Born and raised on Long Island, NY I always felt that I never truly fit in, no matter how hard I tried. For starters, it didn't help that I was born with a hemangioma, (Blood Tumor) on the right side of my face. The tumor appeared to get smaller but I was just growing into the size of it. I eventually had the surgery to have it removed when I was 10 years old, which for me was the summer before 5th grade. The reason for the doctors waiting as long as they did was because we h

When I was little I often struggled to fit in. I often craved to feel like I belonged in with the "Group, " the cool club… the "Elite." Often I would be shunned for not being one of them. I was different, some may even say unique. My Pop would often remind me "Stop trying to fit in, you were born to stand out." I'm not a Yogi, I'm not a DDPYogi, I'm Jesse Ruggiere, the man that faced a life time of adversity in 30 years. I had tumor operations, got hit by a car, flat lin