I’m finally graduating after changing majors, transferring schools and powering through multiple burnouts. This is the objective I’ve been impatiently aching for since I finished high school, but now I wish I had just a little more time here. 

Aside from a few stories submitted as a contributor during my first year, I really didn’t commit my time to The Daily Aztec until my final semester. In just four months, I learned so much about writing, reporting and managing the precious time I had between school, work and my stories. I got to pursue stories I truly cared about and feel more connected to the campus community. I discovered how rewarding it felt to publish a project I labored over for days or weeks, just to pick up something new the next day. 

The Daily Aztec motivated me to strive to produce the best work I could, and I hope my stories really resonated with the audience I wrote for. Being able to inform fellow students while holding those with power accountable was the most rewarding experience I had at SDSU, and I only wish I had joined The Daily Aztec sooner. 

When I transferred to SDSU, I joined a sports team and a school club in an effort to make friends, but nothing made me feel as welcome, at home and purposeful as The Daily Aztec. Chatting in the newsroom and sharing story ideas was an experience that was desperately missing from the program curriculum, and yet so essential to the work of journalism. 

The people I worked with became my friends and mentors, and I am eternally grateful for the guidance, motivation and camaraderie they gave me. I am excited for my future after graduation, but I know I will miss the time I spent here and the people I met.

I can’t believe how far I’ve come as an autistic individual. It feels like yesterday that I was in a special education classroom in elementary school. Having autism comes with its struggles, like learning how to interact with my peers, understanding slang and sarcasm and reading facial expressions.

Once I graduated from Eastlake High in 2014, I had no idea what I wanted to do. My mom told me that I need to go to college or get a job. While change may seem good for others, it doesn’t to me.

I decided to start at Southwestern College in the fall of 2014 with my brother. A meeting with my counselor helped point me in the right direction. He suggested that I give journalism a shot.

I spent time at the Southwestern Sun from 2019-2022, winning multiple awards for my work on local theater reviews, a campus feature and an opinion piece. I want to give my thanks to Max Branscomb, who taught me how to be a great journalist and how the field of journalism works. It was thanks to his wisdom and belief that I was able to win those awards for my work.

When I got to SDSU, I applied to the Daily Aztec. I wanted to become a freelance journalist where I could offer my work for reviewing movies. I was able to apply some of that work with my review of “Moana 2” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.”

I also worked on creating webpages, websites, student magazines, and being a documentor for inewsource. I also met several people at SDSU that I like to call my friends, like Katerina Portela and Paloma Villavicencio.

As for what’s next for me, I’m not sure. In the future, I hope to be a freelance journalist who can review animated movies. As for my immediate future, that’s up to me to decide.

To other autistic individuals, you can become a success as well if you put in the effort and get the belief from yourself and your loved ones.

As the cool breeze brushes across my skin and the ocean’s waves collide against the shore, I find myself reflecting on the past four years at SDSU. My Bluetooth speaker fades beneath the cry of seagulls and the rhythmic crash of the tide. For a moment, everything blends together like the opening notes to a song.

I’ve often thought of college as a pop girl album rollout. There were the big flashy singles, the roar of the stadium, the smoke of beach bonfires and the caffeinated hum of coffee shop hangouts. Then there were the deep cuts that shaped the story: conversations while lying on my backyard trampoline and sunset walks along the beach. Moving into Tepeyac sophomore year with eight girls and no kitchen to bond over quickly tied me to some of my closest friends. I finally found my rhythm.

That year, the melody shifted. I declared my major in Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising and stepped into the creative pulse of campus, taking on executive roles for The Look, Femininomenon Magazine and the SDSU Photography club. Most importantly, in September 2023, I photographed my first concert for The Daily Aztec.

I arrived at Petco Park, dressed in all black, my anxiety so overwhelming I thought I might collapse. I walked to the front barricade in Gallagher Square and before I knew it, the crowd erupted into a deafening roar, and Daniel Caesar took the stage. In that first burst of my shutter, a world I had only imagined became my reality.

After that, I continued to shoot concerts and festivals like Coachella, Rolling Loud and Camp Flog Gnaw, working with companies like Live Nation, Billboard and NBCUniversal. I was seeking to be surrounded by creatives who constantly pushed and inspired me.

As the salty spray of the ocean meets the fading light, I turn off my speaker and pack up my towel. I glance back once more, feeling a wave of nostalgia and excitement, knowing this soundtrack will keep playing long after graduation.