As the weather starts getting a little colder and graduation approaches, many of us can’t help but reminisce about our teenage selves starting college for the first time. Me, for example. I graduated from Lamar High School in 2018 and started at Houston Community College in the fall of that year. To be honest, I wasn’t ready for college, but my mother insisted I attend, which I understand, considering she never had the privilege to go to college when she was my age.

I remember feeling so intimated by everyone, not because I didn’t know anyone but because people seemed to know what they wanted to do with their lives while I had no clue what I even wanted to eat for dinner. Sociology was my major at first, not sure why I went with that route, but that’s what I wanted to do, or so I thought. I was on the honor roll for my first semester of college, and I had a pretty good GPA for a while. That first year wasn’t all so bad. I met one person in that one class the school requires everyone to take. I can’t quite remember the name of it, but all I can say is that that person and I are still friends to this day. Friendship is one thing that HCC has given me throughout these years. After that, I was mostly walking the hallways by myself.

The year before COVID was all a blur, but I remember my last day on campus before we all had to quarantine. My two friends with whom I had gone to Lamar were sitting outside on the bench in front of the Learning Hub, and we were just enjoying the beautiful day. We walked to the bus stop together; that was the last time I saw them. I haven’t seen them since then. Transitioning to online was the absolute worst. For someone who gets easily distracted, online school was not helping at all. On top of that, I was dealing with personal issues, and being stuck at home all day did nothing for my mental health. COVID set me back. The only class I loved in the morning was U.S. Government, and I also had that same professor for Texas Government. She made the class fun and ensured we understood the material. I had never had such a good professor like that besides Professor Watson, who taught me the importance of releasing negative energy when stepping on a roach in my English 2 class, or Professor Abernathy, who made me realize that there is so much more to advertising than just a silly little ad. Great college educators, another thing that HCC gave me.

I can’t lie and say I figured it out by this point because I haven’t. One thing about being here for five years is that you learn to keep going even when you feel like giving up. I am waiting to hear back from the University of Houston, hoping they don’t reject me again. I can’t help but feel a little emotional as I’m typing this, but I’m going to miss this school.

“They all I say that it gets better the more you grow, but what if I don’t?” wise words from Olivia Rodrigo herself. I hope to figure it out someday, but I will just have to keep going with the flow and see where life takes me.

Until next time, HCC.