The Party is Finally Over

It’s officially been a week since I walked across the stage at graduation. It’s crazy how time flies and things have changed since I started my time at the University of Texas at Austin. I am in awe of the ways in which I have grown and become who I am today. There have been so many highs and lows throughout my college journey and I am incredibly grateful for everything that I have learned and accomplished through various experiences and opportunities. Alas, these four years of fun, tears, laughter, joy, and unexpected moments have come to an end. Now I stand as a Texas Ex, saddened to end this chapter of my life but excited for what is to come.

I started the party back in 2017. It’s a 4-year long celebration with gatherings of friends and peers. I can’t believe how different I was and how things were back then. The hot hits at the time were DNA by Kendrick Lamar and Congratulations by Post Malone. The year started out with a hurricane and a semester filled with lots of rain. I remember stepping on foot for the first time, worried about how I’m going to make friends at a school as big as UT and what the next 4 years would look like. I thought that my dorm was luxury and that J2 was fine dining. I was just excited for this new chapter in my life and to make new friends and be who I wanted to be. School was definitely an adjustment for me, as college classes were so much more difficult than high school ones. I was so eager to take classes for my major instead of core classes and meeting other students who were also part of the business school. I went to my first career fair out of the sole interest of eating free food, and it was the first time that I thought about my life after college and what types of careers I would like to pursue. My high school wasn’t big on football, so I never went to the games, and I was filled with so much excitement going to UT football games. Everyone around me had such strong team spirit, and it felt good to cheer for a team that I had spirit for myself. I thought that college was meant to be perfect, and I knew that college was meant for me. I felt like I could be whoever I wanted to be, and there was no one who knew my past that could stop me from pursuing my dreams. The start of the party was a good time, and the only thing that I wish I had known at that time was to treasure it. There wouldn’t be any semester like my first semester in college at the best university.

Fast forward to my last semester of college, I am almost about to cross the finish line and graduate. I have made so many friends, memories, and experiences that I can reflect on which I will cherish forever. I was able to make the most out of my college experience, from studying abroad to Texas 4000 to joining a sorority to leading in a student ministry, my college experience was nothing but the most eventful, exciting, and chaotic. Joining the KS WEL Institute has also created such a positive impact on my life, and I loved getting to know the other incredible leaders. It’s been such a joy reflecting on all of the good things in college and how everything worked for good. There has been nothing throughout my 4 years that came without a purpose, especially the bad things and challenging times in life. From those experiences, I was able to grow, mature, and become a better version of myself. The hard times have shaped me into the person I am today, and I am forever grateful for all of the support that I have received along the way. I am thankful for the friends, professors, mentors, leaders, and family that have never given up on me even when I was at my lowest. My college experience would be nothing without the encouragement and help from others. All the worries that I originally had about college didn’t seem to matter once it was that time in my life to experience it. I learned that everything in life happens in its own perfect timing, and my life is uniquely mine and the lives of others look different than that of my own.

On graduation day, I finally realized that at last, this party has come to an end. The music stopped playing, and everyone left the room. It’s a party that I never want to leave, but all good things come to an end. College wouldn’t be the special place that it is if there wasn’t an end. I left UT with a B.B.A. in Supply Chain Management, B.A. in International Relations and Global Studies, minor in Management Information Systems, and a certificate (additional coursework) in Food and Society. Along with my academic achievements, I am leaving with lessons and memories for a lifetime. Thank you orange cow school, and Hook ’Em forever!