Back Alley

01 Where it all began . . .

Keio was born in Chicago, the youngest and only boy among four siblings. With a Japanese mother and a Filipino-American father, home was never limited to one culture. Holidays were often spent traveling between Japan and the Philippines, giving him a childhood filled with different places, people, and ways of living.

He grew up in a family where curiosity was encouraged. His sisters each had their own thing—music, dance, and art— and Keio naturally found himself joining in. His father introduced him to sports, while his mother brought theater and performance into the picture. Nobody really told him to pick one thing.

So he didn't.

02 The first push

Keio was the kind of kid who rarely let an interesting thing pass him by.

A new instrument? He'd try it.
A sport his father was watching? He'd want to play.
A dance routine his sister was practicing? He'd probably end up learning it too.

Some interests stayed for years, others came and went. But that habit of trying things never really disappeared. By the time he reached high school, he had already collected a strange combination of hobbies—music, dancing, games, sports, art, and eventually, skateboarding.

Skateboarding happened almost by convenience. There was a skatepark near his school, and one afternoon, curiosity got the better of him. He stepped on a board. And the rest was practice.

03 Finding his pace

When Keio entered high school, his family eventually decided to spend a few years living in the Philippines. What was initially meant to be a change of scenery became a much bigger part of his life than expected.

He was no longer visiting for Christmas or summer.

This time, he was actually living there.

It was also where his interests began piling up.

He attended school, made new friends, joined extracurricular activities, and became more familiar with the everyday life he had only experienced during holidays before.

He joined some sports, danced with a crew, competed when he could, played games whenever he had the time, and kept finding excuses to pick up something new. He wasn't necessarily trying to become the best at everything.

He simply hated wondering, "What if I tried?"

Somewhere along the way, the Philippines stopped feeling like somewhere he visited.

It became another home.

04 — A detour?

Senior high school brought Keio more than new experiences. Somewhere along the way, Keio met someone who became more than just another friend.

His lover was the ambitious sort—smart, involved, and constantly busy with student organizations and school activities. Keio admired that drive. They understood each other well, even if their schedules rarely allowed them to slow down.

By graduation, both of them were already thinking about what came next.

His girlfriend planned to study in Manila.

Keio had been considering Manila too. With his growing interest in technology, the city's universities offered opportunities he wanted to pursue.

So he decided to go.

It simply happened that their next destinations were the same city.

05 — Out of sync

College started with both of them chasing different things.

Keio began studying Information Technology and became increasingly interested in web and game development. His partner became deeply involved in academics and student government.

They were both doing what they loved.

They were also barely seeing each other.

At first, they tried to make it work. Then came another meeting. another project, another competition, another deadline. Somewhere between busy schedules and missed plans, they realized that caring about each other wasn't always enough to make time appear.

By their third year, they decided to let each other go.

There was no betrayal or dramatic falling-out.

They simply realized that they had become two people constantly trying to find time for a relationship they no longer had time to maintain.

They cared about each other. They just couldn't keep up anymore.

06 — Finding his own lane

After the relationship ended, Keio gradually became more focused on the life he was building for himself.

College gave him more freedom to decide what he wanted to pursue, and technology quickly became more than just another passing interest.

He had always enjoyed computers and games, and his uncle's influence—who worked in tech industry—had also encouraged his interest in technology from an early age. Eventually, he became particularly interested in web and game development and decided to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology.

Even then, Keio never stopped being curious about other things.

He still played games, danced, played music, spent time with his cats, went out with friends, and occasionally grabbed his skateboard whenever he needed to get away from everything.

He wasn't trying to become one particular thing.

It was never the only thing that defined him.

It was simply another place where he could let himself move without having to think too much about where he was going.

07

Keio has never been particularly good at having only one thing going on.

There's always something.

A project to finish. A game to play. A skill to learn. A hobby to revisit. Some random new interest he suddenly decided to try.

—

He likes being productive and hates feeling like he wasted an entire day. At the same time, he can easily get distracted by something interesting and forget what he was supposed to be doing in the first place.

The

It’s a constant rhythm of starting, learning, getting distracted, and always circling back to finish what he started. That’s exactly where Google Calendar stepped in as his best friend, turning creative chaos into structured momentum.

grind

His family probably isn't surprised.

After all, they helped create this particular problem.

08 — After hours

Keio's life outside school is quieter than people might expect.

He's an early riser despite staying up late more often than he'd admit. He cooks for himself, exercises, keeps his space clean, plays with his cat, and occasionally spends an entire afternoon doing absolutely nothing. Some days are productive. Some days are spent gaming, watching a series, skating around the neighborhood, or lying on the floor because he'd rather do that than put outside clothes on his freshly made bed.

His life isn't particularly extraordinary.

He just has a lot of little things that make it his.

09 — Still moving

Keio eventually graduated from IT with no intention of letting his interests stop there.

Now, he has finished his degree in IT with flying colors and looking toward web and game development, with cybersecurity waiting somewhere further ahead. He still freelances when the opportunity comes, still experiments with different hobbies, and still follows whatever catches his attention.

Right now, he's facing the struggles of adulthood and figuring life out. Putting his trust and faith to the One above. Living life slowly at his own pace—God willing.

He still doesn't know exactly where he'll end up.

But he's never really needed to.

Maybe that's the thing about Keio.

He's never really been good at staying in one lane.

And perhaps he was never supposed to.

There's always something else to learn, somewhere else to go, or another interest waiting around the corner.

So for now, he keeps moving.