Dear Colegio:
I must confess, you grew on me, because unlike many of my peers graduating today, I wasn’t excited at all to be here when it all began. Like every good, lasting relationship, it was a matter of adaptation, of effort, and honestly, you have found a way to keep surprising me during our five year journey together, and that is what has been so special about us.
At first, you played hard to get. I was way too confident, but all of my moves on you failed. It was frustrating; for the first time in my life you made me feel I wasn’t good enough. That freshman year was awful. You made me cry almost every week. I will never forget my first Pre-calculus test, how I ran away from it under the pouring rain because it left me feeling like an absolute imbecile. You pushed me to the limits, and just when I was about to give up, you kind of flirted back to me and gave me the guts that you were worth the try; I hope that someday you will love me back.
By then, I wasn’t alone in the conquest for your heart; you had set me up with amazing friends who offered to join forces on the journey. It was then when my quest became more about finding myself than finding you. I discovered that the possibilities were endless, and that limitations only existed in my mind. You made me brave, you gave me the courage to find myself beyond everyone else’s expectations, and that is something I will be forever grateful for. You showed me that our relationship was never about you, it was about me, and that by understanding who I was and what I wanted, that is how I could get the best out of you.
Third year, the clock is ticking and graduation didn’t seemed any closer. You kind of set me stray, distractions were everywhere and I lured right into them. The pressure to cope with you was too much. I discovered many things for the first time, and I let it dazzle me. It wasn’t my best time, and I am not proud of it, but somehow walking in the darkness sharpened my senses to everything the light had been blinding me from seeing. I discovered life through a whole new lens and that helped me understand everything better. Down there in the abyss I grew, I blossomed; the best and worst of me emerged all together just in time to push me through the last couple of miles towards the goal.
Fourth year, it was the time to make decisions. If there was something you taught me was to stand up for myself because if I didn’t nobody would. So I did, and I took the challenge of walking a whole new different path in order to embrace my dreams, outside my comfort zone. Maybe I still wasn’t sure who I wanted to be, but day after day you had shown me the person I didn’t wanted to become. I emerged from the darkness, and as blinding as that was, I found refreshing to know that all the bad had been left behind, and that now everyone who stuck around was the people that was meant to stay, those who believed that I would made it through. Man, I wished I had met many of them before, because in such a short ride together we have shared too many lessons, and many more laughs.
Fifth year, just when I am getting the hang of it is over. By now, we have made peace on some major issues we had; I have learned my lessons: I need to wake up on time for classes, because parking won’t be waiting for me, neither will life in the future. I can’t study the day before and expect an A, because very likely I am not the smartest person in the room, and that is fine, because is the only way I will feel challenged to work hard for what I want. Sometimes we have to negotiate, at others insist, and if neither works, then maybe just letting go would be alright. We are on a constant battle of learning to live one day at a time, not taking anything for granted, nor money for lunch, neither our friends, because some of them, at year five, we won’t even recognize. You have taught me to keep my priorities straight, because otherwise I won’t make it. You have also assured me that I am not what anybody thinks of me, but who I work hard every day to become. You taught me that success is always a team effort, that I should always be grateful to the people who have helped me, and I should never boast on making anything on my own; because there is no way I possibly could have.
In exactly thirty days I will be walking down the Mangual with my green graduation robe; the quest would have been completed. It would be unfair to resume my whole life experience in one phrase, but if I had to, it would be: “The carousel never stops spinning.” Life is hard, there is no question about it, but we have to keep moving forward, no matter what. We have to be brave enough to recognize our failures, strong enough to leave them behind and hopeful enough to expect that better things are yet to come. You reminded me that happiness is not a straight road, but rather stops along the winding way of life. Happiness is a cold drink after a killer test with friends. Happiness is the warmth that runs through your body after kissing the person you love. Happiness is the face of your mother with tears of joy after you got your acceptance letter for grad school. Happiness will be, standing on my graduation day with a humble, grateful heart to each and everybody who made my walk through Colegio unforgettable.
To everyone who ever believed in me, thank you. To my professors, professional mentors, peers, and fiends, who somehow helped me made it through, this is yours as well. To my parents, mom, grandpa, you are my strength. To my persons, who have made me brave. To everyone I have met who have given me joy along the way; to the boy that I loved, who gave me courage to stand in the sun and never look back. And to that ass*h professor who told me I wouldn’t make it far, watch me while I do.
Colegio, you have given me so much, I could never thank you enough. I treasure every lesson in my heart, and I walk away from you knowing that you have made me ready to face life; fearless and confident that I am capable of overcoming anything. Here, my parents began to write their story, and I was a part of that. Here, I became the protagonist of my own story, the way I wanted to, full of loops and plot twists, but exhilarating, heartwarming and unforgettable.
“Life is not a spectator sport. Win, lose or draw, the game is in progress whether we want it to be or not. So go ahead, argue with the refs, change the rules, cheat a little, take a break and tend to your wounds but play, play, play hard. Play fast; Play loose and free. Play as if there is no tomorrow. Ok, so it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. Right?”
Grey’s Anatomy
With Love,
802-11, Political Science 16’