Isaiah Steven Cardiel

Isaiah Steven Cardiel was born on December 5, 1995 in El Paso, Texas to his parents, Ruby and Victor Cardiel, and his big sister Xylina Cardiel. It was obviously apparent from the time he was a newborn that he was extremely intelligent. His incredible genius would only increase as he grew older. He was placed in the Gifted and Talented class as early as Kindergarten, after he was tested and scored the highest in his grade, compared to the entire school district! When he was in the 7th grade, he was invited, among a select group of students to take the SAT's, with high school students, and he scored very high, considering the fact that many of the subjects on the test were classes he had not yet taken. Despite all of this, Isaiah remained very modest. Too modest, in fact, that he never gave himself the credit he deserved. On his 12th birthday, he was given his first electric guitar, after he showed interest, when he would constantly steal his sister's acoustic guitar. He was so intent on excelling at playing, that he literally taught himself to play. He had an instintive ear for it and playing and writing music just came naturally to him. Isaiah and his close friends soon begun forming a rock band, and he devoted most of his time to his guitar playing. In middle school, he was given the opportunity to join the mariachi band at school. He loved it, and it quickly became his favorite class. He performed in several concerts with the mariachi band. He continued mariachi, once he entered high school. Isaiah was definitely not a fan of school, nor was he a morning person. He always had a hard time waking up early. He loved participating in the mariachi band, and playing so much, that he sacrificed his sleep and voluntarily signed up for the only mariachi band class available, early in the morning, which was started before the regular school schedule. Isaiah was also famous for his quirky sense of humor. He was a regular class clown, much to the dismay of most of his teachers. This sarcastic humor of his, regularly got in in trouble, both in school and at home. Isaiah loved to push boundaries and test people. Many times he would do so, just to see everyone's reponse, despite the consequence. He knew just the right way to push your buttons to get a rise out of you, then would turn around and say something incredibly funny and flash his beautiful smile. Before you knew it, you weren't upset anymore. As hard as Isaiah tried to appear hard and tough, beneath all of that, he had the biggest heart of anyone around. Those who were closest to him knew this well. He was especially close to his older sister, but he often acted like her big brother, and protected her like no other. He even took on the father role towards his own mother at times. As much as she complained to him, deep down she loved him all the more for it. Although Isaiah was known for his sarcasm and fun-loving nature, internally he was hurting. Isaiah suffered from depression for a few years and it took its toll on him and his family. Isaiah and his family worked hard at treatment, while trying to heal and hopefully become the healthy, happy person he used to be and deserved to be. Unfortunately, that day never came. Isaiah ultimately succumbed to the painful grip the depression had on him. Isaiah Steven Cardiel passed away on Monday, November 29, 2010. Even though he is gone from this earth, he will never be gone from our hearts and memories. Isaiah lives on in all of us.