Antonio D’Elia Honors Biography
English 11 ACE 8-9
It was a cold and snowy day on the 15th of March, 1993. The strongest storm to ever hit the Eastern United States was nearing its end. Not only was it the Ides of March, it was the day that Antonio D’Elia came into this world and first saw his parents, Cono and Nicolina D’Elia. Antonio’s parents were a very young and thriving couple. Cono was just starting off as a young architectural engineer for a small company and Nicolina had been working a small office job at a nearby Hospital. Their occupations made it possible for Antonio to have a fun and playful childhood full of love and attention. At the age of three Antonio’s short-lived lifestyle was changed forever when his sister, Liana, was born. Antonio needed to learn to cope with a new member of the family receiving more attention than him; a task not easily completed. He did not understand why things were different, but he quickly needed to learn to handle the new situation he was faced with. A year after his sister was born, Antonio attended his first day of preschool at Our Lady of Mount Carmel catholic school. He was exposed to an array of new people and feelings. This was not only a new experience in Antonio’s life, but it was also a new milestone as well. He learned to interact with other children and even made a few friends. Sadly, however, his school closed when he was only six years old forcing him to attend a different school and meet an entirely new group of students. Antonio spent the next two years of his life attending Saint Anthony’s school. He met many new people and even saw some familiar faces from his previous school. Here is where he made his first lasting friendship with a girl that he has remained acquainted with until today. They had many things in common and saw each other quite often. Sadly, when he was eight years old he moved from Schenectady to the small town of Rotterdam forcing him to attend a different school once again. He felt very lonely being away from all of his friends for a second time in his life. While being overwhelmed with a new array of feelings, he was once again introduced to an even bigger group of classmates when he first attended Pinewood elementary school. It was very difficult for him to adapt to a new house, a new neighborhood, and a new school all at the same time. This time he did not make friends as quickly. He found his new classmates to be different and not as easy to get along with as the students from his other two schools. Luckily, he found a friend in the young Jack Manning. The
two of them shared many of the same interests and visited each other’s houses quite often. Antonio eventually adapted to his new school making more and more friends along the way. Along with being introduced to a new school, Antonio was also introduced to a new instrument. He began taking piano lessons at the age of nine and fell in love with the instrument ever since. He found peace in the beautiful music that was created with the piano. Having control of what types of sounds came out of this magnificent instrument intrigued him and caused him to pursue this interest. His father had been a piano player a swell and gave Antonio his first keyboard at the age of two. It was love at first sight. When Antonio was the age of ten he had a spectacular experience that changed his life forever: visiting the country of Brazil. He had several relatives in Brazil and was finally going to meet them. This experience was monumental .He not only visited a new country but was also exposed to an entirely different culture and an extremely different way of living. Witnessing these carefree and happy people changed his life forever. He realized that it is possible to have fun and be happy every day doing ordinary things. The people he met in Brazil never stopped having fun and still managed running their own wine company, a petting zoo, and even several restaurants. They were able to do serious business and not worry about stressing factors, unlike the people that he grew up around. Along with this wonderful experience Antonio was also exposed to another one of his long-lasting passions. A few months after visiting Brazil Antonio received his first camera. Although not satisfied with it at first, he soon realized that photography is a beautiful art and allows you to do amazing things. Not only are you able to permanently capture any image you’d like but you can also capture the feelings that one receives upon witnessing these images. Instead of remembering a remarkable scene, you can capture it and look at it forever. Antonio spent many summers with his camera at his grandmother’s house, one of which was particularly life changing. One summer when he was eleven years old his best friend that he had grown up with, stopped associating with him. This brought many angry and hurtful emotions. He did not know why his friend decided to stop talking to him but he realized he could not change this fate. He was dumbfounded by the idea of not spending any more time with the person that he always used to spend all of his time with. Antonio soon realized that these sorts of disappointments are just a part of life and are bound to happen again and again. Although a devastating moment in his life, Antonio learned to move on. At the age of twelve Antonio received a new cousin. He was so excited, he had always wanted a cousin to play with as a child, but now that he was older he was sad that the age
difference between them would not allow them to be as close as they could have been had he been born sooner. Antonio learned the responsibilities of taking care of a child and realized that life was not all about having fun but about hard work and responsibility as well. He was exposed to many more responsibilities from this point on. One of the greatest was bestowed on him when he first started his volunteer service at Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital. Antonio learned the responsibilities of having a job and being on his own without the support of his parents to fix his mistakes. He met many new people and was exposed to many new experiences. Antonio had to learn to interact with patients and be more independent. He learned to be more sociable and do things without the aid of his parents. The long summers spent at this hospital gave him a whole new outlook on life as well as a great amount of new skills. At this same age he also received his first ATV. This was a beautiful experience in his life. He had always wanted one of these machines before and had now obtained one. Although it was very fun, the ATV also came with a lot of responsibilities. Antonio needed to be very careful with this extremely dangerous device, any wrong or unsafe move and he could easily be killed. This responsibility of being in charge of his own safety drastically changed his life. Never again did he commit an unsafe act without thinking twice about it. Finally, at age sixteen, Antonio learned to drive an actual car which bestowed him with even more responsibilities. He had to be even more cautious than he previously was. Although his first attempts at driving were very nerve wracking he eventually overcame his fear and became a successful driver with confidence. As with many things in Antonio’s life he was able to overcome and conquer yet another obstacle of fear. After enduring several stressful, fun, and life changing years of his life, Antonio eventually graduated Mohonasen Senior High School in June of 2011. Although happy to have successfully endured a large portion of his life, he was very disheartened that he would be forced to move on and away from all of the friends he had come to know. He knew that he would no longer be able to see them as often as he once did. He also knew that being away from his friends would not be the only change to come with his graduation. After graduating Antonio would attend Roger Williams University to study Architecture. He met many new people and endured a completely new and difficult situation. He no longer had the comfort of his parents by his side to fix his mistakes. He needed to fend for himself and once again adapt to the new environment that surrounded me. Luckily for him he would not need to do so alone.
During his first year of college Antonio met some very interesting people. He made many new friendships with people who he would remain friends with for the rest of his life. For the first time in his life he would find true friends who could relate to him and shared almost all of the same interests. Not only would they be lasting friends, they would also be with him through many of his most difficult and most memorable moments. Although college life put a large and difficult mental toll on Antonio it also gave him many wonderful things that would stay with him throughout his entire life, including his eventual wife. During Antonio’s senior year at Roger Williams University he would meet this beautiful Italian woman in line at a local restaurant. She was a thriving business major at a nearby college and shared a very relatable family situation, making it easy for the two to bond. The two would be attracted to each other at first glance and would date for exactly 2 ½ years before getting married in a quaint little church in Rhode Island. Their marriage, while sometimes difficult and unsteady, would turn out to be incredibly full of love and passion that would never die. The two purchased their first house in a small town in New York, not very far from either of their parents. Here they would raise a family of two girls and one boy and live happily as middle class citizens. In this house they experienced many memorable moments, including their children’s first steps and even the adoption of their first dog Skippy. Antonio started his first job at Adaptive Architecture Firm in Albany, New York. Here he would once again learn to adapt to a new situation and his new surroundings. Only this time he knew what he was doing, and took the most effective approach to gaining success at this company. While his boss was a scrawny little man with absolutely no sense of humor, Antonio befriended him and soon rose to the top of the company. It was not unusual for Antonio and his boss to engage in pointless small talk during early morning coffee breaks. How was your weekend? What do you think of the weather out there? Did you get that new comb that you wanted for your birthday? While all of these questions were painfully unimportant to him, Antonio never failed to grab his chance at making it good with his boss. It was a small price that he needed to pay in order to create success. Then of course in the middle of his often dull life, something amazing happened; something unbelievable, yet completely deserved. On a rainy May 5th he struck the jackpot and won the lottery at a nearby casino where he and his wife were celebrating their anniversary. Bells, whistles, a flashing neon sign screaming jackpot, and a crowd of envious gamblers surrounded him. He had won 15 million dollars and the beginning of his worries had just begun.
Antonio and his incredibly ecstatic wife moved to a prestigious new housing complex in northern New York. They purchased a humble $12 million house and moved in right away. After buying new cars, TVs, furniture, and an endless supply of things that they didn’t need they finally settled in and began to live the lives of the rich. Everything had seemed perfect, yet Antonio was often worried. All of their family had found out about their winnings and the phone calls never seemed to stop. While Antonio and his wife did give generously to their beloved family and friends, it seemed as if they always wanted more. The two were often worried about their parents and close friends. They had heard of the threats that had been received but often could not do anything about them. While the threats eventually ended the couple never stopped being concerned for their close friends and family. After learning to adapt to his incredible yet sometimes difficult situation, Antonio began to play out his lifelong dream. He quickly quit his job and started working on fulfilling his secret passion. He had always wanted be an inventor and know he had the time and tools to do it. With the help of his wife Antonio went on to create numerous innovations and original gadgets. At the age of 82 Antonio began to become weary of his extravagant lifestyle which he had become so used to. After officially passing on their mansion to their children, Antonio and his wife packed a few of their belongings and moved back to the neighborhood that Antonio had grown up in. While nothing had remained the same he still took comfort in returning to the simple life he once knew. This is where he and his wife spent their last days. After 98 years of living in so many different ways Antonio finally passed away peacefully in his sleep leaving behind his wife, three children, eight grandchildren, and an extravagant lifetime full of precious and sometimes unbelievable memories. The life of Antonio D’Elia has had many twists and turns that has changed him for the better. Many of the experiences that he has been exposed to changed his life forever. As he grew and changed he was bestowed with more and more responsibilities. Although at times these responsibilities seem overwhelming he has learned to cope with his struggles and be successful at all of the things in which he attempts.
Notes: So far my life has been full of highs and lows which have helped mold me as person. I have been forced to adapt to many new situations including meeting new people, moving to new places, and exploring new paths in my life. I am sure that this is only the beginning of a long life full of changes that I will need to effectively adjust to. As I grow and change I know that these changes will seem much more common and I will find it much easier to get used to them. I do hope to someday start a family and live a relatively simple life which I would completely enjoy.
I have often thought about what would happen if I ever won the lottery and have come to the conclusion that I would probably miss living a simple life. Of course it would be fun and entertaining to have so much money but I am sure that with that money many new problems would arise. I am also a strong believer in making a difference. I believe that everyone put in to this world has the duty of making it just a little bit better when they leave it. This is the reason why I have always secretly wanted to become an inventor. I believe that if I put my mind to it, I could truly create something that would change the lives of many for the better.