHopi and the resilience story, I
mean it's part of my life andit's integrated on so many
levels.
So I'll just say that I grew upand was born here in Phoenix,
arizona, and then my familymoved to Allentown, pennsylvania
(02:00):
, and that's where I spent apredominant time growing up,
living in this house and kind of.
I have a younger brother andjust knew only that life, knew
only that city life andunderstood that I am culturally
(02:20):
from this tribe, this very, verysmall, very recluse tribe out
in northeast Arizona, and ifonly ever seen videos and
recordings and photos of thattribe I've visited once, when I
was six, I want to say, and thenanother time when I was 10.
(02:43):
But really didn't really get ituntil my mom one day told me
we're going to be moving awayfrom my childhood home and
moving in on the reservation andmoving there until I'm
completed with middle school,high school, and that was hard
because you see and understandand only know this one life and
(03:08):
I was starting to make really,really great friends at that
time and what would have beenand kind of are lifelong friends
that I grew up around and itwas difficult to say, hey, I'm
going to be moving away forever.
And so that was probably thefirst hardship of my life is
(03:30):
just realizing I'm not going tocome be living in this city life
and moving away from everythingthat I know and understand and
going into this new I wouldabsolutely say this new world,
because it's very different outthere on that scale and that
understanding of culture anddiversity is different out there
very much so.
(03:52):
So it was tough.
It was tough in the beginningto.
The one story that sticks outis I got into a not a fight, but
just in an incident where I gotinto physical activities with
someone the first week out beingmoved into the reservation and
(04:14):
got into it with my mom, toldher I didn't want to be there,
told her I didn't like livingthere, and it was a very big,
big, big ish fight and from mymom's perspective she probably
felt a lot, being that thischild that she's had for this
many years never really got intoincidences, never really was in
(04:38):
trouble, now is fighting andnow is experiencing this
hardship and crying and doingall these things.
That's not normal to him.
So it was that kind of hardshipof my life but also started a
new story and a new chapter ofwho I am growing up as a
(04:58):
teenager in this world that Ididn't understand, this culture
that I didn't understand, and Ican kind of get into it more if
you feel like I don't know ifthere's any stories that you
want to hear.
But it's like, again, movingaway was the big real crux of
who started this, what I amtoday.
But yeah, I then moved intohigh school, starting to
(05:24):
understand the culture, startingto understand what it's like to
be this person, and moved intowanting to be more a part of the
group, a part of the society,and realize running was a big
part of it.
And this lifestyle of like thetribe has a lot of ceremonies
(05:45):
and a lot of people who run longdistances and that's who they
are and a part of who they are.
So I took it upon myself like,okay, well, I kind of backed
into it.
I wanted to do football but Iended up hurting myself and
breaking my collarbone.
My cousin, who is there helpingme recover, is like, hey, why
(06:06):
don't you just come run with us?
You don't need your shoulder torun, you don't need your
shoulder to do that kind ofphysical activity.
So I took a shot and was like,okay, I'll give it more, I'll
try it out and give it a shot.
And that turned into I like it,let me see if I can actually go
into a set of the football team,let me do the cross country
(06:29):
team, and so that turned into athing and it's just really
propelled me into the society asa whole, who they are
culturally and who they are as awhole, and I was like, oh okay,
so this is something.
And I stuck out with it and wasin track and was in cross
country and did a lot of running, so yeah, it was just.
(06:51):
And then it propelled me intocollege.
That has been a big, it was atransition, but the resilience
at that time from high schooland gave me opportunities that I
think I wouldn't have had if Ididn't have resilience in an
early you know, it's allpropelled me into who I am today
(07:16):
.
Christina McKelvy (07:18):
Yeah, it's interesting.
So it sounds like you moved toPennsylvania from Arizona and
then you lived there for sometime and then you moved from
Pennsylvania back to Arizona,but to the Hopi Reservation.
Jose Acevedo (07:31):
Yeah, and I was like three when I moved from
Arizona to Pennsylvania.
So I don't really know my child, like you know, you don't
really remember those earlymemories of, like you know,
arizona, being living there inan apartment building.
I see photos that my dad showedme and my mom showed me that
(07:52):
they've had an apartment there.
You know, I can kind ofbacktrack and they show me
photos and I'm like, oh, I knowwhere that is now.
And like you know, I've beenliving here in the valley long
enough to be like, oh, I knowwhere they lived, used to live.
I know certain elements of likewho they were as individuals,
you know, having two kids andthen wanting to move away from
(08:15):
that place where they were at tohelp their kids get better
education, want to try somethingnew, be around friends and
family.
And so, yeah, my dad, being oneof five, had, you know, a lot
of family and his parents were,like, both one of 10.
(08:36):
So they had more family than mymom, who is one of three, and
they all predominantly live onthat small reservation.
And so my dad made the choice,sort of like let's try something
else, let's go to the EastCoast and let's, you know, try
living out there for a while.
(08:57):
And my mom was on board andthen, come the time that we were
moving, she realized A, I wantmy son to have a college
education.
I can't do that with where weare right now.
But, I know that the tribe canhelp him if he's in school,
though like that that was themain crux was like he has to be
(09:20):
educated in our schooling beforethe tribe can say yes to
helping him out with his collegeeducation.
Christina McKelvy (09:27):
Okay, so you had to be on a school in the
reservation in the Hopi SchoolDistrict, or yeah, okay, yeah
and and be there for a certainamount of time, which was all
throughout high school.
Jose Acevedo (09:37):
Essentially, you have to be there for the four
years so that they can help youout.
Also at the time was mygrandparents retiring.
My grandmother was part of theschool education system and she
was retiring.
My grandfather was writing intosome health issues that my mom
wanted to be there to help.
You know, caretaker helpprovide some sort of helping
(10:01):
hand as well be there while he'sgoing through it.
So that was just kind of tworeally big things that I didn't
know and understand at the time.
I was a preteen.
I was like I love what I'mdoing here in Pennsylvania, I
don't want to move away from myfriends, I don't want to do any
of this.
So didn't understand the wholestory.
(10:22):
That was, you know, as I grewup more I was like oh wow, I'm
really, I'm really thankful thatmy mom did what she did, or
made the choice that she did,and my both my parents making
the choices that they did.
So it's.
I know it was kind of hard forthem to at the time, but I'm
right now I'm very thankful andif they are watching and hearing
(10:45):
this which I know they arebecause they follow basically
everything that I do and loveeverything that I do.
Christina McKelvy (10:51):
They're my biggest fans.
I love that I appreciate them.
Jose Acevedo (10:54):
Yeah, wholeheartedly, 100%, if I
haven't said it already to them.
Christina McKelvy (11:13):
Being able to step back as an adult and
objectively look at yourchildhood, I think can be a
healthy thing.
That I think it is healthy todo that and you're able to do
that, be like, oh, I'm verygrateful.
Maybe in the at the time it washard to understand, but now
you're like, oh, that makessense, I'm glad they did that.
Jose Acevedo (11:32):
The thing, that's things that stood out too.
It's like you know I'm a fathernow and you know he's three, he
just turned three.
And it's just again.
It's like you want you start tosee, like you start to ask
those questions.
It's like what do I want, whatdo I want my son to see the best
parts of me, or where?
(11:53):
And then you start asking Well,where do they come from?
What are the, what are the bestparts coming from?
And you start to go back andyou're like, oh, wow, it comes
from my mom and dad, these sortof things that happen in our
lives.
And so you really start to honein on, like, oh, you know these
moments from a perspective ofmy end is one way, but from a
(12:15):
perspective now, as seeing as aparent of another you know
person, you're like, oh, wow,that couldn't have been easy.
Thank God they chose that route, or thank goodness they, you
know, decided to do this insteadof that, you know, because I
don't know who I would be if westayed.
I don't know what kind of lifewe would have had if I had
(12:37):
stayed, or you know, whatever itmay be.
But I really am appreciativethat I have more respect and
more understanding of my culturewhere I, you know, come from on
that level, not only from mymom's side, but also from my
dad's side.
Once I started understandingthat there's history in culture
and there's history coming fromone side of the family, it made
(13:00):
me pull in and try andunderstand this other part of
who I am, which is my father'sside.
That sort of came into lightwhen I was like, oh, there's
this whole B culture.
But what about my other side?
What about, you know, my PuertoRican side?
and who I come from on thatstock level.
Christina McKelvy (13:20):
Yeah, being able to have the understanding
of both.
Yeah, exactly, family treestuff yes, yeah, I love family
tree stuff because there's justso many stories in our genes and
so I want to delve a little bitmore into the running aspect,
because you mentioned that thatwas really where you dwelled
(13:40):
into or dived into your culture,the Hopi culture, and learned
about it through running.
So walk us through thatexperience, what that was like
for you, what you learned fromit.
Jose Acevedo (13:53):
Yeah, Absolutely One of the big things that again
you start to put yourself intothe position of like why are so
many people out here running onthese dirt roads?
Why are there so many trailsthat lead into different parts
of the reservation?
All of these little questionsthat you just go fading away
(14:17):
sometimes.
Or I started to ask my coach,who's a big part of this whole
story.
He's one part, a legendaryrunner.
He's been a part of the highschool since its opening and he
has been the coach of the teamsince its opening.
(14:39):
And he not only is one of themost decorated coaches runners
he's gone to school and kind ofbeen a standout runner himself
but he's coached other kids whoare standout runners as well,
like all Americans.
(15:00):
And so he is someone who notonly has lived a life,
experienced a life, but nowwants to give back on that level
.
Christina McKelvy (15:09):
Yeah.
Jose Acevedo (15:09):
And I come running .
You know I'm someone I think hekind of felt for just in the
sense of like he knew my story.
He kind of knew that I wasn'tfrom the area and my name stands
out Jose it's not a common nameon the reservation there so he,
I think he took it upon himselfto just give me some insights
(15:32):
and a helping hand here andthere when I needed it most.
The big element about runningis, on the Hopi reservation and
in the Hopi culture since thetime that they have a story
about their emergence, therunning aspect providing water
to places that aren't waterfilled, so going from springs
(15:57):
that are naturally existing onthe land and moving it towards
the villages, that's a bigaspect that you're looking at.
Running and providing it to thefamilies, to the tribe itself,
that's a big element.
And then running.
We are a predominantly villageto village kind of living
(16:17):
culture and so you know there'sonly one way that you can get
from village to village is withyour own two feet, and how do
you do that on the fastestformat?
Running is a big element ofthat.
So I understood that I don'tknow why on a rudimentary scale
from early high school age, andso I find it very I guess I just
(16:44):
kind of connected with it andso I wanted to, you know, dive
deep into who these rudders areon the team and who these guys
are individually.
And I really put it upon myselfyou know I'd said that I had
injured myself to really I needto catch up to these guys.
(17:04):
I really want to catch up tothese guys because these guys
are good.
They're running times that are,you know, all state times and I
, pressed by that, I wanted tobe like them.
I felt like they were the, youknow, the bees knees sort of
deal like they are very coolguys, they stand out and they
are athletes on a very goodscale and so and what's the time
(17:29):
running time?
Christina McKelvy (17:30):
We said it's all state.
What does that mean For a nonsports person?
Jose Acevedo (17:35):
I'm talking.
So cost country is 3.5 milesand I want to say they're
running sub 20s.
Something like that of liketimes.
I can't remember off the top ofmy head, but where's the I have
?
I have like a little likeshadow box of like clippings
(18:00):
from there and I can't look atit.
I can't see it right now, butthere were.
They give the times.
Christina McKelvy (18:05):
I think it was like 19 minutes or something
like that, it was fast, it wasfast, and they're they're fast
guys, little, small, compacted,fast runners.
Jose Acevedo (18:17):
And I was taller like I'm in this photo.
I'm taller than my coach,taller than my assistant coach
and I'm in I'm a junior in highschool and when we won, when I
was participating in the statefinals.
So again, I'm like reallystriving to push myself to be a
(18:40):
part of this team and be, youknow, trying to get to their
level Along the way.
You know I'm a.
At the time when I firststarted I was a big kid.
I was, you know, probablysomewhere upwards of 200 pounds,
230, something like that,Blossed probably, I want to say
(19:01):
somewhere between 80 to 90 ishpounds of weight to drop down to
like one, something like 125 atthe time.
Christina McKelvy (19:16):
At six you said you were six, two years.
Jose Acevedo (19:19):
I'm six one, six one and and it's just like it's.
You know I had a lot of weighton me at this.
So that's the physical aspect.
But the mental aspect is, youknow, when you see runners pass
you, that element of like, ohman, I'm not going to make it or
I'm not going to end.
You're running in heat, you'rerunning in, you know your body
hurts and it's just.
(19:40):
You know, when you're also anovice, you know you get shin
splints, you get your feet are,you know, hurting you and you're
like, how do they do this?
They're just running past you.
That the mental side of wantingto quit, wanting to give up and
not feeling like you're goingto ever reach the peak of
(20:00):
performance, that was probablyharder than the physical.
For me.
And so it was my coach that waslike trying to make me
understand.
It's like these kids have beendoing it since they were five.
You've just reached the surface.
These guys have been runningbecause it's a part of the
culture, and who?
Christina McKelvy (20:20):
they are.
Jose Acevedo (20:21):
They've been not only running during school, when
they've actually had to do it,but they've been running outside
of school.
They've been running, you know,mornings.
They've been running, you know,for ceremony on the weekends.
They've been running all thistime that they've not, you know,
done other things where it'slike you have just reached the
(20:45):
surface level of what you'retrying to do.
So that was a big conversationwith my coach at the time of
wanting I don't think I can keepup.
I cried, I think I teared up.
I was like I don't think I cando this.
I don't think I'm good enough,I don't know if I can be a part
of this team.
And he was like no, you can.
(21:05):
You just have to give yourselfthe grace.
Help yourself, visualizesomething better than what
you're doing right now.
And that's his big element.
His visualization is this.
Thing that he teaches a lot inthese teams is help yourself,
(21:25):
visualize winning.
Help yourself visualizefinishing on the best way that
you can, whether that's, youknow, a time or something that
you won't, a person that youwant to beat on another team.
It's like you have to visualizethe course and visualize you
being successful before you canactually even attempt to put
yourself on that starting line.
(21:46):
So it was really.
He was a big part ofunderstanding resilience, and
understanding the culture too islike like he is a big part of
my life and help me understand alot about everything on that
time that I was there and livingon the reservation.
(22:06):
So he was again, I say this,but he's also kind of funny.
It's funny enough that I have agodfather that, like, you get
initiated into the tribe and yougain a godfather and godmother,
but he's a part of that familyessentially.
His wife is my sister, a godsister, and so it, you know,
(22:31):
it's only made us closer.
It only made us, you know, be acloser to one another.
And his story is also a storythat I hope I can capture.
He's not a big, he's not a big,you know, self promoter sort of
person, but he has a veryunique story that I'd love to
one day get him to record withme and have a conversation about
(22:52):
.
Christina McKelvy (22:52):
Yeah, and it sounds like his story inspired
you to make that connection toyour culture.
Jose Acevedo (23:00):
Yeah, absolutely.
You know just the years thathe's put into running himself
and he's got great stories toowhere he's like he told I
remember him telling me one timehe'd run to go visit my god
sister, like at the time he'drun from his house to her house,
which was like 10 miler I think.
So he's like running 10Ks justto go see his sweetheart and
(23:23):
it's just like it's so.
It's those types of things thatmake me bond closer with him
and just really again see him ina different light.
Christina McKelvy (23:39):
So you mentioned that your coach was
really big on visualizing.
Visualized something betterthan you're doing right now Is
(24:00):
that.
It sounds like a lesson thatyou can almost take outside of
not just running, but anywhere.
Jose Acevedo (24:06):
Anywhere?
Yeah, absolutely.
So this will lead into leavingthe reservation and going into
secondary education and being incollege.
I had always had hopes anddreams of going outside of the
state to go to school, but thatnever happened.
(24:27):
I did my best and I actuallygraduated high school
Solilitorium, which is second,not Valovictorian, but it's like
.
That's still something that'sstill lit.
I was like that's stillsomething.
But on top of that, it's likethe Valovictorian was my best
friend.
We always hung out and it justlike it wasn't a big thing to me
(24:47):
.
I was like I'm just glad tograduate and start something new
.
So he, that visualizationrealizing that's like my hopes
of going outside of the state togo to school weren't coming
true.
But I got accepted into thestate college, asu, and I was
(25:10):
like okay, well, they'reoffering me a full ride,
scholarship and to help me withmy education.
That's not nothing.
So I took it upon myself Okay,the dream's not over.
It may be looking different, butyou are still doing something
that not a lot of Hopes get achance to do.
(25:32):
So what are you going to dowith it and how are you going to
go about this new opportunityand how are you going to
continue your life in this kindof?
And I had to visualize.
I really had to put myself andvisualize okay, I'm going to do
this, I'm going to graduate, I'mgoing to work hard and I'm
(25:54):
going to keep trying my best todo all these little things along
the way as well.
And I wouldn't have succeededbecause, again, college is not.
I'll put this in kind of dataformat.
I think one in four actually goon to the second year, so one
(26:23):
in four Hopes.
I don't know if it extends tonatives in general, but it's
very seldom that a nativeindigenous person will actually
go past that first semester,first year.
And it's even smaller if youactually go on and get a
(26:47):
secondary master's degree, phd.
So I'm very happy that I can sayto myself that I'm part of that
small group of educatedindigenous individuals, and so
I'm very happy that I got achance to do so with the help of
(27:10):
my tribe and with the help ofindividuals from that tribe.
That will kind of help mepursue certain aspects or help
me understand elements of who mypeople are and what we do.
So it's just really nice toknow that it all came from
(27:32):
visualizing and thatvisualization came from learning
through running and learningthrough my coach and him
teaching me that element.
Christina McKelvy (27:43):
Like you said , the dream's not over, it just
looks different.
Yeah, exactly.
Jose Acevedo (27:49):
And so it was really again.
It's like you see, somethingthat you wanted to.
I wanted to be an architect butit switched because you change
your degree.
So it's like I went fromarchitecture but I didn't know
that there existed somethingcalled landscape architecture,
and so that really pivoted me,because my people are from the
(28:13):
land and they really do considerthemselves farmers of the land
that they inherit and inhabit it.
So I really love that pivot andthat was really something that
again still a dream, stillsomething that I love doing,
(28:33):
still something that is kind ofwhere I wanted to be but just
looks a little bit different.
It has a different element toit and I think it's that
resilience to okay, it's notover, it just looks like
something else that just reallyagain helped me thrust myself
forward into education, intomore education, learning more
(28:55):
and being someone who's like I'mnot afraid to do, want to do
more, I want to get a master'sdegree and, not afraid of who I
am, and I can say that that allcame from.
Okay, I need to visualize howI'm going to go about every
(29:16):
aspect of this education processthrough college.
Christina McKelvy (29:21):
Yeah, so when you visualize it, your brain
doesn't always know thedifference between what you're
coming up with.
You know imagination versusreality sometimes, and so it's
like it makes it real when youvisualize it, and I apologize if
I got that wrong, but that's mythoughts.
Jose Acevedo (29:39):
No, you're totally on track of like yeah, your
brain really doesn't.
It has like this picture.
But sometimes the picture canfool you a little bit because
you see certain elements but youdon't see.
You know, let's say, theperipherals.
Like you know, this may come updown the.
It's like you have to roll withthe punches sometimes because
(30:02):
that's just, it's closing onedoor, but you can't be afraid to
open the other, the window thatcomes after you close that door
.
So I have just been enthralledthat I had the opportunity to
actually even learn from someonelike my coach and him giving me
those techniques, becausewithout those techniques I
(30:25):
really think I would have gonein a downward spiral.
Just because, again, it's like Ithink running also provides an
opportunity of self-resilience.
Because you have to be theperson that wants to cross the
finish line.
You have to be the person thattuffs it out on when your feet
are hurting, your knees arehurting, your you know your
(30:45):
lower back may be hurt,everything may be hurting on you
, but you know you have a finishline, a goal that you know you
can rest at.
It's up to you to want to wantto cross that.
You have to be the person.
You have to be strong-willed,strong of mind to say, hey look,
it might be hurting, but I gotless than a mile, or I have this
(31:10):
much length to go and I know Ican do it.
I know that I have the strengthto do it.
So that's definitely someelements that I'd love to just
want to keep teaching othersabout, because I think everyone
has it in them.
I really do think that thereare people who short themselves
on that part because whatever itmay be in their history or
(31:33):
whatever it may be, but you haveto, you have to find that in
yourself.
Christina McKelvy (31:39):
Yeah, that internal motivation, yeah, and
it's running is such a greatmetaphor.
You know, crossing the finishline, having that resilience,
having that drive when you thinkyou want to give up, just keep
going, pushing forward.
So I think running is a greatmetaphor for what you want to
share with others.
Did you continue to run incollege?
Jose Acevedo (32:03):
So people asked me this and I did on a more
personal level, like I would goout and do runs by myself and
just kind of keep running, and Istill run today.
I live near a canal and so thatcanal allows me to go run
trails and be out and do runningthat way.
(32:24):
It's also something that's justkind of stuck like as far as a
physical activity that I enjoydoing.
It's always there, it's alwayspossible.
My knees are still still, stillkicking.
Christina McKelvy (32:38):
They they're.
Jose Acevedo (32:39):
They're not too creaky.
I'm still able to get out thereand do what I need to do.
So, yeah, it's just somethingthat I really I love.
I love doing it.
So I think an element of likehas always been there, where
it's like it's always going tobe a part of your life.
It's always.
As soon as I found out thatit's part of my culture, it kind
(33:00):
of clicked in my head and it'slike oh, so this is always going
to be with me, it's always notgoing to be a thing and it's not
going to go away.
I am going to be a continualrunner in some sort of fashion.
But also in my head I'm like Ialso kind of want to give this
down to not only my son, but Ihave nephews, that I want to
(33:22):
share this with them and and andteach them the same things that
I was taught, which is that,that visualization, so that they
can use it to help them succeedand help them with whatever
difficulties that may comeacross them.
Christina McKelvy (33:38):
And what would he say?
Jose Acevedo (33:39):
that is the biggest lesson or benefit you've
learned from being able topractice a visualization and the
biggest, I guess the biggestthing or the biggest benefit I
mean again, I think, is the selftalk, self motivation in those,
(34:01):
in those little hard times too,it's like with those little
hiccups in life where maybe youthink you messed up, it's like
okay, I mean I may have messedup or I may have, you know, made
a mistake or may have, you know, not done something Right yeah
to have the discipline and thetechniques to say, okay, well,
(34:22):
how do I correct this?
or how do I?
You know it's gonna be okay.
Where do you find the silverlining?
In in the cloud, you knowthat's, I think, that's the
greatest benefit of all, becausewe all, you all, have struggles
in life.
We will all have something thatcomes across our table that
will, you know, knock us down.
(34:42):
I Think for me, I have alwaysstrived to really again have
self positive talk or have somekind of that.
So trying to find that silverlining that will always be
something that I reach for andsomething that I want to be
Educating and advocating for is,like you know, yeah, we're all
(35:06):
imperfect, but you can provideyourself with the ability for
hope and the ability forsomething positive.
Christina McKelvy (35:18):
Yeah, that, that discipline, that again it
goes back to that internalmotivation and I just also love
how you know, with your story,that progression of you're
moving away to the East Coast,which you know you said you were
three but so different fromArizona and then moving back To
Northeastern Arizona, which isvery different from Phoenix.
(35:39):
Yep, you know, on the Hopireservation and reconnecting to
Is it your mom or dad's side?
It's my mom's side, your mom'sside.
You know your Hopi culturethrough running, a tradition
that I'm assuming is probablythousands of years old.
Yeah, and it's beautiful how itstarted.
You know water and transferringwater and the Hopi culture so
(36:02):
rich to with you know a lot ofthe legends and stories and
connecting to that side throughrunning and how you continue to
do that, how you find otherlessons and aspects to it in
your life, not necessarily justphysically but even mentally and
Emotionally.
So I think that's that'samazing.
You know just something that alot of us take for granted.
(36:26):
I mean, I don't run, but youknow I'm sure there's a lot of
people that just take runningfor granted and don't even think
about what it could do.
Jose Acevedo (36:31):
Yeah, it's just.
It's incredible that I can lookback on on those elements and
really see the the through lineand string that connects them
all, and I'm very thankful forNot only my my coach, but my my
parents and my grand, ultimatelymy grandfather, who has passed
(36:52):
To give me insights on thosetypes of things of you know,
perseverance, storytelling,culture, and that will allow me
to.
I Ultimately believe that it'llallow me to progress forward as
a good person and a good fatherand a good individual as a
(37:12):
overall whole person.
Christina McKelvy (37:16):
Perseverance and storytelling, and that's
what you're doing with yourpodcast, you know, yeah.
Jose Acevedo (37:21):
It's kind of bled through on on so many levels.
It's just one of those things.
It's like, yeah, they'rerunning, help me learn about
culture and and the culture itled to storytelling, and those
stories Ultimately led me tobelieve that Every story has a
meaning and and every person hasa story to tell.
So now I get a chance To listen, which is what my grandfather
(37:47):
really Wanted me to do from theget-go anyways.
He always kind of made he, heand I had this relationship of
like pal but also Poke fun of mypals sort of deal, and that's
the culture as a whole.
You laugh at the pain and youlaugh at the at the hard times,
because you know that's just thetype of people they are.
(38:09):
It's like the hardships arehard but you you can find the
silver lining and learn to laughat that and and find humor and
things.
But he would like to say that Iwasn't a good listener.
Christina McKelvy (38:21):
I Was your grandfather, my grandfather,
yeah yeah, and he was.
Jose Acevedo (38:29):
You know I can.
It's like you know you, Ireally wish at the time I could
have.
Sometimes I look back I'm likeI really wish I had a better
Relationship, but also I thinkit's kind of beautiful that I've
taken everything that hethought was not a part of my
vernacular and have made it apart of my vernacular and strive
(38:53):
to want him to be Looking at meas like good job son and good
job Sonny, and I really doappreciate that.
He vocalized certain aspects ofwho he was and who he, what he
believed in, and I really wantto push that Forward so that my
(39:13):
grand you know my grandson andmy you know future kids and
whatever family that comes outof my son.
I want them to realize that,like they have this history and
they have something of a legacyOn all scales, like not only
just hit their culture, but youknow, dad, grandpa, dad did
(39:36):
something that he really wantedyou to learn from, and and
that's what the every story thatwe've collected with this
podcast is Hopefully tellingthem is like look you, there are
all these different elements,there are all these different
individuals stories, and you canlearn from every single one of
(39:57):
them, whether that's Good, bador in between.
Please just listen to thembecause they are important.
They they have a chance to talkto you in a meaningful way that
you know may not have been thesame for me, but it's different
for you, and I hope that itHopefully propels you to be a
(40:17):
better person yeah, all thosestories, and hearing just also
that the stories come fromArizona.
Yeah, that's.
I think that's a really greataspect that I sometimes, like
people, say it's like, have youpainted yourself in a corner?
(40:38):
Like not really, because youknow Arizona's ongoing change in
its, you know melting pot willcontinue to keep moving forward
and keep moving in differentdirections that I will never
like.
There's so much that I haven'tcaptured and so much more that I
(40:59):
need to go out, and becausewe've we've dealt with a lot of
the valley I haven't eventouched most of you know the
outside towns and cities thathave so many unique stories on
themselves, that have heard fromother elements of podcasting,
books, magazines, you know othercultural writings.
(41:19):
So I think that that issomething that I I never, I
never would consider myself,like you know, painting myself
in a corner, because everythere's so much more here in
just a single state and then alldifferent other states.
I encourage others to go learnabout their own history of state
(41:40):
, where they come from, familyand whatever it may be that you
know you're interested in or youknow have questions about.
Do your own in education anddive right into it, because
you'll find something thatreally stands out on so many
scales.
Christina McKelvy (41:59):
It's very grounding.
Jose Acevedo (42:02):
It's also very grounded, Like you know there's
one part, there's the high.
We could.
We could sit here and say youknow, you'll learn elements of
yourself and be haul, like youknow this high education, ivory
tower sort of situate, but alsoat the same time you're learning
this grounding like elementsthere's.
(42:25):
There's definitely somethingabout it where it's like you can
even say that it's a circle oflife that like it'll just kind
of spiral back into one another.
It's like these old storieshelp speak to these new stories
and back and forward again.
And I don't know it's.
(42:46):
It's beautiful to me because Ican see it with my own eyes and
ears and I want.
I can see it, but I can'texplain.
I can't really explain it causeI'm almost like rooted, yeah,
you have to.
You have to partake yourselfLike you really do, have to
(43:07):
allow yourself and open yourselfup to it, and I feel like a lot
of podcasters do.
I feel like there's a lot ofpodcasters who really get it,
and you're one of them.
This, this, this, this, this,this, this, this, this, and who
you are, and that you'll learnfrom my episode with you.
It's like you have this elementof like your story that you're
(43:29):
bringing into your podcast andyou will definitely share the
elements based on these otherstories, but they all connect
into this really beautiful treeof life that will really show
off.
You know the grounded roots andalso the high beautiful.
(43:49):
You know stories that are theleaves and, yeah, everything in
between.
So I rarely I rarely do I everfind a podcaster who doesn't get
that element.
Christina McKelvy (44:01):
Well, thank you, jose, and it's, it's.
It is fun just to hear thedifferent stories of individuals
and perspectives and you know,storytelling is a part of the
Hopi culture and you know, just,you're doing that.
Jose Acevedo (44:22):
Yeah, I hope my.
I hope my grandfather is alittle bit proud of me just from
that point in perspective,because that's something that
I've always wanted to share withhim is that I have.
I have stories too Like.
I wish he was still here, wherehe I could be like in sharing
with this, with him, where it'slike, look at the story I
(44:43):
captured, like, or look at thething that I heard about, and
you know what do you think aboutthis, and I think he would be
very.
I think he would be another bigfan of mine, like my parents
are, where he just like, listensto every episode and is really
happy about them, and I think,hopefully he will understand
(45:03):
that, even though I may not havebeen his, you know, what he
thought in the beginning isdifferent than what he can see
now.
So the growth, the growth.
Yeah, see the growth.
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
Or when you're around, cominghome, we have dialed, we have
earphones in the side.
Christina McKelvy (45:25):
So no hard feelings or anxietyём, but we
talk often���قد agua you, thankGod you.
Third, you appreciate it.
They said how they thought youwere not killer or weird.
You will be like hybrid wane,going back and forth from me and
going away and continue of myguess.
What brings them hope?
What gives them hope?
Jose Acevedo (45:47):
I think we talked about this, but yeah, it's like
the stories yeah old, new, theyall bring me hope because I can
see the silver lining.
I can see where it comes fromand, being not only the person
who's listening, but alsowanting to connect with the
(46:08):
individual behind it, thosestories really do bring me a
level of like I not only learnedsomething, I am better from it,
but also, wow, look at it's allpart connected in some sort of
way, whether it's someonedoesn't doesn't know who they
(46:31):
are or having a difficult time,but they overcame it Like.
These are all elements that wecan all appreciate and learn
from, and so the storiesthemselves really do provide me
hope because, no matter howtragic or how hard it is, I can
see the silver lining in my whoI am.
(46:53):
So I hope that when peoplelisten to me, I can provide
something of a positive outlookand provide some sort of hope
for them, and that is the best.
The best compliment I could getis you know, you provided me
hope, Jose, or you, you know,you really do see things in a
(47:16):
positive light.
Christina McKelvy (47:20):
Yeah, well, thank you, and thank you Tell
our audience where they can findyou speaking of sharing stories
and podcasting.
Jose Acevedo (47:29):
Absolutely so.
I like doing this outro becauseI'm I've getting better and
better at it every day.
You can hear every episode ofour podcast at finding Arizona
podcastcom.
If you want to find us throughsocial media, that's under
finding Arizona podcast, underall platforms.
And if you would like to justsend us an email, tell us who
you want in next or saycongratulations, good job,
(47:52):
whatever it may be under the sun, that's finding Arizona podcast
at gmailcom, and I hope to hearfrom all of you.
I hope that you guys willbecome fans of us just as much
as I'm a fan of Christina andHopology podcast now.
And kisses, hugs and belly rubsto our four-legged friends.
Christina McKelvy (48:10):
Well, I love that.
Kisses, hugs and belly rubs toour four-legged friends.
Jose Acevedo (48:15):
That's my, that's my, bob Barker outro, because I
was.
I was always a fan of BobBarker and his spade.
I was like how do I make thatmy own, or how do I, you know, I
, I don't know I think I heardit somewhere Back around that's,
oh, that's, no, that's that'sBob Ross.
So I'm a big fan of Bob's ingeneral so that's.
(48:35):
That's the painter Bob Ross.
Christina McKelvy (48:37):
That's right.
Oh my goodness.
Jose Acevedo (48:39):
He's my designer, painter, creative person that I
look seek to.
But when I was thinking aboutit, I have to find a way to,
like you know, close aconversation in a very positive
light or end the episode in apositive manner.
What's better than ourfour-legged friends cats, dogs,
(48:59):
anything in between?
Yeah, we love them.
Christina McKelvy (49:03):
Give them hugs and kisses hugs, kisses and
belly rubs to our four-leggedfriends.
Well and there, thank you somuch, jose, for being on here
and I just am looking forward tocontinuing to listen, to
Finding Arizona and the gueststo bring on and the stories you
tell.
And, yeah, I appreciate it.
Jose Acevedo (49:23):
Thank you, christina, you have a wonderful
day.
Christina McKelvy (49:26):
You too.
Again, please follow him if youwant to learn more about the
state of Arizona and theindividuals that live here.
There are so many great tidbits, such as the dreams are not
over, it just may look different.
I love that quote.
Or visualizing something betterthan you're doing right now.
(49:49):
That was from his coach.
These are such great takeawaysand things that we could
continuously do every day Again.
Visualize something better thanyou're doing right now.
Hmm, and the dream is not over,it just looks different.
Anyways, you know where to findus on all your podcast
(50:10):
streaming stations.
If you want to support the show, please click on the Buy Me a
Coffee link.
I love coffee, so I wouldreally appreciate it, and I will
see you in a couple of weeks.
Well.
Topology stories of hope,healing and resilience.
I'm Christina.
Today we're going to bespeaking with Jose from the
podcast Finding Arizona.
Fighting Arizona is an Arizonabased podcast, obviously, that
highlights businesses andindividuals from this wonderful
state.
Jose shares about his passionfor running and how it connected
(00:22):
him with his Hopi culture.
Jose talks about valuablelessons that he learned through
running, such as resilience andhow it helped inspire him to be
the best he can be, and how ithelped him delve into stories
and just his passion for thestate of Arizona.
So I'm really excited for thisepisode.
(00:43):
I know you will be too.
We'll be right back after avery short break.
(01:05):
Welcome to Hopology Stories ofHope, healing and Resilience.
I'm your host, christinaMcKelvie.
Today we're meeting with Josefrom the podcast Finding Arizona
.
I'm Jose.
How are you?
I'm doing well.
How are you Doing great, thankyou.
I was just on your podcast andI had a lot of fun, and so thank
you so much for returning thefavor and being on mine and the
(01:28):
little bit that you shared withme about your story of
resilience.
I'm super excited to dive intothat.
So let's start off with ouraudience just telling us a
little bit about you.
Jose Acevedo (01:39):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I'm half Puerto Rican, halfHopi and the resilience story, I
mean it's part of my life andit's integrated on so many
levels.
So I'll just say that I grew upand was born here in Phoenix,
arizona, and then my familymoved to Allentown, pennsylvania
(02:00):
, and that's where I spent apredominant time growing up,
living in this house and kind of.
I have a younger brother andjust knew only that life, knew
only that city life andunderstood that I am culturally
(02:20):
from this tribe, this very, verysmall, very recluse tribe out
in northeast Arizona, and ifonly ever seen videos and
recordings and photos of thattribe I've visited once, when I
was six, I want to say, and thenanother time when I was 10.
(02:43):
But really didn't really get ituntil my mom one day told me
we're going to be moving awayfrom my childhood home and
moving in on the reservation andmoving there until I'm
completed with middle school,high school, and that was hard
because you see and understandand only know this one life and
(03:08):
I was starting to make really,really great friends at that
time and what would have beenand kind of are lifelong friends
that I grew up around and itwas difficult to say, hey, I'm
going to be moving away forever.
And so that was probably thefirst hardship of my life is
(03:30):
just realizing I'm not going tocome be living in this city life
and moving away from everythingthat I know and understand and
going into this new I wouldabsolutely say this new world,
because it's very different outthere on that scale and that
understanding of culture anddiversity is different out there
very much so.
(03:52):
So it was tough.
It was tough in the beginningto.
The one story that sticks outis I got into a not a fight, but
just in an incident where I gotinto physical activities with
someone the first week out beingmoved into the reservation and
(04:14):
got into it with my mom, toldher I didn't want to be there,
told her I didn't like livingthere, and it was a very big,
big, big ish fight and from mymom's perspective she probably
felt a lot, being that thischild that she's had for this
many years never really got intoincidences, never really was in
(04:38):
trouble, now is fighting andnow is experiencing this
hardship and crying and doingall these things.
That's not normal to him.
So it was that kind of hardshipof my life but also started a
new story and a new chapter ofwho I am growing up as a
(04:58):
teenager in this world that Ididn't understand, this culture
that I didn't understand, and Ican kind of get into it more if
you feel like I don't know ifthere's any stories that you
want to hear.
But it's like, again, movingaway was the big real crux of
who started this, what I amtoday.
But yeah, I then moved intohigh school, starting to
(05:24):
understand the culture, startingto understand what it's like to
be this person, and moved intowanting to be more a part of the
group, a part of the society,and realize running was a big
part of it.
And this lifestyle of like thetribe has a lot of ceremonies
(05:45):
and a lot of people who run longdistances and that's who they
are and a part of who they are.
So I took it upon myself like,okay, well, I kind of backed
into it.
I wanted to do football but Iended up hurting myself and
breaking my collarbone.
My cousin, who is there helpingme recover, is like, hey, why
(06:06):
don't you just come run with us?
You don't need your shoulder torun, you don't need your
shoulder to do that kind ofphysical activity.
So I took a shot and was like,okay, I'll give it more, I'll
try it out and give it a shot.
And that turned into I like it,let me see if I can actually go
into a set of the football team,let me do the cross country
(06:29):
team, and so that turned into athing and it's just really
propelled me into the society asa whole, who they are
culturally and who they are as awhole, and I was like, oh okay,
so this is something.
And I stuck out with it and wasin track and was in cross
country and did a lot of running, so yeah, it was just.
(06:51):
And then it propelled me intocollege.
That has been a big, it was atransition, but the resilience
at that time from high schooland gave me opportunities that I
think I wouldn't have had if Ididn't have resilience in an
early you know, it's allpropelled me into who I am today
(07:16):
.
Christina McKelvy (07:18):
Yeah, it's interesting.
So it sounds like you moved toPennsylvania from Arizona and
then you lived there for sometime and then you moved from
Pennsylvania back to Arizona,but to the Hopi Reservation.
Jose Acevedo (07:31):
Yeah, and I was like three when I moved from
Arizona to Pennsylvania.
So I don't really know my child, like you know, you don't
really remember those earlymemories of, like you know,
arizona, being living there inan apartment building.
I see photos that my dad showedme and my mom showed me that
(07:52):
they've had an apartment there.
You know, I can kind ofbacktrack and they show me
photos and I'm like, oh, I knowwhere that is now.
And like you know, I've beenliving here in the valley long
enough to be like, oh, I knowwhere they lived, used to live.
I know certain elements of likewho they were as individuals,
you know, having two kids andthen wanting to move away from
(08:15):
that place where they were at tohelp their kids get better
education, want to try somethingnew, be around friends and
family.
And so, yeah, my dad, being oneof five, had, you know, a lot
of family and his parents were,like, both one of 10.
(08:36):
So they had more family than mymom, who is one of three, and
they all predominantly live onthat small reservation.
And so my dad made the choice,sort of like let's try something
else, let's go to the EastCoast and let's, you know, try
living out there for a while.
(08:57):
And my mom was on board andthen, come the time that we were
moving, she realized A, I wantmy son to have a college
education.
I can't do that with where weare right now.
But, I know that the tribe canhelp him if he's in school,
though like that that was themain crux was like he has to be
(09:20):
educated in our schooling beforethe tribe can say yes to
helping him out with his collegeeducation.
Christina McKelvy (09:27):
Okay, so you had to be on a school in the
reservation in the Hopi SchoolDistrict, or yeah, okay, yeah
and and be there for a certainamount of time, which was all
throughout high school.
Jose Acevedo (09:37):
Essentially, you have to be there for the four
years so that they can help youout.
Also at the time was mygrandparents retiring.
My grandmother was part of theschool education system and she
was retiring.
My grandfather was writing intosome health issues that my mom
wanted to be there to help.
You know, caretaker helpprovide some sort of helping
(10:01):
hand as well be there while he'sgoing through it.
So that was just kind of tworeally big things that I didn't
know and understand at the time.
I was a preteen.
I was like I love what I'mdoing here in Pennsylvania, I
don't want to move away from myfriends, I don't want to do any
of this.
So didn't understand the wholestory.
(10:22):
That was, you know, as I grewup more I was like oh wow, I'm
really, I'm really thankful thatmy mom did what she did, or
made the choice that she did,and my both my parents making
the choices that they did.
So it's.
I know it was kind of hard forthem to at the time, but I'm
right now I'm very thankful andif they are watching and hearing
(10:45):
this which I know they arebecause they follow basically
everything that I do and loveeverything that I do.
Christina McKelvy (10:51):
They're my biggest fans.
I love that I appreciate them.
Jose Acevedo (10:54):
Yeah, wholeheartedly, 100%, if I
haven't said it already to them.
Christina McKelvy (11:13):
Being able to step back as an adult and
objectively look at yourchildhood, I think can be a
healthy thing.
That I think it is healthy todo that and you're able to do
that, be like, oh, I'm verygrateful.
Maybe in the at the time it washard to understand, but now
you're like, oh, that makessense, I'm glad they did that.
Jose Acevedo (11:32):
The thing, that's things that stood out too.
It's like you know I'm a fathernow and you know he's three, he
just turned three.
And it's just again.
It's like you want you start tosee, like you start to ask
those questions.
It's like what do I want, whatdo I want my son to see the best
parts of me, or where?
(11:53):
And then you start asking Well,where do they come from?
What are the, what are the bestparts coming from?
And you start to go back andyou're like, oh, wow, it comes
from my mom and dad, these sortof things that happen in our
lives.
And so you really start to honein on, like, oh, you know these
moments from a perspective ofmy end is one way, but from a
(12:15):
perspective now, as seeing as aparent of another you know
person, you're like, oh, wow,that couldn't have been easy.
Thank God they chose that route, or thank goodness they, you
know, decided to do this insteadof that, you know, because I
don't know who I would be if westayed.
I don't know what kind of lifewe would have had if I had
(12:37):
stayed, or you know, whatever itmay be.
But I really am appreciativethat I have more respect and
more understanding of my culturewhere I, you know, come from on
that level, not only from mymom's side, but also from my
dad's side.
Once I started understandingthat there's history in culture
and there's history coming fromone side of the family, it made
(13:00):
me pull in and try andunderstand this other part of
who I am, which is my father'sside.
That sort of came into lightwhen I was like, oh, there's
this whole B culture.
But what about my other side?
What about, you know, my PuertoRican side?
and who I come from on thatstock level.
Christina McKelvy (13:20):
Yeah, being able to have the understanding
of both.
Yeah, exactly, family treestuff yes, yeah, I love family
tree stuff because there's justso many stories in our genes and
so I want to delve a little bitmore into the running aspect,
because you mentioned that thatwas really where you dwelled
(13:40):
into or dived into your culture,the Hopi culture, and learned
about it through running.
So walk us through thatexperience, what that was like
for you, what you learned fromit.
Jose Acevedo (13:53):
Yeah, Absolutely One of the big things that again
you start to put yourself intothe position of like why are so
many people out here running onthese dirt roads?
Why are there so many trailsthat lead into different parts
of the reservation?
All of these little questionsthat you just go fading away
(14:17):
sometimes.
Or I started to ask my coach,who's a big part of this whole
story.
He's one part, a legendaryrunner.
He's been a part of the highschool since its opening and he
has been the coach of the teamsince its opening.
(14:39):
And he not only is one of themost decorated coaches runners
he's gone to school and kind ofbeen a standout runner himself
but he's coached other kids whoare standout runners as well,
like all Americans.
(15:00):
And so he is someone who notonly has lived a life,
experienced a life, but nowwants to give back on that level
.
Christina McKelvy (15:09):
Yeah.
Jose Acevedo (15:09):
And I come running .
You know I'm someone I think hekind of felt for just in the
sense of like he knew my story.
He kind of knew that I wasn'tfrom the area and my name stands
out Jose it's not a common nameon the reservation there so he,
I think he took it upon himselfto just give me some insights
(15:32):
and a helping hand here andthere when I needed it most.
The big element about runningis, on the Hopi reservation and
in the Hopi culture since thetime that they have a story
about their emergence, therunning aspect providing water
to places that aren't waterfilled, so going from springs
(15:57):
that are naturally existing onthe land and moving it towards
the villages, that's a bigaspect that you're looking at.
Running and providing it to thefamilies, to the tribe itself,
that's a big element.
And then running.
We are a predominantly villageto village kind of living
(16:17):
culture and so you know there'sonly one way that you can get
from village to village is withyour own two feet, and how do
you do that on the fastestformat?
Running is a big element ofthat.
So I understood that I don'tknow why on a rudimentary scale
from early high school age, andso I find it very I guess I just
(16:44):
kind of connected with it andso I wanted to, you know, dive
deep into who these rudders areon the team and who these guys
are individually.
And I really put it upon myselfyou know I'd said that I had
injured myself to really I needto catch up to these guys.
(17:04):
I really want to catch up tothese guys because these guys
are good.
They're running times that are,you know, all state times and I
, pressed by that, I wanted tobe like them.
I felt like they were the, youknow, the bees knees sort of
deal like they are very coolguys, they stand out and they
are athletes on a very goodscale and so and what's the time
(17:29):
running time?
Christina McKelvy (17:30):
We said it's all state.
What does that mean For a nonsports person?
Jose Acevedo (17:35):
I'm talking.
So cost country is 3.5 milesand I want to say they're
running sub 20s.
Something like that of liketimes.
I can't remember off the top ofmy head, but where's the I have
?
I have like a little likeshadow box of like clippings
(18:00):
from there and I can't look atit.
I can't see it right now, butthere were.
They give the times.
Christina McKelvy (18:05):
I think it was like 19 minutes or something
like that, it was fast, it wasfast, and they're they're fast
guys, little, small, compacted,fast runners.
Jose Acevedo (18:17):
And I was taller like I'm in this photo.
I'm taller than my coach,taller than my assistant coach
and I'm in I'm a junior in highschool and when we won, when I
was participating in the statefinals.
So again, I'm like reallystriving to push myself to be a
(18:40):
part of this team and be, youknow, trying to get to their
level Along the way.
You know I'm a.
At the time when I firststarted I was a big kid.
I was, you know, probablysomewhere upwards of 200 pounds,
230, something like that,Blossed probably, I want to say
(19:01):
somewhere between 80 to 90 ishpounds of weight to drop down to
like one, something like 125 atthe time.
Christina McKelvy (19:16):
At six you said you were six, two years.
Jose Acevedo (19:19):
I'm six one, six one and and it's just like it's.
You know I had a lot of weighton me at this.
So that's the physical aspect.
But the mental aspect is, youknow, when you see runners pass
you, that element of like, ohman, I'm not going to make it or
I'm not going to end.
You're running in heat, you'rerunning in, you know your body
hurts and it's just.
(19:40):
You know, when you're also anovice, you know you get shin
splints, you get your feet are,you know, hurting you and you're
like, how do they do this?
They're just running past you.
That the mental side of wantingto quit, wanting to give up and
not feeling like you're goingto ever reach the peak of
(20:00):
performance, that was probablyharder than the physical.
For me.
And so it was my coach that waslike trying to make me
understand.
It's like these kids have beendoing it since they were five.
You've just reached the surface.
These guys have been runningbecause it's a part of the
culture, and who?
Christina McKelvy (20:20):
they are.
Jose Acevedo (20:21):
They've been not only running during school, when
they've actually had to do it,but they've been running outside
of school.
They've been running, you know,mornings.
They've been running, you know,for ceremony on the weekends.
They've been running all thistime that they've not, you know,
done other things where it'slike you have just reached the
(20:45):
surface level of what you'retrying to do.
So that was a big conversationwith my coach at the time of
wanting I don't think I can keepup.
I cried, I think I teared up.
I was like I don't think I cando this.
I don't think I'm good enough,I don't know if I can be a part
of this team.
And he was like no, you can.
(21:05):
You just have to give yourselfthe grace.
Help yourself, visualizesomething better than what
you're doing right now.
And that's his big element.
His visualization is this.
Thing that he teaches a lot inthese teams is help yourself,
(21:25):
visualize winning.
Help yourself visualizefinishing on the best way that
you can, whether that's, youknow, a time or something that
you won't, a person that youwant to beat on another team.
It's like you have to visualizethe course and visualize you
being successful before you canactually even attempt to put
yourself on that starting line.
(21:46):
So it was really.
He was a big part ofunderstanding resilience, and
understanding the culture too islike like he is a big part of
my life and help me understand alot about everything on that
time that I was there and livingon the reservation.
(22:06):
So he was again, I say this,but he's also kind of funny.
It's funny enough that I have agodfather that, like, you get
initiated into the tribe and yougain a godfather and godmother,
but he's a part of that familyessentially.
His wife is my sister, a godsister, and so it, you know,
(22:31):
it's only made us closer.
It only made us, you know, be acloser to one another.
And his story is also a storythat I hope I can capture.
He's not a big, he's not a big,you know, self promoter sort of
person, but he has a veryunique story that I'd love to
one day get him to record withme and have a conversation about
(22:52):
.
Christina McKelvy (22:52):
Yeah, and it sounds like his story inspired
you to make that connection toyour culture.
Jose Acevedo (23:00):
Yeah, absolutely.
You know just the years thathe's put into running himself
and he's got great stories toowhere he's like he told I
remember him telling me one timehe'd run to go visit my god
sister, like at the time he'drun from his house to her house,
which was like 10 miler I think.
So he's like running 10Ks justto go see his sweetheart and
(23:23):
it's just like it's so.
It's those types of things thatmake me bond closer with him
and just really again see him ina different light.
Christina McKelvy (23:39):
So you mentioned that your coach was
really big on visualizing.
Visualized something betterthan you're doing right now Is
(24:00):
that.
It sounds like a lesson thatyou can almost take outside of
not just running, but anywhere.
Jose Acevedo (24:06):
Anywhere?
Yeah, absolutely.
So this will lead into leavingthe reservation and going into
secondary education and being incollege.
I had always had hopes anddreams of going outside of the
state to go to school, but thatnever happened.
(24:27):
I did my best and I actuallygraduated high school
Solilitorium, which is second,not Valovictorian, but it's like
.
That's still something that'sstill lit.
I was like that's stillsomething.
But on top of that, it's likethe Valovictorian was my best
friend.
We always hung out and it justlike it wasn't a big thing to me
(24:47):
.
I was like I'm just glad tograduate and start something new
.
So he, that visualizationrealizing that's like my hopes
of going outside of the state togo to school weren't coming
true.
But I got accepted into thestate college, asu, and I was
(25:10):
like okay, well, they'reoffering me a full ride,
scholarship and to help me withmy education.
That's not nothing.
So I took it upon myself Okay,the dream's not over.
It may be looking different, butyou are still doing something
that not a lot of Hopes get achance to do.
(25:32):
So what are you going to dowith it and how are you going to
go about this new opportunityand how are you going to
continue your life in this kindof?
And I had to visualize.
I really had to put myself andvisualize okay, I'm going to do
this, I'm going to graduate, I'mgoing to work hard and I'm
(25:54):
going to keep trying my best todo all these little things along
the way as well.
And I wouldn't have succeededbecause, again, college is not.
I'll put this in kind of dataformat.
I think one in four actually goon to the second year, so one
(26:23):
in four Hopes.
I don't know if it extends tonatives in general, but it's
very seldom that a nativeindigenous person will actually
go past that first semester,first year.
And it's even smaller if youactually go on and get a
(26:47):
secondary master's degree, phd.
So I'm very happy that I can sayto myself that I'm part of that
small group of educatedindigenous individuals, and so
I'm very happy that I got achance to do so with the help of
(27:10):
my tribe and with the help ofindividuals from that tribe.
That will kind of help mepursue certain aspects or help
me understand elements of who mypeople are and what we do.
So it's just really nice toknow that it all came from
(27:32):
visualizing and thatvisualization came from learning
through running and learningthrough my coach and him
teaching me that element.
Christina McKelvy (27:43):
Like you said , the dream's not over, it just
looks different.
Yeah, exactly.
Jose Acevedo (27:49):
And so it was really again.
It's like you see, somethingthat you wanted to.
I wanted to be an architect butit switched because you change
your degree.
So it's like I went fromarchitecture but I didn't know
that there existed somethingcalled landscape architecture,
and so that really pivoted me,because my people are from the
(28:13):
land and they really do considerthemselves farmers of the land
that they inherit and inhabit it.
So I really love that pivot andthat was really something that
again still a dream, stillsomething that I love doing,
(28:33):
still something that is kind ofwhere I wanted to be but just
looks a little bit different.
It has a different element toit and I think it's that
resilience to okay, it's notover, it just looks like
something else that just reallyagain helped me thrust myself
forward into education, intomore education, learning more
(28:55):
and being someone who's like I'mnot afraid to do, want to do
more, I want to get a master'sdegree and, not afraid of who I
am, and I can say that that allcame from.
Okay, I need to visualize howI'm going to go about every
(29:16):
aspect of this education processthrough college.
Christina McKelvy (29:21):
Yeah, so when you visualize it, your brain
doesn't always know thedifference between what you're
coming up with.
You know imagination versusreality sometimes, and so it's
like it makes it real when youvisualize it, and I apologize if
I got that wrong, but that's mythoughts.
Jose Acevedo (29:39):
No, you're totally on track of like yeah, your
brain really doesn't.
It has like this picture.
But sometimes the picture canfool you a little bit because
you see certain elements but youdon't see.
You know, let's say, theperipherals.
Like you know, this may come updown the.
It's like you have to roll withthe punches sometimes because
(30:02):
that's just, it's closing onedoor, but you can't be afraid to
open the other, the window thatcomes after you close that door
.
So I have just been enthralledthat I had the opportunity to
actually even learn from someonelike my coach and him giving me
those techniques, becausewithout those techniques I
(30:25):
really think I would have gonein a downward spiral.
Just because, again, it's like Ithink running also provides an
opportunity of self-resilience.
Because you have to be theperson that wants to cross the
finish line.
You have to be the person thattuffs it out on when your feet
are hurting, your knees arehurting, your you know your
(30:45):
lower back may be hurt,everything may be hurting on you
, but you know you have a finishline, a goal that you know you
can rest at.
It's up to you to want to wantto cross that.
You have to be the person.
You have to be strong-willed,strong of mind to say, hey look,
it might be hurting, but I gotless than a mile, or I have this
(31:10):
much length to go and I know Ican do it.
I know that I have the strengthto do it.
So that's definitely someelements that I'd love to just
want to keep teaching othersabout, because I think everyone
has it in them.
I really do think that thereare people who short themselves
on that part because whatever itmay be in their history or
(31:33):
whatever it may be, but you haveto, you have to find that in
yourself.
Christina McKelvy (31:39):
Yeah, that internal motivation, yeah, and
it's running is such a greatmetaphor.
You know, crossing the finishline, having that resilience,
having that drive when you thinkyou want to give up, just keep
going, pushing forward.
So I think running is a greatmetaphor for what you want to
share with others.
Did you continue to run incollege?
Jose Acevedo (32:03):
So people asked me this and I did on a more
personal level, like I would goout and do runs by myself and
just kind of keep running, and Istill run today.
I live near a canal and so thatcanal allows me to go run
trails and be out and do runningthat way.
(32:24):
It's also something that's justkind of stuck like as far as a
physical activity that I enjoydoing.
It's always there, it's alwayspossible.
My knees are still still, stillkicking.
Christina McKelvy (32:38):
They they're.
Jose Acevedo (32:39):
They're not too creaky.
I'm still able to get out thereand do what I need to do.
So, yeah, it's just somethingthat I really I love.
I love doing it.
So I think an element of likehas always been there, where
it's like it's always going tobe a part of your life.
It's always.
As soon as I found out thatit's part of my culture, it kind
(33:00):
of clicked in my head and it'slike oh, so this is always going
to be with me, it's always notgoing to be a thing and it's not
going to go away.
I am going to be a continualrunner in some sort of fashion.
But also in my head I'm like Ialso kind of want to give this
down to not only my son, but Ihave nephews, that I want to
(33:22):
share this with them and and andteach them the same things that
I was taught, which is that,that visualization, so that they
can use it to help them succeedand help them with whatever
difficulties that may comeacross them.
Christina McKelvy (33:38):
And what would he say?
Jose Acevedo (33:39):
that is the biggest lesson or benefit you've
learned from being able topractice a visualization and the
biggest, I guess the biggestthing or the biggest benefit I
mean again, I think, is the selftalk, self motivation in those,
(34:01):
in those little hard times too,it's like with those little
hiccups in life where maybe youthink you messed up, it's like
okay, I mean I may have messedup or I may have, you know, made
a mistake or may have, you know, not done something Right yeah
to have the discipline and thetechniques to say, okay, well,
(34:22):
how do I correct this?
or how do I?
You know it's gonna be okay.
Where do you find the silverlining?
In in the cloud, you knowthat's, I think, that's the
greatest benefit of all, becausewe all, you all, have struggles
in life.
We will all have something thatcomes across our table that
will, you know, knock us down.
(34:42):
I Think for me, I have alwaysstrived to really again have
self positive talk or have somekind of that.
So trying to find that silverlining that will always be
something that I reach for andsomething that I want to be
Educating and advocating for is,like you know, yeah, we're all
(35:06):
imperfect, but you can provideyourself with the ability for
hope and the ability forsomething positive.
Christina McKelvy (35:18):
Yeah, that, that discipline, that again it
goes back to that internalmotivation and I just also love
how you know, with your story,that progression of you're
moving away to the East Coast,which you know you said you were
three but so different fromArizona and then moving back To
Northeastern Arizona, which isvery different from Phoenix.
(35:39):
Yep, you know, on the Hopireservation and reconnecting to
Is it your mom or dad's side?
It's my mom's side, your mom'sside.
You know your Hopi culturethrough running, a tradition
that I'm assuming is probablythousands of years old.
Yeah, and it's beautiful how itstarted.
You know water and transferringwater and the Hopi culture so
(36:02):
rich to with you know a lot ofthe legends and stories and
connecting to that side throughrunning and how you continue to
do that, how you find otherlessons and aspects to it in
your life, not necessarily justphysically but even mentally and
Emotionally.
So I think that's that'samazing.
You know just something that alot of us take for granted.
(36:26):
I mean, I don't run, but youknow I'm sure there's a lot of
people that just take runningfor granted and don't even think
about what it could do.
Jose Acevedo (36:31):
Yeah, it's just.
It's incredible that I can lookback on on those elements and
really see the the through lineand string that connects them
all, and I'm very thankful forNot only my my coach, but my my
parents and my grand, ultimatelymy grandfather, who has passed
(36:52):
To give me insights on thosetypes of things of you know,
perseverance, storytelling,culture, and that will allow me
to.
I Ultimately believe that it'llallow me to progress forward as
a good person and a good fatherand a good individual as a
(37:12):
overall whole person.
Christina McKelvy (37:16):
Perseverance and storytelling, and that's
what you're doing with yourpodcast, you know, yeah.
Jose Acevedo (37:21):
It's kind of bled through on on so many levels.
It's just one of those things.
It's like, yeah, they'rerunning, help me learn about
culture and and the culture itled to storytelling, and those
stories Ultimately led me tobelieve that Every story has a
meaning and and every person hasa story to tell.
So now I get a chance To listen, which is what my grandfather
(37:47):
really Wanted me to do from theget-go anyways.
He always kind of made he, heand I had this relationship of
like pal but also Poke fun of mypals sort of deal, and that's
the culture as a whole.
You laugh at the pain and youlaugh at the at the hard times,
because you know that's just thetype of people they are.
(38:09):
It's like the hardships arehard but you you can find the
silver lining and learn to laughat that and and find humor and
things.
But he would like to say that Iwasn't a good listener.
Christina McKelvy (38:21):
I Was your grandfather, my grandfather,
yeah yeah, and he was.
Jose Acevedo (38:29):
You know I can.
It's like you know you, Ireally wish at the time I could
have.
Sometimes I look back I'm likeI really wish I had a better
Relationship, but also I thinkit's kind of beautiful that I've
taken everything that hethought was not a part of my
vernacular and have made it apart of my vernacular and strive
(38:53):
to want him to be Looking at meas like good job son and good
job Sonny, and I really doappreciate that.
He vocalized certain aspects ofwho he was and who he, what he
believed in, and I really wantto push that Forward so that my
(39:13):
grand you know my grandson andmy you know future kids and
whatever family that comes outof my son.
I want them to realize that,like they have this history and
they have something of a legacyOn all scales, like not only
just hit their culture, but youknow, dad, grandpa, dad did
(39:36):
something that he really wantedyou to learn from, and and
that's what the every story thatwe've collected with this
podcast is Hopefully tellingthem is like look you, there are
all these different elements,there are all these different
individuals stories, and you canlearn from every single one of
(39:57):
them, whether that's Good, bador in between.
Please just listen to thembecause they are important.
They they have a chance to talkto you in a meaningful way that
you know may not have been thesame for me, but it's different
for you, and I hope that itHopefully propels you to be a
(40:17):
better person yeah, all thosestories, and hearing just also
that the stories come fromArizona.
Yeah, that's.
I think that's a really greataspect that I sometimes, like
people, say it's like, have youpainted yourself in a corner?
(40:38):
Like not really, because youknow Arizona's ongoing change in
its, you know melting pot willcontinue to keep moving forward
and keep moving in differentdirections that I will never
like.
There's so much that I haven'tcaptured and so much more that I
(40:59):
need to go out, and becausewe've we've dealt with a lot of
the valley I haven't eventouched most of you know the
outside towns and cities thathave so many unique stories on
themselves, that have heard fromother elements of podcasting,
books, magazines, you know othercultural writings.
(41:19):
So I think that that issomething that I I never, I
never would consider myself,like you know, painting myself
in a corner, because everythere's so much more here in
just a single state and then alldifferent other states.
I encourage others to go learnabout their own history of state
(41:40):
, where they come from, familyand whatever it may be that you
know you're interested in or youknow have questions about.
Do your own in education anddive right into it, because
you'll find something thatreally stands out on so many
scales.
Christina McKelvy (41:59):
It's very grounding.
Jose Acevedo (42:02):
It's also very grounded, Like you know there's
one part, there's the high.
We could.
We could sit here and say youknow, you'll learn elements of
yourself and be haul, like youknow this high education, ivory
tower sort of situate, but alsoat the same time you're learning
this grounding like elementsthere's.
(42:25):
There's definitely somethingabout it where it's like you can
even say that it's a circle oflife that like it'll just kind
of spiral back into one another.
It's like these old storieshelp speak to these new stories
and back and forward again.
And I don't know it's.
(42:46):
It's beautiful to me because Ican see it with my own eyes and
ears and I want.
I can see it, but I can'texplain.
I can't really explain it causeI'm almost like rooted, yeah,
you have to.
You have to partake yourselfLike you really do, have to
(43:07):
allow yourself and open yourselfup to it, and I feel like a lot
of podcasters do.
I feel like there's a lot ofpodcasters who really get it,
and you're one of them.
This, this, this, this, this,this, this, this, this, and who
you are, and that you'll learnfrom my episode with you.
It's like you have this elementof like your story that you're
(43:29):
bringing into your podcast andyou will definitely share the
elements based on these otherstories, but they all connect
into this really beautiful treeof life that will really show
off.
You know the grounded roots andalso the high beautiful.
(43:49):
You know stories that are theleaves and, yeah, everything in
between.
So I rarely I rarely do I everfind a podcaster who doesn't get
that element.
Christina McKelvy (44:01):
Well, thank you, jose, and it's, it's.
It is fun just to hear thedifferent stories of individuals
and perspectives and you know,storytelling is a part of the
Hopi culture and you know, just,you're doing that.
Jose Acevedo (44:22):
Yeah, I hope my.
I hope my grandfather is alittle bit proud of me just from
that point in perspective,because that's something that
I've always wanted to share withhim is that I have.
I have stories too Like.
I wish he was still here, wherehe I could be like in sharing
with this, with him, where it'slike, look at the story I
(44:43):
captured, like, or look at thething that I heard about, and
you know what do you think aboutthis, and I think he would be
very.
I think he would be another bigfan of mine, like my parents
are, where he just like, listensto every episode and is really
happy about them, and I think,hopefully he will understand
(45:03):
that, even though I may not havebeen his, you know, what he
thought in the beginning isdifferent than what he can see
now.
So the growth, the growth.
Yeah, see the growth.
Yeah, yeah, that's right.
Or when you're around, cominghome, we have dialed, we have
earphones in the side.
Christina McKelvy (45:25):
So no hard feelings or anxietyём, but we
talk often���قد agua you, thankGod you.
Third, you appreciate it.
They said how they thought youwere not killer or weird.
You will be like hybrid wane,going back and forth from me and
going away and continue of myguess.
What brings them hope?
What gives them hope?
Jose Acevedo (45:47):
I think we talked about this, but yeah, it's like
the stories yeah old, new, theyall bring me hope because I can
see the silver lining.
I can see where it comes fromand, being not only the person
who's listening, but alsowanting to connect with the
(46:08):
individual behind it, thosestories really do bring me a
level of like I not only learnedsomething, I am better from it,
but also, wow, look at it's allpart connected in some sort of
way, whether it's someonedoesn't doesn't know who they
(46:31):
are or having a difficult time,but they overcame it Like.
These are all elements that wecan all appreciate and learn
from, and so the storiesthemselves really do provide me
hope because, no matter howtragic or how hard it is, I can
see the silver lining in my whoI am.
(46:53):
So I hope that when peoplelisten to me, I can provide
something of a positive outlookand provide some sort of hope
for them, and that is the best.
The best compliment I could getis you know, you provided me
hope, Jose, or you, you know,you really do see things in a
(47:16):
positive light.
Christina McKelvy (47:20):
Yeah, well, thank you, and thank you Tell
our audience where they can findyou speaking of sharing stories
and podcasting.
Jose Acevedo (47:29):
Absolutely so.
I like doing this outro becauseI'm I've getting better and
better at it every day.
You can hear every episode ofour podcast at finding Arizona
podcastcom.
If you want to find us throughsocial media, that's under
finding Arizona podcast, underall platforms.
And if you would like to justsend us an email, tell us who
you want in next or saycongratulations, good job,
(47:52):
whatever it may be under the sun, that's finding Arizona podcast
at gmailcom, and I hope to hearfrom all of you.
I hope that you guys willbecome fans of us just as much
as I'm a fan of Christina andHopology podcast now.
And kisses, hugs and belly rubsto our four-legged friends.
Christina McKelvy (48:10):
Well, I love that.
Kisses, hugs and belly rubs toour four-legged friends.
Jose Acevedo (48:15):
That's my, that's my, bob Barker outro, because I
was.
I was always a fan of BobBarker and his spade.
I was like how do I make thatmy own, or how do I, you know, I
, I don't know I think I heardit somewhere Back around that's,
oh, that's, no, that's that'sBob Ross.
So I'm a big fan of Bob's ingeneral so that's.
(48:35):
That's the painter Bob Ross.
Christina McKelvy (48:37):
That's right.
Oh my goodness.
Jose Acevedo (48:39):
He's my designer, painter, creative person that I
look seek to.
But when I was thinking aboutit, I have to find a way to,
like you know, close aconversation in a very positive
light or end the episode in apositive manner.
What's better than ourfour-legged friends cats, dogs,
(48:59):
anything in between?
Yeah, we love them.
Christina McKelvy (49:03):
Give them hugs and kisses hugs, kisses and
belly rubs to our four-leggedfriends.
Well and there, thank you somuch, jose, for being on here
and I just am looking forward tocontinuing to listen, to
Finding Arizona and the gueststo bring on and the stories you
tell.
And, yeah, I appreciate it.
Jose Acevedo (49:23):
Thank you, christina, you have a wonderful
day.
Christina McKelvy (49:26):
You too.
Again, please follow him if youwant to learn more about the
state of Arizona and theindividuals that live here.
There are so many great tidbits, such as the dreams are not
over, it just may look different.
I love that quote.
Or visualizing something betterthan you're doing right now.
(49:49):
That was from his coach.
These are such great takeawaysand things that we could
continuously do every day Again.
Visualize something better thanyou're doing right now.
Hmm, and the dream is not over,it just looks different.
Anyways, you know where to findus on all your podcast
(50:10):
streaming stations.
If you want to support the show, please click on the Buy Me a
Coffee link.
I love coffee, so I wouldreally appreciate it, and I will
see you in a couple of weeks.
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