rocco wasn't aware of what was going on with his mother when he was taken away from her at the age of four. his mother had fallen into the world of illegal drugs with a man she had been seeing. when she was arrested, rocco was placed in the foster care system. his mother vowed to shapen up and gain custody of her son, but that was a false promise that wouldn't be able to keep with her reoccuring issues with drug abuse. as a child, he didn't understand what was happening and became a quiet child, turning inward to protect himself. rocco bounced from foster home to foster home for the few years with some hope of being adopted. some families were decent and some were unfortunately horrible, but one family showed great interest in adopting him when he was 6. however, after his foster mother developed brain cancer, they opted not to proceed with the adoption process, and he was sent back. this was a blow to rocco, coming so close to finding stability in his young life and having it taken away. when he was 8, he received the news that his mother had passed away. at first he believed it was his former foster mother, but his social worker told him it was his biological mother.
as he grew older and therefore less adoptable in the eyes of many, rocco developed behaviors that made him even less desirable to potential parents. home after home, rocco lost the hope of finding a permanent home. it was a self-fulfilling prophecy for him, that his foster parents at the time wouldn't want to keep him so he gave them a reason to send him back. he lashed out at them, picked fights with his foster siblings and vandalized possessions. his teenage angst was heightened with his situation and he was angry at the world for the cards he was dealt with. with prospects looking dim and now living in a group home as a teenager, rocco's social worker worked hard to help him get adopted before turning 18. if anything, he would develop appropriate life skills for the real world when he would inevitably age out of foster care. rocco fought back with his stubbornness and apathy for life, until he realized what she was doing for him. he improved his grades at school and started to speak with his psychologist more in an effort to become a better person. in the back of the mind, he believed he could still have a chance to be adopted if he turned his life around. rocco exited the foster care program at 18, and with the help of his social worker, found a job at a moving company doing manual labor, and settled into an apartment with some friends. while the real world was scary at times, he did find the freedom satisfying, to not live by the rules of many and have decisions made for him. he was free and took that freedom to do whatever he wanted to do.
at 21, he made the decision to move to ann arbor for a job opportunity with the moving company's new office. he had lived a life of debauchery and youth while in los angeles and wanted to tear up a new town. however, rocco immediately regretted the decision as ann arbor wasn't all he thought it would be. when he wanted to leave, he discovered that the girl he was seeing at the time, lena, was pregnant with his child. although lena wanted to put the child up for adoption, rocco couldn't bear to see his child go through the same experience as him. the system as a whole did not do anything positive for him and wouldn't for his child. he begged lena to keep the child for him and vowed shapen up his life to raise a child. this meant transitioning to adulthood and sacrificing the freedom and fun he had been experiencing for the last three years. lena agreed and on june 5, 2012, his son leo was born.
life as a father was difficult for him and still is to this day. the sacrifices he made were not enough and rocco had to continue to make more for his son. after three years, it's gotten better for him, but he knows some other struggle will appear and test him. but he's a crafty guy and resourceful, skills he knows he needs to survive and help the ones he loves survive as well.
º rather than be angry like he was as a teenager, he's become more cynical and sarcastic. he's an honest person and doesn't deal with bullshit and would rather get to the point than beat around the bush. this doesn't even him friends easily, but rocco doesn't care much.
º dating has become increasingly difficult for him now that his son is in the picture. he's busy with his two jobs and has to care for leo. rocco isn't actively looking, but knows there's a patient girl out there for him.
º leo's mother, lena, is still in the picture and shares custody with him. rocco lives in the constant fear that she will decide to move and take leo away. he does his best to keep lena happy even if he might not agree with everything she does. ultimately, she's leo's mother and he's thankful for her for keeping leo.
º he's a huge sports fan and continues to support the los angeles teams. he also likes to keep active with basketball, soccer, and skateboarding. he also recently got into mixed martial arts and enjoys watching the ufc.
º he's honest about his past in the foster care system. it's not what he wanted for himself, but knows it's a story to tell others so that they can help avoid that fate for people they know and to give a chance on foster children. he doesn't keep in contact with any of his former foster families, but knows they can find him if they'd like to.
º during the day, he does manual labor with a moving company. he finds the job oddly satisfying as he gets to see what belongings people own and their new homes. at night, he's a bartender and doesn't like this job as much as patrons can be rude and picky. still, he knows he has to earn the tips.
º is not a big movie or tv watcher, which others find odd. he does have his favorites though.
º his affinity for card tricks and performing them for friends comes from his love of playing poker and card games. he plays weekly games with some of his close friends.
º he's not picky about food at all and will eat anything. with that said, cooking is not something he's great at. he's a master of making sandwiches, ordering out and picking up food.
º money is always tight for him and he can't afford luxuries like other people. he tells himself that someday he'll be able to do all the things that his friends are doing and own the latest cool gadget. donated items are godsent to him, especially stuff that people he helps move don't want.