When Aiden Valenciano arrived in Chicago last June from his native San Antonio, he had a suitcase filled with his belongings and $70 in his pocket. He hadn't told anyone back home that he was moving away, even his parents.
"I just had an empty feeling in Texas, like it was a dead end for me," Valenciano said. "I needed to find something to get an adrenaline rush, to do something I had never done before."
Valenciano moved in with the one friend he knew in Chicago and, for the next five months, was sleeping on a small, thin cushion in the living room. "It was uncomfortable, but worth it."
Last August, he got a tattoo on his right wrist. In block letters, it says, INVINCIBLE.
"I got it because I was trying something new [in Chicago] and, at the moment, I felt unstoppable—and still do," he said.
Valenciano got his first local job, at a Jimmy John's, the same day he was hired. In fact, he was offered the job literally three minutes after he applied. He worked there until last November when he got his current job.
"It's been ups and downs," said Valenciano, who admits there were plenty of days here last year when he only ate Ramen Noodles—because that's all he could afford.
"Little by little, things started picking up."
Valenciano joined the AIDS Foundation of Chicago's endurance-training program, the Team To End AIDS (T2), earlier this year and is now training for the Lifetime Chicago Triathlon in August. He also has committed to fund-raise $1,800 for AFC through T2.
"I don't have any concrete reason why [I registered for the tri] other than I always like helping people. Plus, I need a challenge," he said. "I know the Tri will be tough. I'm not a runner and swimming is quite a challenge. I haven't swam since I was about 12.
"The T2 experience so far has been amazing, a truly awakening experience. It definitely was the right choice [to register.]"
Valenciano is holding a fundraiser for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago on Sunday, July 1, starting at 3 p.m., at Scarlet Bar in Lakeview.
"I think I'm a hard person to explain. I go through phases and grow with time," he said. "I really like where I'm at right now. Sure, it's been a crazy, crazy ride [over the past year], but I don't regret it one bit."
THE STATS
Age: 23
Neighborhood: Rogers Park
Job title: Optician
Relationship status: Single
Fluent in: English and Spanish
Hobbies: Film editing, photography, reading, sketching
Favorite NBA team; San Antonio Spurs
Favorite Chicago bar: Roscoe's
