Being the first in my family to attend a four year university was a challenge not only academically, but also mentally and emotionally. Something that I enjoyed about my first semester in Sonoma State University was meeting new people. I am a very outgoing and outspoken person so getting to know a lot of people was not much of a challenge. I told myself that I wanted to start fresh and hang out only with positive people. Making the decision to surround myself with optimistic people has definitely made a positive difference on my work ethic. I also really enjoy the independence that I have in college because it is a constant reminder that my parents are not always going to be by my side, and even though it sounds sad to say I take advantage of the situation and because I know that it is going benefit me in the future.
Something that I see myself doing differently this semester is getting more organized and getting my homework done as soon as I can. Socially, I plan to stay involved with the Queer Straight Alliance at the school, the TRUST fellows in San Quentin, MOSIC and all of my other extracurricular activities that I am involved in.
Finally, the advice that I would give myself back in August 2011 as I was starting school is to not worry as much because even though college is something that you can work towards, you can never get fully prepared because you cannot ready yourself for the unexpected.
– Yadira, Sonoma State ’15
