In the final weeks of my senior year of high school, my literature teacher gave us one last assignment - to write a graduation speech. My first instinct was to panic, because I knew I couldn’t pull off one of those super funny speeches where everyone laughs then ends up crying at the end, I just didn’t have it in me.
So, I opted for the more serious, reflective speech that everyone appreciates, but most definitely doesn’t want to listen over the comedic ones. I decided to use that speech as a time to really think back on high school and figure out what I learned. In the end, I came up with the idea that high school is where I discovered who I truly was and what I wanted to do in life. I talked about how it wasn’t always easy, but I used those struggles to find my passion in service and art. I even claimed that I had my career figured out already after I got my business degree at USF, I would start my own wedding planning business in San Francisco with a bohemian and vintage feel. I had my life plan down, all at the end of my senior year of high school. At the end of my speech I talked about how college would help me only further my future plans and all the goals I had for my college career.
Fast forward a few months to my third week of college, and I still had the same goals in mind that I presented in my senior year graduation speech. I went through recruitment mid-September and ended up joining a sorority with one of my closest friends. We both had our reservations about it, but I was confident I would be able to use that sorority to do service and further my passions with my friends. As the semester began to drag on I started realizing the sorority was not what I wanted despite the fact I thought it was an important part of my college journey in the beginning of the semester.
As initiation was getting close, I went to a mandatory leadership conference. As the day came to a close, three student leaders in the USF community spoke about their passions and what they’re doing to make a change. As I was sitting listening to one of the three students talk about how she’s fighting for rights and privileges of her Native American tribe in Washington, I realized I didn’t have something to fight for.
That night and the next day I couldn’t keep my mind off the fact that unlike that woman, there was nothing in my life or in San Francisco or in my culture that made me want to fight as hard as she was. As she spoke at that conference, I could tell that her fight for her people and all Native American people in the U.S. was the most important thing that truly directed her life. I think part of the reason her speech hit me so hard was because I was doing a literature review regarding treatment of Native Americans within the U.S. and with all the news surrounding Standing Rock and DAPL. I had been seeing protests and actions being taken around the world in support of these Native American people, and at the end of her speech, she invited us all to come to a protest on campus that next week.
In the week following that conference I did a lot of thinking about what I wanted the next four years to look like. Did I want to just float along in my sorority or make a meaningful change in something I felt strongly and passionately about?
The sorority was the easy choice, I was almost initiated, all the work was done, and I had already made some great friends; it was safe. And for a few days I stuck with that choice, until I went to the DAPL protest on my campus. That Tuesday after class I ran to the protest that had already started, and joined around one hundred people out in front of the library. The same woman who had spoken at the conference was speaking again; and her words were powerful. I found myself among many others at the protest with tears in our eyes as we listened to her cry for help and justice for the people who meant absolutely everything to her. Yes, she was still going to classes and doing her work, but she was doing something more than just floating by as the four years of college passed. At the end of the protest I walked back to my dorm and processed everything I had just seen. Something about this woman made my choice between my sorority and something bigger suddenly seem so easy. I was no longer afraid of what people might say, or how I might lose some friends, or how I might miss out on some fun. I knew the decision to drop my sorority was right for me and what I wanted with my life.
Since that day, I haven’t looked back. As of now, I’m looking for something to put my time and work into, but I’m not trying to force it. It’s hard when you see someone who is so dedicated to a certain cause when you aren’t quite sure what your passion is yet. But I am being patient and I know in time something or someone will make me realize what that special thing is, whether it be this week or next year. All I know right now is who I thought I was back in high school is nothing like who I am now. Not personality wise, but priority wise. I used to think the most important part about college was figuring out my career or my major or meeting a bunch of friends, but I’ve now realized that none of those are the most important thing. The most important part of college is discovering what you are willing to put your very all into, your heart, your talent and your fighting spirit.
