Graduation amid Pandemic

April 2020

With two weeks to go of college amid this pandemic, it’s shocking and interesting to see how my life is changing. Just 1 month ago, I thought I would be moving to California and starting my job in Santa Clara. Yet now, I’m returning to my old home to work from home. I’m happy nonetheless that I still have a job but it just shows how life can quickly change. Finals are underway this week to which I don’t have to worry about a good majority of them. Aside from them being online, the grades that I need to get either an A or B aren’t too bad. I have to have a 30 on my final in my Operating Systems class to get an A. I like these odds. It relaxes the stress of finals for me which in turn boosts my confidence to do well. By May 10th, I should be finished with my undergraduate college experience. I can’t believe it but it’s happening. On that same day, I’ll pack up and leave the residence hall to return home. My sisters are looking forward to someone else doing chores instead of them. However, I do know that I have changed since I left home for college 4 years ago. When I left, I was starting to explore who I really was amid bullying of people in high school based on my families class and standing within the town. I shoved all criticism aside to be who I wanted to be. This lesson helped me grow and take off during college. Freshman year, I would tie with another student to be Hall President and later, be impeached by him in his pursuit of power. I stayed true to myself and served with passion. This would reward me greatly as I became well-known and liked in Residence Life during my tenure as a Resident Advisor and Residential Housing Executive Board Member. I would voice key opinions of students at different levels and make a difference around me. I was never in pursuit of power or something nice on my resume. I just wanted to serve everyone around me. I wanted to be their voice and fight for them. Of course, there were struggles and key learnings along the way. Some of the things that I wanted to fight for just weren’t in the cards for ResLife to feasibly achieve. I learned the inner workings of the university and administration in order to better learn where to improve it. I never set to create a legacy but with my gradation impending, many are reminding me how large a figure I loomed at the university. My presence was always known and appreciated. For once, I fit in and became a person that I wanted to be. I grew into a mold that I created at the start. I found the key figures to look up to and pushed myself when no one else would. I didn’t succeed at everything but I am proud of what I did manage to do. I hope that people learned lessons from me and become great leaders. After all, leadership isn’t just about you. It’s about how you groom other leaders too. I never was one for the limelight but I loved to help people get the recognition that they deserved for their leadership. This post is probably drowning on a bit so I’ll wrap it up with this. I won’t forget the lessons that I learned here. It’s a part of me and made me who I am today. If someone is reading this, I hope they too can take a lesson to heart: be who they want to be.