When I first applied to San Diego State University out of community college, I was rejected.
It’s definitely not where my story starts, but at that moment, it felt like that’s where it ended. After getting the bleak email back, the pit hollowed further out in my stomach every time I scrolled through. Frantically hoping for a link to a cute AI-generated video montage of the campus announcing my acceptance.
Fast forwarding past the self wallowing part of my story: I am now just a few weeks away from graduating with my bachelor’s degree. I have been lucky enough to work in most newsrooms in San Diego and I have spent the past two years living with people who have become like family to me. It feels like almost all of my dreams have come true.
It’s been a pretty drastic jump from where I started. A rejection email and feeling completely lost and alone with other things happening in my life at the time. It’s easy to feel like life is just something that happens to you, that we are victims of fate. But if these past few years have taught me anything, it’s that you have to set out and live life like you are the one happening to it.
The next best advice I can give anyone who feels lost: find what makes you feel in love with life and don’t ever give up on it.
Since I was a little kid: reading, writing and imagining was it for me. It was my whole world.
One of my best friends, Renee Roldan, has always known my heart. In this case before I even knew it. In high school, they were the one to repeatedly insist that I join our school’s newspaper. And ever since then, seeing the way I could help people through journalism made me feel like I found my life’s purpose.
Once I knew being a journalist was it for me, I couldn’t and wouldn’t let my life go any other way.
So I fought to keep it in my life every step of the way. Working extra jobs to save up to go to university, reaching out to anyone I could to fight my rejection to SDSU, applying to the U-T three summers in a row and asking anyone I could for advice on how to get my foot in the door.
It’s been hard but the most rewarding years of my life.
Love and passion has saved my life and I can’t wait to see how far I can go next.
But before I end this farewell, I want to dedicate it to some of the people who have been the most influential to this part of my journey so far:
Renee, this is just one of the few ways you have changed my life. You inspire me constantly and I love growing up with you.
Mama, thank you for always believing in me and being my biggest cheerleader, with my smallest and biggest wins.
Mrs. Cannon, thank you for being the first teacher to make me believe I was smart. I wouldn’t be brave enough to be a writer if I had never met you.
Professor Branscomb, thank you for always cheering me and other sunistas on! And for being the first person to push me to seek every professional opportunity I could find.
Noah, thank you for being the first person to really welcome me into The Daily Aztec and SDSU. I hope you know you also taught me everything I know about being an editor and teacher to others.
