July 17, 2025 • 32 mins
In this powerful episode of RAMPLIFI, we sit down with Morgan, ASB Secretary and student leader at Victor Valley College, who opens up about her deeply personal journey through family conflict, homelessness, and healing. From growing up without her father to navigating life as a college student without a place to call home, Morgan shares her raw and emotional story with honesty and heart. Discover how a random encounter outside a McDonald’s gave her the piece of wisdom that’s guided her ever since — and why she now lives each day with a smile. 💬 Topics include: • Rebuilding a broken family bond • Experiencing homelessness as a college student • Coping through books, community, and self-reflection • Advice from an unexpected stranger • What it means to smile like a Happy Meal This episode is for anyone who’s ever felt lost — and is looking for hope.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Hurry up, come on in, we've already started. Wow, No,
it's okay. What did you get? Subway? Eat fresh? This
episode is not sponsored by Subway. I just wanted to
(00:33):
say that. I apologize to our listeners and our viewers.
This is how we are. This is how we're opening
up this episode of Ramplify. It's not by choice. Can
you check the monitors just to make sure everything looks right, just,
you know, just go ahead and flip it. Or Mondo
tried the best he could. He is not trained. Thank you, Armando.
(00:54):
Thank you. That looks okay to you. You sure it
is that your final answer? Okay, this is our guest.
Can you please state your name for the record.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Hi, my name's Morgan.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I'm Morgan. Thank you so much for being here today.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Absolutely. I apologize your VVC ASB president and student trustee
had to go get their Subway not a sponsor, by
the way, just put that out there. So wow, since
you're you know, letting us know that what what what
sandwich did you get? You don't even know, so you
(01:32):
don't you literally went to go get lunch. You don't
even know what what food item it was? What was
your preference, you don't care, Okay, I would have had
like tuna or meatball. Yeah, Morgan, do you have a
preference on sandwiches from Subway?
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I do?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
What's that?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
I always get the like the the like the Italian bread,
and then I get the chicken bacon ranch and then
I add all limbs to it and I get it toasted.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That sounds delicious.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
That's my order.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Okay, Armando, you want to get in on this. I
U okay, whatever you get, that's what he's gonna eat. Okay. So, Haley,
I can't see myself. How do I know if I'm
in frame? You didn't you you didn't put the monitor backy,
(02:28):
my gosh, because the guests get nervous when they look
at themselves. I have to make sure I'm in frame
because we're on a minimal shift of crew members here.
So anyways, now that we're twelve minutes into the show, here,
I have Morgan here. She is an ASB student, and uh,
(02:50):
Morgan has had a hard life in life. Yeah fair enough?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Fair enough?
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah good, fair enough?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Pretty good way to summarize my life story. Pretty hard.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Yeah, you know there's that cliche. I think it's true.
You can't really judge a book by its cover. You know,
I've known Morgan for like the last year, and I
just recently learned a whole bunch more about Morgan, and
Morgan said, yeah, you know, I think it's I think
there's value to share, to share the story, you know.
So this is your second year here at Victor Valley College.
(03:24):
Second and a half, second and a half. What are you?
What are you majoring in animal science? Animal science?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, it's going to be a veterinarian.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Oh that's a nice. Animals are so much nicer than humans.
True story, true story, true story. Yeah, they don't argue back.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
No, but then they can't really tell you what's wrong
with them, so it's kind of yeah, a little harder
to work with animals than people.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah, you have a favorite animal?
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I do. I have a favorite domestic animal and then
a favorite wild animal.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Let's hear them both.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
So, my favorite domestic animal is a pug, my dog.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
What's your pug's name? Obi one Kenobi?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Well, his middle name is in the naway.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
But you were definitely a Star Wars fan. Yeah, okay,
that that name alone says so much.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Okay, Yeah, and then my favorite wild animal is a cheetah.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
I like tigers. Yeah, I don't know if I like pugs.
They're kind of ugly. I'm sorry, but they are.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
But that's why they're cute, why they're.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Yeah, until like they start barking too much and then
the asthma kicks in. They make that noise like they
like have, like they need an inhaler or something.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I love that noise.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Ugh, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
I love my pug.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So where are you going to transfer to school? Then
to go study to be a vet?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Hopefully cal poly Pomona. Okay, Yeah, it's one of the
closest ones with an animal science program. There's actually not
a lot of four years close by that offer it
animal science.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
So very cool. Good for you. I'm happy to hear that.
That's good. So you grew up here in the high desert? Nope, no,
where did.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
You grow up down the hill in Baldwin Park?
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Baldwind Park.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
I actually lived up here when I was younger, like
kindergarten to second grade, I think, and then I moved
down the hill and so that's where I went to
elementary school, middle school, and eventually graduated high school.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Okay, how has your time been here? At the college overall.
I mean, it's okay, you know, giving us a letter grade.
You know, if it's not the best, you know, you
got to be honest.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I'd say B minus.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, No, it's okay. Just let us know, you know,
I do love it here.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I love the people that I've met, I love the
professors that I've had. I just I think that specifically
for the program that I'm in, the agriculture program needs
a lot more attention from the campus in general.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
So, you know, I guess that would make sense why
it was on the ASB Goals to improve this year.
Would you say that, you guys, you know, gave it
some TLC.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I would say so, yeah. I mean, we definitely revitalized
the botanical garden on campus, which a lot of people
don't even know exists actually, So it was pretty cool
getting to be a part of that and see the
department that I'm a part of get attention for once.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Very cool. We're gonna dive into Morgan's story and find
out what she is all about right here after the break,
so stick around. He will be right back here on Ramplify,
And we are back here on Ramplify the podcast from
(06:22):
Victor Valley College is very own associate student body. I'm
here with Morgan. What's your title again, secretary Secretary? You
do all the minutes.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Huh yeah, a lot of typing, a lot of typing,
have to actively listen.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Are you nervous you're gonna get arthritis at an early age?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
No? Because I well, actually maybe. Yeah. I'm also I
also do secretary for Ready Rams too, so I do
double the typing, and they're all on Fridays and I
do ICC, So every every now and then I'll have
back to back meetings where I'm just typing for like
three hours, five hours straight and then I crochet.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
So yeah, what was that you're talking over her? Oh
she gets a break? Okay, Well that's good. So you
told me a little bit about your story. You're going
to tell your story here to a lot of our
listeners that I think we'll connect with some of them.
(07:18):
Things were a little dark for you before you you
came to college or when you started your college journey.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
When I started, yeah, it was my I believe it
was my. It was my It was the transition between
my first and my second semester. Here.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
What was going on in your life that that started
to take take that road in life.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
I guess I could say that it was definitely my
relationship with my family at that point. I wasn't I
didn't necessarily get along the best with my dad or
my grandparents at the time. It was a difficult relationship.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Was it just like a like a difference of ideas
or thought?
Speaker 2 (07:55):
It was kind of just that my my dad was
a drug addict early his life, and so he wasn't
in my life up until four years ago.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Now, So there was probably a lot of resentment growing up.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
And Yeah, and it was also just kind of a
period of time where I was starting to get to
know my dad, like as my dad and not.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Just when he got clean.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah, it was like I got to know him as
a person and he got to know me. But I
was already so like developed in life since I was older.
It was definitely just the transition between not having a
dad and then having him in my life and us
not really knowing each other or anything.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Would it be safe to say when he started to
kind of come out of that and started to live
a sober and clean life, you still had your reservations,
and therefore you were kind of rejecting him even though
he was trying.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yeah, I definitely think I gave him a really hard
time when he first came back, and for the first
few years after two it was definitely really I think
for me it was mostly just that I was so
angry at him for not being at my orchestra recitals
or my band performances or any anything really, Like I
was just so resentful for it, and so when he
(09:06):
came back, I was like, you don't get to be
here because you missed all of it, Like you're not.
Like he came back after I had already graduated high school,
so he pretty much missed every milestone in my life
at that point.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Right, That's understandable. You ever asked your like your mom
or even like your grandparents, like you know, about him,
like like why does he do this? Like or even
use them as like a like a sounding board like
to vent.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, well, after I mean it was my my paternal
grandparents that raised me after my both my parents left,
So I definitely spent a lot of time asking my
grandma and my grandpa like about him, like like was
he like this when he was younger? Like when you
were raising him? Like what was he like? Like did
he do band in high school? Did he do orchestra? Like?
(09:52):
Was he into the things that I'm into?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Like?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Do I have something in common with him? It was definitely.
I tried to get to know him through them, but
they were all pretty old and their memories were a
little so I really just had to get to know
him once he was there, because I didn't really learn
much from the people.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
I was asking, are you an only child or do
you have siblings?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
I have a lot of siblings, So.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Did you are you guys like around the same age.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
I'm four years older than I'm four and eight years
older than my younger siblings, so.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
At least the one that's four that you're four years
older than. Did you feel like you could connect with
them at all? With with you know, struggling with you know,
trying to connect with your father like you guys were
like going through the same thing basically.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
No, not really. My my brother never really had resentment
for our dad. He was really because when my dad left,
he still kept contact with my little brother, but I
made it a lot harder for him. So my brother
had a relationship with our dad, so it was a
little harder to talk to my little brother about it?
Speaker 1 (10:53):
How would you how would you cope with it? Like
what were like your tools or what was your way
of dealing with what? I guess is a better way,
uh to say, is like pain, you know, because obviously
you were seeking answers to these questions. You went to
your your grandparents, you know, like was he like this?
Did he do the same things that I did? Like
(11:16):
you know with orchestra, you know, doing music? You know,
like how are you how are you dealing with with
all of this, like rejection or not showing up? Like
what was like what was the way that you chose
to handle it?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
I I kind of found an escape in books, Like
I would try to transport myself into the world of books.
So I would read like The Maze, Runner and Divergent
and all those I like the movies, I would read them.
So I would read a lot of those books, and
I would guess I would kind of just try to
put myself in that world because it was better than
the one that I was in. So even though it
(11:52):
was kind of horrible because it was a lot of
a lot of danger in those books.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
So you know what you're just just describing is you
know this this in there's just a couple of years
age difference between you and me. Just a couple of years, Haley,
I'm not that old. Okay, Oh my gosh, she just
said that. That hurts. That hurt right here. My heart's
over here, I think. But growing up, you know, some
(12:19):
of the things that you're describing, you know, kids that
I grew up with, like those were those were common things,
you know, as far as like you know, fathers and
or mothers that were uninvolved, right, kids that I grew
up with, Like it wasn't something that in our generation
they would just you know, casually have those conversations with
friends like you know, you know, you you know, to
(12:42):
try and like look for like a friend to to
vent to, you know, as like a therapy session or
something that's therapeutic. Was that something that you would that
you would do when you were younger, Like would you
would you confide in your friends and tell them about
what was going on? Or is not? Really?
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Most of my friends in middle school and high school,
they all they had both their parents in their lives.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
You felt even more indifferent.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Yeah, I just it just felt very different my life
from their lives, Like they had their own struggles and everything,
but it wasn't the same as mine, so we had
very different struggles. So it was hard to be able
to talk about it because I didn't understand what they
were going through and they didn't understand what I was
going through.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
We're gonna dive a little deeper and talk about, uh,
you know a little more about how this all came
to be for Morgan when we come back right here
on the second part of the podcast. We'll be right
back on Ramplifying. Don't go away, and we're back here
(13:40):
with Morgan on the asb vict Valley College Ramplify the podcasts. Yes, yes,
we're here today. Morgan's had a rough life. We haven't
we haven't got into everything yet. Just kind of summon
up everything that's that's happened from what we've gathered, not
(14:01):
the best relationship with dad growing up, Right, it eventually
led to you becoming homeless. Yeah, how did how did?
How did that end up happening? Because what we've gathered
is a non present father in high school and middle school, right,
(14:23):
you were a very active child, band, extracurricular activities. You know,
your younger brother had you know, somewhat of a relationship,
you know, communication with dad, but he just really wasn't
in your life, and grandparents didn't really have an explanation
for all of that, and you knew at a young
(14:43):
age that it was drugs and or alcohol related and stuff.
But you felt rejected, You felt isolated. You used books
as a way to isolate. It wasn't really a conversation.
You were comfortable with engaging with friends with because they
appeared to have a balanced family life because they had
(15:05):
their parents. So somehow things took a turn for a
worse when you got into college because you ended up
becoming homeless. Walk us through where that all happened for you,
where that fork in the road occurred.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Okay, well this was two years ago. So I was
twenty one and I was out with friends. We were
doing what twenty one year olds do, and I came home.
It was really late, It was really well, I should
say early, It was really early in the morning when
I came home, and my dad was less than pleased
with the state in which I came home, and we
(15:45):
got into it. It was just like a really nasty argument.
And at that point our relationship had improved from when
he first got clean and came back in our.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Lives, right, because by this point in life two years ago,
your dad's clean, he's sober, he's living an honest life.
You were twenty one and doing a lot of partying. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Yeah, probably not the smartest decision, but it was. I
can say that it was a mistake, and some mistakes,
like they aren't just mistakes, they're life changing things that
happened to you. So we got into the argument when
I came home in the state that I was, and
he ended up kicking me out, and it was wintertime.
(16:30):
I was in January, which.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Is pretty cold in the high desert.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Yeah, it's pretty pretty cold up here, so it was
really cold, and essentially I was sitting by the middle
school because I lived right by it, and I didn't
know what to do because I never thought that it
would get to that point where I was getting kicked
out and I was actually like not going to have
a place to sleep that night or any night after that.
Like it was kind of just like a really big
(16:56):
shock because I thought it was just going to be
like any other argument where we just getting into it
and then I'd go to bed and it'd be fine
in the morning. But it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
So at what point did you realize, oh, this is different,
this is not like it normally is.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Probably when the sun was coming up and I still
wasn't in my house, even though it was right around
the corner, and I was calling and texting my dad
and my siblings and nobody was answering. So it was
kind of just a moment where I was like, I
have class tomorrow and I'm not even like I can't
even go home right now.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Okay, So what happened after that?
Speaker 2 (17:36):
I had a friend who was kind enough to let
me stay in their trailer and their RV. And then
after that though, it was just like a one night thing,
like his parents weren't gonna let me be there for
like as long as I needed to get off my
feet or on my feet, I mean, And so I
had I went to class, I got an uber, I
(17:58):
went to class, and then after that, I was I
was still in the same clothes that I was in
the day before, and so my friends noticed and they
were like, what is going on with you? And it
was just it was like there was just a moment
where I was like refusing to tell them what happened.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Did you think like, oh, well, maybe I'll stop by
my house later today, and you know, maybe he's just
a little too mad and it'll blow over.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
I did think that, and then I ended up getting
a call from him where he was like stop calling me,
Like this isn't like you're gone, Like this isn't happening.
So I kind of just didn't know what to do,
so I didn't really do anything. I kind of just
let it happen, like I just I didn't try to
better myself or fix the situation with my dad or anything.
(18:44):
I kind of just let myself sleep in parking lots
because I was refusing to tell my friends what happened,
and I was refusing to ask for help from anybody.
So I was just sleeping. By the middle school, I
was sleeping in parking lots. I was sleeping. I was
spending as much time as I could on campus until
everything closed down, and and then I just get an
(19:05):
uber and go somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
And it's just what was like what was happening to you,
like like mentally, like your thought process as because this
this was your life for like how long were you
living like that?
Speaker 2 (19:16):
For a little under a year?
Speaker 1 (19:18):
So like what is like what's going through what's going
on through your head during during this this process, this
this transition in life.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
I think it was mostly just me realizing how badly
I messed up. Like it was like mentally, I was
kind of being like, dang, like this is all your fault,
Like you you did this, Like you're really dumb, Like
you did this to yourself, Like look at where you are,
Like this is what your life has come to because
of your mistakes, Like this is what you did. So
it was just a lot of like self deprecating, like
(19:49):
I was just like beating down on myself a lot.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Do you have any idea like where like you decided
like to make the choices to go down on that
road because like you said, you were twenty one, but
like having friends and hanging out and partying, like there's
nothing wrong with that, right, you know, socialization is part
of life. But you know, I guess you took it
(20:14):
too far, you know, in your dad's eyes. So I
guess the question is, like where was enough is enough?
I guess that's the question I'm asking.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
I think my dad was just overall done with the
like I'm twenty one, Like you can't tell me what
to do anymore?
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Attitude, because when you're talking about it, it sounds like
part of you does agree with him. So I'm wondering
where you feel. You feel like you did go down
the road too far.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
I mean, I knew that I was not being fair
to my dad in a sense by doing things that
he couldn't really do, like you know what I mean,
Like he was clean, he was sober, so I imagine
it probably wasn't easy for him to see his oldest
daughter doing the things that led him towards his addictions.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Do you think that in a way he was afraid
that history might have been repeating itself and he didn't
want to see you possibly end up the same way
that he he did.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Yeah, I definitely think that that's the case. I think
he just kind of saw that if I kept going
the way that I was going, it was just not
going to end well. And I think also a large
part of his decision of kicking me out in the
first place was that my younger siblings live there, and
so me going home basically trashed, like that's not a
good example to set for my younger siblings, and it's
(21:40):
not like something that I'd ever want them to see
in me. Either, So I think a lot of it
was him protecting my siblings too.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
You told me that you wanted to share something here
on the podcast. Yeah, and I don't know what that is.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
So I have a it's not a story, it's a memory.
It's like a real thing that happened. But it's one
of my favorite things to talk about and like tell
people because it's it really changes the narrative of homeless people.
Like for me, it changed my narrative. Like, okay, so
I was it was a day after class. I got
a ride from a classmate to Stater Brothers and I
was like, it's okay, my dad will pick me up,
(22:17):
like you can do your thing. But obviously that's a
lie because my dad wasn't gonna pick me up, and
so I was just kind of hanging out in the
Stater Brothers parking lot, the one with the McDonald's in
a Sperry if you know, it's a really good one.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
But thanks for the tip.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
But I was gonna go to I was going to
the McDonald's and there was this guy who was sitting
outside the McDonald's and you could just tell he was homeless,
Like not to say you can always tell but this man,
you could just you could tell, like I learned to
recognize my own at that point, I could just tell.
And and so I had bought him a sooda with
some of my money because I was like, it's hot
(22:53):
out here, Like at that point, I had warmed up.
It was now summer semester instead of winter semester, and
so it was hot outside and I was like, Okay,
let's get him a soda, like he probably needs a
soda or something.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Before you continue, I just want to point out that
when we talk about like drug addiction or like alcoholism,
or like drug abuse or just like substance abuse, you know,
in your situation, you were homeless, and you know, like
you just said that, like you got this guy, you know,
a soda, right, you yourself being homeless, Like when we talk
(23:29):
about those type of situations, they're selfishness that comes in, right,
but yet you still went out of your way to
get to get him something.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Well, I felt like at that point that I had
more than he did. You know, I knew that I
had money to afford a soda, and he was sitting
outside McDonald's asking people to buy him one, like or anything,
or just for some cash or anything. And so at
that point, like I could, I knew I had more,
and I counted myself lucky that I at least had
my money from financial aid to be able to feed
(24:01):
myself and stuff. So if I had it, why not
share it with somebody who obviously doesn't, who's in the
same situation that I am. He's just a little worse
off than I am. So I bought him a soda
and I went to give it to him, and he
told me like, no, no, like drink it yourself, like
share your acts of kindness for the next person. And
it really confused me because I was like, if I
(24:22):
was getting offered a free soda, I would accept a
free soda. So I asked him. I even asked him too.
I was like why, Like you don't want the soda,
and he was like, no, no, you like you like
the next person deserves it more. And so we had
this whole conversation. I won't go into detail out of
respect for his privacy, but he was the sweetest man
(24:43):
I'd ever met. Like he was a veteran and he
had his landlord had upped his rent so he couldn't
afford to live there anymore. Which was why he was homeless,
not because he was a drug addict or an alcoholic
or any of the other assumptions that people place on
the homeless people in the high Desert in general or
in general. And so we were talking and talking and
(25:03):
he gave me a piece of advice that I didn't
realize I've been living by since I met him, because
when I first heard it it was like the cringiest
thing I think I'd ever heard. I was like, in
my head, I was like, this is cringey, this is ridiculous,
Like like I appreciate it, but I'm not going to
do that. But two years later, I'm living by it.
So he he told me, like, you should have saved
(25:26):
your money and bought a happy Meal And I said,
why should I have bought a happy Meal? And he said,
because the smile on the box reminds you to smile
every day. And so I was like, oh, like is that,
like that's advice, Like You're telling me that I should
smile every day, no matter what situation I'm in or
whatever's happening. And he was like, you have a beautiful smile.
(25:46):
Let the world see it. And so like after that
we like went our separate ways, and I didn't think
much about it because it was like like a guy
that I just met outside of McDonald's that I only
talked to for maybe forty five minus or so, but
he had given me advice, telling me to just smile,
like I should smile like the happy male box at McDonald's.
(26:06):
And I was like, it's the randomest thing ever. So
I was really confused by it. And then like I
was thinking about it when we were talking about this episode,
and I was like, wow, like I have been living
by that. I have been like, no matter what's happened
in my life, like my grandma passing away, or when
my grandpa broke his leg or anything really like anything
that I have gone through recently, like I've just been
(26:29):
going through it with a smile, because that's all you
can really do. And I realized that when I was homeless,
I was just smiling through it like I was it
was mostly a facade for my friends, but when I
was alone, I wouldn't like like I like, once I
got past the point of beating myself up for it
(26:49):
and really started to try and get better and do
better and be better, I was just smiling, like just
smiling and trying to stay positive and do what I
could do. And so that's it's just something that I
wanted to share because even though like smiling like the
happy mail bokes on the Alan McDonald's, like it's a
little it's a little like cheesy, but it's really good advice.
(27:10):
Like this man like never even met me, we didn't
even exchange names, and he still said, like you should
just smile, just smile like the happy mailbox. And he
didn't even let me buy him a happy meal after that,
like he just can.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
I share something with you? You're probably way too young
for this. But there used to be an old TV
show called I Dream of Genie. I don't know if
you've ever heard of it. Nope, No, okay, that's okay.
Well there was a old Hollywood actor's name is Larry Hagman.
He had a big TV show in the nineteen eighties
(27:43):
and then they revised it in the twenty tens called
Dallas and his name on the show was JR. Ewing.
There's this Your dad and grandparents probably know who shot JR.
That was like the ongoing thing and he was big
time Hollywood actor and Peter Pan do you know the
(28:03):
Peter Pan. Okay, that used to be like a Broadway
musical show, like in like the forties. Okay, the first
Peter Pan on Broadway was his mother. Okay, he was
played by a woman. So Larry grew up in Hollywood
and stuff, so he was a Hollywood kid, but he
was big time. I got to be his personal assistant
(28:24):
for a few years, which I was before I was
still trying to make it in show business and stuff.
I will be forever thankful for that because I didn't
really get to know my grandparents growing up. Well, no,
my grandfather's, both of them on my mom's side, on
my dad's side, I didn't really get to know them. Larry,
aside from working for him, was basically kind of like
a saraha grandfather. I learned so many cool things from
(28:46):
him as far as like like what a grandfather would
have been like, I assume, but also a lot of
things about the industry, which was flippin' awesome to this day,
and he's passed since then, right to this day. The
best advice I have ever gotten from that man was
(29:08):
two words and two words only be happy. So and
I carry that. I don't ever really share that story
with anybody. But that was the advice he had always given,
was just be happy. This was a man in his
eighties that would walk around and flip in rainbow suspenders,
you know. I mean he owed nothing to nobody. You know,
(29:32):
he had made his money super successful. Everybody knew who
he was. You know, be happy, and that's how he
lived his life. Just be happy. So when you say
that and it's and you live at all these you know,
you know, a couple of years later and stuff, there's
something to that, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
You know, I'd never I like, I've gotten a lot
of bits and pieces of advice over the years, but
that one just sticks with me, like because it's something
that I don't think about often, but when I do,
it's like very impactful for me. And it came from
a man outside of McDonald's when I was homeless and
he was homeless, Like he had every reason to just
(30:13):
be like get out of here, like leave me alone.
Like I have gone through enough in my life. I
don't need some some girl being all buy a me
SODA's and stuff like. But he was the kindest man
I'd ever met, and he gave me that piece of
advice that you know sticks with me to this day,
and it was just it was one of my favorite
(30:33):
things to talk about.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Well, you're still young, and you know you're pursuing your
passions and your goals. You know, I have to ask
you though full circle, like where are you when it
comes to like that partying lifestyle and stuff like that. Now,
like you know, we're we're.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
A lot less, a lot less, a lot less.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Or a lot different. Probably too, it's a lot different.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
There are there are very rare occasions where I will
actually go to a party, like even if I'm invited,
I like to prioritize other things now, so you don't
have to. You can you can grow out of it.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
You can't grow out of it.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Yeah, and my dad has been a lot more I
wouldn't say accepting, but a lot more lenient on as
we have come to agree. We have come to an agreement.
Now that I'm back home, that's good.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
So good Now, Well, thank you so much for sharing
your story. I hope that you know, for those young
people that are out there that are struggling right now
with whatever their their vices are or whatever challenges that
they have with their own personal lives families. Uh, listen
to a little bit of what you're saying, and hopefully
you know they power through. Any last words of advice
(31:41):
or words of encouragement that you can give to those
young people that you know maybe can relate to a
little bit of what what you went through.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
No matter how bad you think it is or it
feels like it is, it can always get better. You
just have to focus and prioritize things that will get
you out of whatever situation you're in. It doesn't matter
how you got there, why you're there, or what happened
or anything like that. All that matters is what you
do about it.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Morgan, thank you so much for coming on Ramplify today.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
We'll see you guys next time later.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Ramplify. The podcast is film. They're recorded in Victorville, California.
This podcast is made possible with the support of the
Associated student body of Victor Valley College. The views and
opinions expressed in this production are those of the speakers
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of
Victor Valley College or its affiliates. Ramplify is hosted by
Andrew Caravella, produced by Robert A. Seule Production crew includes
(32:41):
officers of the associated student body of twenty twenty four
Hurry up, come on in, we've already started. Wow, No,
it's okay. What did you get? Subway? Eat fresh? This
episode is not sponsored by Subway. I just wanted to
(00:33):
say that. I apologize to our listeners and our viewers.
This is how we are. This is how we're opening
up this episode of Ramplify. It's not by choice. Can
you check the monitors just to make sure everything looks right, just,
you know, just go ahead and flip it. Or Mondo
tried the best he could. He is not trained. Thank you, Armando.
(00:54):
Thank you. That looks okay to you. You sure it
is that your final answer? Okay, this is our guest.
Can you please state your name for the record.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Hi, my name's Morgan.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I'm Morgan. Thank you so much for being here today.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Absolutely. I apologize your VVC ASB president and student trustee
had to go get their Subway not a sponsor, by
the way, just put that out there. So wow, since
you're you know, letting us know that what what what
sandwich did you get? You don't even know, so you
(01:32):
don't you literally went to go get lunch. You don't
even know what what food item it was? What was
your preference, you don't care, Okay, I would have had
like tuna or meatball. Yeah, Morgan, do you have a
preference on sandwiches from Subway?
Speaker 2 (01:53):
I do?
Speaker 1 (01:53):
What's that?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
I always get the like the the like the Italian bread,
and then I get the chicken bacon ranch and then
I add all limbs to it and I get it toasted.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That sounds delicious.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
That's my order.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Okay, Armando, you want to get in on this. I
U okay, whatever you get, that's what he's gonna eat. Okay. So, Haley,
I can't see myself. How do I know if I'm
in frame? You didn't you you didn't put the monitor backy,
(02:28):
my gosh, because the guests get nervous when they look
at themselves. I have to make sure I'm in frame
because we're on a minimal shift of crew members here.
So anyways, now that we're twelve minutes into the show, here,
I have Morgan here. She is an ASB student, and uh,
(02:50):
Morgan has had a hard life in life. Yeah fair enough?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Fair enough?
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah good, fair enough?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Pretty good way to summarize my life story. Pretty hard.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Yeah, you know there's that cliche. I think it's true.
You can't really judge a book by its cover. You know,
I've known Morgan for like the last year, and I
just recently learned a whole bunch more about Morgan, and
Morgan said, yeah, you know, I think it's I think
there's value to share, to share the story, you know.
So this is your second year here at Victor Valley College.
(03:24):
Second and a half, second and a half. What are you?
What are you majoring in animal science? Animal science?
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, it's going to be a veterinarian.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Oh that's a nice. Animals are so much nicer than humans.
True story, true story, true story. Yeah, they don't argue back.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
No, but then they can't really tell you what's wrong
with them, so it's kind of yeah, a little harder
to work with animals than people.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Yeah, you have a favorite animal?
Speaker 2 (03:46):
I do. I have a favorite domestic animal and then
a favorite wild animal.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Let's hear them both.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
So, my favorite domestic animal is a pug, my dog.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
What's your pug's name? Obi one Kenobi?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Well, his middle name is in the naway.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
But you were definitely a Star Wars fan. Yeah, okay,
that that name alone says so much.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Okay, Yeah, and then my favorite wild animal is a cheetah.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
I like tigers. Yeah, I don't know if I like pugs.
They're kind of ugly. I'm sorry, but they are.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
But that's why they're cute, why they're.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Yeah, until like they start barking too much and then
the asthma kicks in. They make that noise like they
like have, like they need an inhaler or something.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
I love that noise.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Ugh, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
I love my pug.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
So where are you going to transfer to school? Then
to go study to be a vet?
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Hopefully cal poly Pomona. Okay, Yeah, it's one of the
closest ones with an animal science program. There's actually not
a lot of four years close by that offer it
animal science.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
So very cool. Good for you. I'm happy to hear that.
That's good. So you grew up here in the high desert? Nope, no,
where did.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
You grow up down the hill in Baldwin Park?
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Baldwind Park.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
I actually lived up here when I was younger, like
kindergarten to second grade, I think, and then I moved
down the hill and so that's where I went to
elementary school, middle school, and eventually graduated high school.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Okay, how has your time been here? At the college overall.
I mean, it's okay, you know, giving us a letter grade.
You know, if it's not the best, you know, you
got to be honest.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I'd say B minus.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, No, it's okay. Just let us know, you know,
I do love it here.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I love the people that I've met, I love the
professors that I've had. I just I think that specifically
for the program that I'm in, the agriculture program needs
a lot more attention from the campus in general.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
So, you know, I guess that would make sense why
it was on the ASB Goals to improve this year.
Would you say that, you guys, you know, gave it
some TLC.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
I would say so, yeah. I mean, we definitely revitalized
the botanical garden on campus, which a lot of people
don't even know exists actually, So it was pretty cool
getting to be a part of that and see the
department that I'm a part of get attention for once.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Very cool. We're gonna dive into Morgan's story and find
out what she is all about right here after the break,
so stick around. He will be right back here on Ramplify,
And we are back here on Ramplify the podcast from
(06:22):
Victor Valley College is very own associate student body. I'm
here with Morgan. What's your title again, secretary Secretary? You
do all the minutes.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
Huh yeah, a lot of typing, a lot of typing,
have to actively listen.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Are you nervous you're gonna get arthritis at an early age?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
No? Because I well, actually maybe. Yeah. I'm also I
also do secretary for Ready Rams too, so I do
double the typing, and they're all on Fridays and I
do ICC, So every every now and then I'll have
back to back meetings where I'm just typing for like
three hours, five hours straight and then I crochet.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
So yeah, what was that you're talking over her? Oh
she gets a break? Okay, Well that's good. So you
told me a little bit about your story. You're going
to tell your story here to a lot of our
listeners that I think we'll connect with some of them.
(07:18):
Things were a little dark for you before you you
came to college or when you started your college journey.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
When I started, yeah, it was my I believe it
was my. It was my It was the transition between
my first and my second semester. Here.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
What was going on in your life that that started
to take take that road in life.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
I guess I could say that it was definitely my
relationship with my family at that point. I wasn't I
didn't necessarily get along the best with my dad or
my grandparents at the time. It was a difficult relationship.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Was it just like a like a difference of ideas
or thought?
Speaker 2 (07:55):
It was kind of just that my my dad was
a drug addict early his life, and so he wasn't
in my life up until four years ago.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Now, So there was probably a lot of resentment growing up.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
And Yeah, and it was also just kind of a
period of time where I was starting to get to
know my dad, like as my dad and not.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Just when he got clean.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah, it was like I got to know him as
a person and he got to know me. But I
was already so like developed in life since I was older.
It was definitely just the transition between not having a
dad and then having him in my life and us
not really knowing each other or anything.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Would it be safe to say when he started to
kind of come out of that and started to live
a sober and clean life, you still had your reservations,
and therefore you were kind of rejecting him even though
he was trying.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yeah, I definitely think I gave him a really hard
time when he first came back, and for the first
few years after two it was definitely really I think
for me it was mostly just that I was so
angry at him for not being at my orchestra recitals
or my band performances or any anything really, Like I
was just so resentful for it, and so when he
(09:06):
came back, I was like, you don't get to be
here because you missed all of it, Like you're not.
Like he came back after I had already graduated high school,
so he pretty much missed every milestone in my life
at that point.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Right, That's understandable. You ever asked your like your mom
or even like your grandparents, like you know, about him,
like like why does he do this? Like or even
use them as like a like a sounding board like
to vent.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yeah, well, after I mean it was my my paternal
grandparents that raised me after my both my parents left,
So I definitely spent a lot of time asking my
grandma and my grandpa like about him, like like was
he like this when he was younger? Like when you
were raising him? Like what was he like? Like did
he do band in high school? Did he do orchestra? Like?
(09:52):
Was he into the things that I'm into?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
Like?
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Do I have something in common with him? It was definitely.
I tried to get to know him through them, but
they were all pretty old and their memories were a
little so I really just had to get to know
him once he was there, because I didn't really learn
much from the people.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
I was asking, are you an only child or do
you have siblings?
Speaker 2 (10:11):
I have a lot of siblings, So.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Did you are you guys like around the same age.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
I'm four years older than I'm four and eight years
older than my younger siblings, so.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
At least the one that's four that you're four years
older than. Did you feel like you could connect with
them at all? With with you know, struggling with you know,
trying to connect with your father like you guys were
like going through the same thing basically.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
No, not really. My my brother never really had resentment
for our dad. He was really because when my dad left,
he still kept contact with my little brother, but I
made it a lot harder for him. So my brother
had a relationship with our dad, so it was a
little harder to talk to my little brother about it?
Speaker 1 (10:53):
How would you how would you cope with it? Like
what were like your tools or what was your way
of dealing with what? I guess is a better way,
uh to say, is like pain, you know, because obviously
you were seeking answers to these questions. You went to
your your grandparents, you know, like was he like this?
Did he do the same things that I did? Like
(11:16):
you know with orchestra, you know, doing music? You know,
like how are you how are you dealing with with
all of this, like rejection or not showing up? Like
what was like what was the way that you chose
to handle it?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
I I kind of found an escape in books, Like
I would try to transport myself into the world of books.
So I would read like The Maze, Runner and Divergent
and all those I like the movies, I would read them.
So I would read a lot of those books, and
I would guess I would kind of just try to
put myself in that world because it was better than
the one that I was in. So even though it
(11:52):
was kind of horrible because it was a lot of
a lot of danger in those books.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
So you know what you're just just describing is you
know this this in there's just a couple of years
age difference between you and me. Just a couple of years, Haley,
I'm not that old. Okay, Oh my gosh, she just
said that. That hurts. That hurt right here. My heart's
over here, I think. But growing up, you know, some
(12:19):
of the things that you're describing, you know, kids that
I grew up with, like those were those were common things,
you know, as far as like you know, fathers and
or mothers that were uninvolved, right, kids that I grew
up with, Like it wasn't something that in our generation
they would just you know, casually have those conversations with
friends like you know, you know, you you know, to
(12:42):
try and like look for like a friend to to
vent to, you know, as like a therapy session or
something that's therapeutic. Was that something that you would that
you would do when you were younger, Like would you
would you confide in your friends and tell them about
what was going on? Or is not? Really?
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Most of my friends in middle school and high school,
they all they had both their parents in their lives.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
You felt even more indifferent.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Yeah, I just it just felt very different my life
from their lives, Like they had their own struggles and everything,
but it wasn't the same as mine, so we had
very different struggles. So it was hard to be able
to talk about it because I didn't understand what they
were going through and they didn't understand what I was
going through.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
We're gonna dive a little deeper and talk about, uh,
you know a little more about how this all came
to be for Morgan when we come back right here
on the second part of the podcast. We'll be right
back on Ramplifying. Don't go away, and we're back here
(13:40):
with Morgan on the asb vict Valley College Ramplify the podcasts. Yes, yes,
we're here today. Morgan's had a rough life. We haven't
we haven't got into everything yet. Just kind of summon
up everything that's that's happened from what we've gathered, not
(14:01):
the best relationship with dad growing up, Right, it eventually
led to you becoming homeless. Yeah, how did how did?
How did that end up happening? Because what we've gathered
is a non present father in high school and middle school, right,
(14:23):
you were a very active child, band, extracurricular activities. You know,
your younger brother had you know, somewhat of a relationship,
you know, communication with dad, but he just really wasn't
in your life, and grandparents didn't really have an explanation
for all of that, and you knew at a young
(14:43):
age that it was drugs and or alcohol related and stuff.
But you felt rejected, You felt isolated. You used books
as a way to isolate. It wasn't really a conversation.
You were comfortable with engaging with friends with because they
appeared to have a balanced family life because they had
(15:05):
their parents. So somehow things took a turn for a
worse when you got into college because you ended up
becoming homeless. Walk us through where that all happened for you,
where that fork in the road occurred.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Okay, well this was two years ago. So I was
twenty one and I was out with friends. We were
doing what twenty one year olds do, and I came home.
It was really late, It was really well, I should
say early, It was really early in the morning when
I came home, and my dad was less than pleased
with the state in which I came home, and we
(15:45):
got into it. It was just like a really nasty argument.
And at that point our relationship had improved from when
he first got clean and came back in our.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Lives, right, because by this point in life two years ago,
your dad's clean, he's sober, he's living an honest life.
You were twenty one and doing a lot of partying. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Yeah, probably not the smartest decision, but it was. I
can say that it was a mistake, and some mistakes,
like they aren't just mistakes, they're life changing things that
happened to you. So we got into the argument when
I came home in the state that I was, and
he ended up kicking me out, and it was wintertime.
(16:30):
I was in January, which.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Is pretty cold in the high desert.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
Yeah, it's pretty pretty cold up here, so it was
really cold, and essentially I was sitting by the middle
school because I lived right by it, and I didn't
know what to do because I never thought that it
would get to that point where I was getting kicked
out and I was actually like not going to have
a place to sleep that night or any night after that.
Like it was kind of just like a really big
(16:56):
shock because I thought it was just going to be
like any other argument where we just getting into it
and then I'd go to bed and it'd be fine
in the morning. But it wasn't.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
So at what point did you realize, oh, this is different,
this is not like it normally is.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
Probably when the sun was coming up and I still
wasn't in my house, even though it was right around
the corner, and I was calling and texting my dad
and my siblings and nobody was answering. So it was
kind of just a moment where I was like, I
have class tomorrow and I'm not even like I can't
even go home right now.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Okay, So what happened after that?
Speaker 2 (17:36):
I had a friend who was kind enough to let
me stay in their trailer and their RV. And then
after that though, it was just like a one night thing,
like his parents weren't gonna let me be there for
like as long as I needed to get off my
feet or on my feet, I mean, And so I
had I went to class, I got an uber, I
(17:58):
went to class, and then after that, I was I
was still in the same clothes that I was in
the day before, and so my friends noticed and they
were like, what is going on with you? And it
was just it was like there was just a moment
where I was like refusing to tell them what happened.
Speaker 1 (18:14):
Did you think like, oh, well, maybe I'll stop by
my house later today, and you know, maybe he's just
a little too mad and it'll blow over.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
I did think that, and then I ended up getting
a call from him where he was like stop calling me,
Like this isn't like you're gone, Like this isn't happening.
So I kind of just didn't know what to do,
so I didn't really do anything. I kind of just
let it happen, like I just I didn't try to
better myself or fix the situation with my dad or anything.
(18:44):
I kind of just let myself sleep in parking lots
because I was refusing to tell my friends what happened,
and I was refusing to ask for help from anybody.
So I was just sleeping. By the middle school, I
was sleeping in parking lots. I was sleeping. I was
spending as much time as I could on campus until
everything closed down, and and then I just get an
(19:05):
uber and go somewhere else.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
And it's just what was like what was happening to you,
like like mentally, like your thought process as because this
this was your life for like how long were you
living like that?
Speaker 2 (19:16):
For a little under a year?
Speaker 1 (19:18):
So like what is like what's going through what's going
on through your head during during this this process, this
this transition in life.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
I think it was mostly just me realizing how badly
I messed up. Like it was like mentally, I was
kind of being like, dang, like this is all your fault,
Like you you did this, Like you're really dumb, Like
you did this to yourself, Like look at where you are,
Like this is what your life has come to because
of your mistakes, Like this is what you did. So
it was just a lot of like self deprecating, like
(19:49):
I was just like beating down on myself a lot.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Do you have any idea like where like you decided
like to make the choices to go down on that
road because like you said, you were twenty one, but
like having friends and hanging out and partying, like there's
nothing wrong with that, right, you know, socialization is part
of life. But you know, I guess you took it
(20:14):
too far, you know, in your dad's eyes. So I
guess the question is, like where was enough is enough?
I guess that's the question I'm asking.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
I think my dad was just overall done with the
like I'm twenty one, Like you can't tell me what
to do anymore?
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Attitude, because when you're talking about it, it sounds like
part of you does agree with him. So I'm wondering
where you feel. You feel like you did go down
the road too far.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
I mean, I knew that I was not being fair
to my dad in a sense by doing things that
he couldn't really do, like you know what I mean,
Like he was clean, he was sober, so I imagine
it probably wasn't easy for him to see his oldest
daughter doing the things that led him towards his addictions.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Do you think that in a way he was afraid
that history might have been repeating itself and he didn't
want to see you possibly end up the same way
that he he did.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Yeah, I definitely think that that's the case. I think
he just kind of saw that if I kept going
the way that I was going, it was just not
going to end well. And I think also a large
part of his decision of kicking me out in the
first place was that my younger siblings live there, and
so me going home basically trashed, like that's not a
good example to set for my younger siblings, and it's
(21:40):
not like something that I'd ever want them to see
in me. Either, So I think a lot of it
was him protecting my siblings too.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
You told me that you wanted to share something here
on the podcast. Yeah, and I don't know what that is.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
So I have a it's not a story, it's a memory.
It's like a real thing that happened. But it's one
of my favorite things to talk about and like tell
people because it's it really changes the narrative of homeless people.
Like for me, it changed my narrative. Like, okay, so
I was it was a day after class. I got
a ride from a classmate to Stater Brothers and I
was like, it's okay, my dad will pick me up,
(22:17):
like you can do your thing. But obviously that's a
lie because my dad wasn't gonna pick me up, and
so I was just kind of hanging out in the
Stater Brothers parking lot, the one with the McDonald's in
a Sperry if you know, it's a really good one.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
But thanks for the tip.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
But I was gonna go to I was going to
the McDonald's and there was this guy who was sitting
outside the McDonald's and you could just tell he was homeless,
Like not to say you can always tell but this man,
you could just you could tell, like I learned to
recognize my own at that point, I could just tell.
And and so I had bought him a sooda with
some of my money because I was like, it's hot
(22:53):
out here, Like at that point, I had warmed up.
It was now summer semester instead of winter semester, and
so it was hot outside and I was like, Okay,
let's get him a soda, like he probably needs a
soda or something.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Before you continue, I just want to point out that
when we talk about like drug addiction or like alcoholism,
or like drug abuse or just like substance abuse, you know,
in your situation, you were homeless, and you know, like
you just said that, like you got this guy, you know,
a soda, right, you yourself being homeless, Like when we talk
(23:29):
about those type of situations, they're selfishness that comes in, right,
but yet you still went out of your way to
get to get him something.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Well, I felt like at that point that I had
more than he did. You know, I knew that I
had money to afford a soda, and he was sitting
outside McDonald's asking people to buy him one, like or anything,
or just for some cash or anything. And so at
that point, like I could, I knew I had more,
and I counted myself lucky that I at least had
my money from financial aid to be able to feed
(24:01):
myself and stuff. So if I had it, why not
share it with somebody who obviously doesn't, who's in the
same situation that I am. He's just a little worse
off than I am. So I bought him a soda
and I went to give it to him, and he
told me like, no, no, like drink it yourself, like
share your acts of kindness for the next person. And
it really confused me because I was like, if I
(24:22):
was getting offered a free soda, I would accept a
free soda. So I asked him. I even asked him too.
I was like why, Like you don't want the soda,
and he was like, no, no, you like you like
the next person deserves it more. And so we had
this whole conversation. I won't go into detail out of
respect for his privacy, but he was the sweetest man
(24:43):
I'd ever met. Like he was a veteran and he
had his landlord had upped his rent so he couldn't
afford to live there anymore. Which was why he was homeless,
not because he was a drug addict or an alcoholic
or any of the other assumptions that people place on
the homeless people in the high Desert in general or
in general. And so we were talking and talking and
(25:03):
he gave me a piece of advice that I didn't
realize I've been living by since I met him, because
when I first heard it it was like the cringiest
thing I think I'd ever heard. I was like, in
my head, I was like, this is cringey, this is ridiculous,
Like like I appreciate it, but I'm not going to
do that. But two years later, I'm living by it.
So he he told me, like, you should have saved
(25:26):
your money and bought a happy Meal And I said,
why should I have bought a happy Meal? And he said,
because the smile on the box reminds you to smile
every day. And so I was like, oh, like is that,
like that's advice, Like You're telling me that I should
smile every day, no matter what situation I'm in or
whatever's happening. And he was like, you have a beautiful smile.
(25:46):
Let the world see it. And so like after that
we like went our separate ways, and I didn't think
much about it because it was like like a guy
that I just met outside of McDonald's that I only
talked to for maybe forty five minus or so, but
he had given me advice, telling me to just smile,
like I should smile like the happy male box at McDonald's.
(26:06):
And I was like, it's the randomest thing ever. So
I was really confused by it. And then like I
was thinking about it when we were talking about this episode,
and I was like, wow, like I have been living
by that. I have been like, no matter what's happened
in my life, like my grandma passing away, or when
my grandpa broke his leg or anything really like anything
that I have gone through recently, like I've just been
(26:29):
going through it with a smile, because that's all you
can really do. And I realized that when I was homeless,
I was just smiling through it like I was it
was mostly a facade for my friends, but when I
was alone, I wouldn't like like I like, once I
got past the point of beating myself up for it
(26:49):
and really started to try and get better and do
better and be better, I was just smiling, like just
smiling and trying to stay positive and do what I
could do. And so that's it's just something that I
wanted to share because even though like smiling like the
happy mail bokes on the Alan McDonald's, like it's a
little it's a little like cheesy, but it's really good advice.
(27:10):
Like this man like never even met me, we didn't
even exchange names, and he still said, like you should
just smile, just smile like the happy mailbox. And he
didn't even let me buy him a happy meal after that,
like he just can.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
I share something with you? You're probably way too young
for this. But there used to be an old TV
show called I Dream of Genie. I don't know if
you've ever heard of it. Nope, No, okay, that's okay.
Well there was a old Hollywood actor's name is Larry Hagman.
He had a big TV show in the nineteen eighties
(27:43):
and then they revised it in the twenty tens called
Dallas and his name on the show was JR. Ewing.
There's this Your dad and grandparents probably know who shot JR.
That was like the ongoing thing and he was big
time Hollywood actor and Peter Pan do you know the
(28:03):
Peter Pan. Okay, that used to be like a Broadway
musical show, like in like the forties. Okay, the first
Peter Pan on Broadway was his mother. Okay, he was
played by a woman. So Larry grew up in Hollywood
and stuff, so he was a Hollywood kid, but he
was big time. I got to be his personal assistant
(28:24):
for a few years, which I was before I was
still trying to make it in show business and stuff.
I will be forever thankful for that because I didn't
really get to know my grandparents growing up. Well, no,
my grandfather's, both of them on my mom's side, on
my dad's side, I didn't really get to know them. Larry,
aside from working for him, was basically kind of like
a saraha grandfather. I learned so many cool things from
(28:46):
him as far as like like what a grandfather would
have been like, I assume, but also a lot of
things about the industry, which was flippin' awesome to this day,
and he's passed since then, right to this day. The
best advice I have ever gotten from that man was
(29:08):
two words and two words only be happy. So and
I carry that. I don't ever really share that story
with anybody. But that was the advice he had always given,
was just be happy. This was a man in his
eighties that would walk around and flip in rainbow suspenders,
you know. I mean he owed nothing to nobody. You know,
(29:32):
he had made his money super successful. Everybody knew who
he was. You know, be happy, and that's how he
lived his life. Just be happy. So when you say
that and it's and you live at all these you know,
you know, a couple of years later and stuff, there's
something to that, you know.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
You know, I'd never I like, I've gotten a lot
of bits and pieces of advice over the years, but
that one just sticks with me, like because it's something
that I don't think about often, but when I do,
it's like very impactful for me. And it came from
a man outside of McDonald's when I was homeless and
he was homeless, Like he had every reason to just
(30:13):
be like get out of here, like leave me alone.
Like I have gone through enough in my life. I
don't need some some girl being all buy a me
SODA's and stuff like. But he was the kindest man
I'd ever met, and he gave me that piece of
advice that you know sticks with me to this day,
and it was just it was one of my favorite
(30:33):
things to talk about.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Well, you're still young, and you know you're pursuing your
passions and your goals. You know, I have to ask
you though full circle, like where are you when it
comes to like that partying lifestyle and stuff like that. Now,
like you know, we're we're.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
A lot less, a lot less, a lot less.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Or a lot different. Probably too, it's a lot different.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
There are there are very rare occasions where I will
actually go to a party, like even if I'm invited,
I like to prioritize other things now, so you don't
have to. You can you can grow out of it.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
You can't grow out of it.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Yeah, and my dad has been a lot more I
wouldn't say accepting, but a lot more lenient on as
we have come to agree. We have come to an agreement.
Now that I'm back home, that's good.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
So good Now, Well, thank you so much for sharing
your story. I hope that you know, for those young
people that are out there that are struggling right now
with whatever their their vices are or whatever challenges that
they have with their own personal lives families. Uh, listen
to a little bit of what you're saying, and hopefully
you know they power through. Any last words of advice
(31:41):
or words of encouragement that you can give to those
young people that you know maybe can relate to a
little bit of what what you went through.
Speaker 2 (31:51):
No matter how bad you think it is or it
feels like it is, it can always get better. You
just have to focus and prioritize things that will get
you out of whatever situation you're in. It doesn't matter
how you got there, why you're there, or what happened
or anything like that. All that matters is what you
do about it.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Morgan, thank you so much for coming on Ramplify today.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
We'll see you guys next time later.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
Ramplify. The podcast is film. They're recorded in Victorville, California.
This podcast is made possible with the support of the
Associated student body of Victor Valley College. The views and
opinions expressed in this production are those of the speakers
and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of
Victor Valley College or its affiliates. Ramplify is hosted by
Andrew Caravella, produced by Robert A. Seule Production crew includes
(32:41):
officers of the associated student body of twenty twenty four
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