As we near graduation for the school year 2024-2025, many previous High School alums have a message. The question asked was, “If you had a message for your younger self, what would you say?”
Starting with myself, Antony Attalla.
Tony, life will throw many hurdles your way. You will face challenging circumstances and situations, but you will find a way out. After you graduate, you won’t know what career path to pursue. It will be an ongoing search, but you will discover your love for storytelling. Due to our family’s financial struggles, you will have to start working immediately after graduation. You will end up working at a restaurant, despite not knowing how to cook initially, but you will learn everything. Your artistic mind will find this work satisfying. It will fulfill the desire to express the artist within you. Eventually, you will become a chef at a high-end restaurant, the youngest one in the company. However, this opportunity will come at a cost. You will sacrifice time with your family, neglect your health, socialize less, and constantly work, taking on the workload of four people. You will learn the hard way that this lifestyle isn’t good for you when you experience a seizure at the end of your shift. Tony, don’t be too sure about what you want. Listen to everyone; they all have experiences from which you can learn. Every experience, whether good or bad, is a lesson that will guide you on your journey. You will lose many people along the way, but those who remain will help you grow in their own ways. Don’t take any opportunity for granted. Learn from it and understand it. This will guide you on the path you must take. Lastly, remember the value of being open to change. It is not a sign of weakness but a testament to your adaptability and resilience. The key is to learn from every experience, as they will be your best teachers.
Nathan Recillas, a student at Cerritos College.
Be ready for much change, Nathan. Life moves almost imperceptibly; be prepared to be busy and stressed sometimes. Life will throw curveballs and unexpected outcomes, and to be ready, you need to handle yourself with poise and determination. Do not let other people try to mold you into something you are not. Stay true to yourself, and do not be embarrassed by your personality, for you are you, and that’s all right. This will help you navigate the inevitable challenges you face in college. Try to make intelligent decisions, but be open to perceiving failures and setbacks, for there will be many. It’s okay if you stay an extra year or need time to re-evaluate your decisions academically and personally. It is even okay to be lost and afraid, especially during such a pivotal moment in your life. You have to believe everything will be all right in the end. Accept specific outcomes, but fight for the ones you desire most. Good luck; you will do just fine!
Brian Mora, a student at Cerritos College.
Brian, congratulations on graduating! I know how tough it was to cross that finish line finally. You have it all planned out. You’re enrolled in Claremont McKenna College, the first generation to enroll in college. Since you are the first generation, many problems will come with it. Your family won’t know anything about college, so they won’t be able to help you as much as you need. But remember, Brian, it’s okay to ask for help. You didn’t learn how to trust others and get their support. You had to acclimate to a new language and speak it instead of your first language, Spanish. You presented a whole different version of yourself that wasn’t true. How you acted made it seem like you were hiding your genuine person. You were in a new environment and no longer knew who you were. All these changes make you realize that attending a four-year university right after high school isn’t always the best decision. Academically, you were ready and believed you could take this on; however, culturally, you weren’t. I learned the lesson now about asking for support from others, but before, I did not. It cost me many struggles, making the college experience even more challenging for someone like me. A big reason I felt that alone was that all my high school friends disappeared. It is not guaranteed that all your friends will stay, which is okay. Everyone will go on different paths, taking them on a different journey than yours. Even though your friends probably won’t stay, you should stay connected with your teachers and counselors. They paved the way for us and are a massive part of our journey; we must thank them. Without them, you would be lost.
Learn to take care of your health and all aspects of it. Your mental, physical, and financial health especially. Brian, you don’t care about what others think right now, and you have confidence in yourself, so you ate whatever you wanted, not thinking about the consequences. However, taking care of it now is better before it worsens later. Focus on your money, spend and save wisely. If you get a savings account and start saving, we can have a fund for whenever needed. Finally, Brian, you will fall multiple times; it is the hand that has been dealt to you and me, but always show resilience. Don’t give up; always get back up because it never ends until you stop. Good luck with it all. I know you got this!
