After working hard my whole life to go to a prestigious University and waiting for what seemed to be forever throughout high school, it was the most surreal feeling when the day actually came. It was in a sense overwhelming, and I had no idea how to feel about it. I was happy of course, but I knew that my world as I knew it was going to change. It was probably the toughest part to say bye to what I knew as home, my family and my friends; and accept that Westwood, Los Angeles, was now going to be my new home. It was kind of like being thrown into an ocean and learning how to swim for the first time, not knowing where you are headed or if you will be able to make it. I believe this is a part of life that defines your character, and demonstrates how bad you want something. If its important to you, you will swim to dear life until you get the surface and if not you will drown and give up. So I guess you can say, I am in the process of swimming to the surface. It has not been easy, in fact transitioning into college has been nearly the hardest thing I have ever done. It is now week 3 at the University of California Los Angeles, and I am beginning to get the hang of it. It is nothing like High School, in regards to not only curriculum, but as an environment as a whole. There are not enough words that can describe the experience of being at 4-year University. It has showed me the world in a whole different perspective. College, is the not a place where you go with the exact knowledge of who you are and what you want to be, it is a place that shapes the person you are destined to become and helps you find the path in which is best suited for you. Before my father left he told me something that I believe will stick with me for the rest of my life, “the dream does not stop, people just stop dreaming.” So to answer the question what college has taught me about myself, it is that I am a very good swimmer. I am living the dream that no one but myself can end.
