Manny, 18, lives with his mom, his grandmother, a half-dozen pets, and his own vibrant creativity. He sings his own lyrics over melodic loops he finds online and makes videos of his favorite TV clips and songs. He’s interested in acting.  

“Acting is like a different world,” he says. “You can be your own person, but also another person.” 

 

The kind of person he is? Manny says he’s like his cat Blabbo, who’s always meowing her feelings. They both wear black head-to-toe, he says, and “she stays in a corner, she’s hard to interact with…but she wants to.”