With 24 hours in a day, sometimes this time allotted does not seem like enough for Caleb “Kale” Marcos Gonzalez (12) because of his terribly hectic schedule. This year, more than any other, has been wildly busy for him. In school activities alone, he has a zero period, an ROP, and Video Productions. However,  he didn’t choose all these classes simply to take time out of his schedule; he did it due to his passion for art. This includes paint, food, film, poetry & prose, music, anything creative to be enjoyed by the senses. One of the artforms included in the description that has really interested him over the past year is film since it is one of the simplest, raw ways to expose a feeling or message to others. Lately, critiquing and creating films has become a growing hobby of his; thus, he has joined the Video Production team at YLHS. Caleb wanted to expand his creative spirit and be part of the process of filmmaking; and according to his friend Michael Pratt (12), “he has a great talent for it” as well.

Most of his time, however, is dedicated to his favorite artform, cuisine. The culinary world has interested him since he was young. Both his zero period and ROP are classes that are in the culinary program at YLHS. In fact, his job is at a restaurant that he is “so honored to work for.” He has been working “at Taco Maria for about 3 years now, and the experience has been exhilarating” for him. Caleb has learned more at that restaurant over the past years than he has ever learned anywhere else, and he is truly honored to have this be the start of his culinary journey. His final goal is to be the chef of a Cuban experimental restaurant named after his grandma, “DoñAna.” Out of anyone, she has made the biggest impact in his life, from showing him the beauty in food to taking his family on, say, a random trip to Lake Tahoe! Travel has also made a huge impact on his life. Caleb has been blessed enough to be part of a family that loves to travel and adventure. He has been to many parts of the world including his family’s homelands of Cuba (his father’s side), Germany & Ireland (his mom’s side), along with trips to places such as India, Peru, and France. In fact, his goal before he turns 21 is to visit Antarctica to finally be able to claim that he has travelled to all 7 continents!

The last part of Caleb’s life is the part that music and writing has played in his life. He groups those two together because he believes that music is simply “writing with some sort of melody” and he enjoys all types of music (excluding post-80’s country, and most new pop). He has found vinyl record collecting to be one of his favorite hobbies. Being able to hold the music and have an interaction with it in that way is such a beautiful thing to him. As somebody that has a somewhat musical background, he enamores with excellent production, songwriting, or talent, since he knows that making all of it come together and sound good is not an easy task. Lyric writing is difficult enough, and setting instruments and good production is also quite tough. Caleb’s respect for writing extends in the same direction as finding the right words and being able to paint a picture in the reader’s head. It is difficult, and he has a lot of respect for those who have the talent to do that. In the end, he thinks the best way to describe his life is “for the arts” as he lives to create art in its many forms and loves it.