Ariana Gallardo
Growing up, I always knew I was going to college. That has been my and my parents’ goal since elementary school.
I remember in middle school, I picked the career route I wanted to take, and then, in high school, I picked what college would best fit my needs to make my career happen.
During the summer, I planned how I would spend my hours and what activities I would do to make my resume stand out from all the rest.
I planned how my life would go without even seeing a glimpse of what it would be like. I was confident things would fit my puzzle. But now I’m here, and it’s just a whirlwind of emotions, struggles and time, all enveloped in the next four years of my life.
I’m not saying my freshman year has been a complete waste of time. I achieved many accomplishments, such as getting into an internship in my first semester, joining a psychology lab, making Dean’s List and even getting a job I enjoy.
However, I have also faced challenges that I never anticipated, like feeling overwhelmed by the workload and struggling to balance academics. I’ve realized that it’s more challenging than it seems in movies where they romanticize college life with partying and acapella groups, instead of staying up till 3 a.m. to finish a paper that probably could have waited till I had a clearer mind the next day and wasn’t building my sentences like a caveman who just discovered fire—and then, getting up at 5 a.m. just to get assigned another essay. It’s not worth it to me.
I only push myself so much to make my family proud and they don’t need to worry about me. I am the first of both my parents to go to college. I want their dreams of me being successful to come true. That is the responsibility I carry on my back every day. That little voice makes me want to do more than I can handle.
I want to do the most so that I can walk across that stage and look at my parents and feel like I have done everything and deserve to be up there looking at them in the audience. I want to make them proud and show them their sacrifices were worth it.
Their struggles as young parents and the life they built for me didn’t go to waste. I am here to succeed. Yes, I tailor my life to what people may view as my parent’s dream, and they’re living it vicariously through me. But I see it as them wanting me to have a better life. They allowed me to do better than them; all they ask is that I do.
And I will. Even if I stretch myself thin, I’ll do it for them.
