I recently wrote a text about happiness for a personal blog of mine. Writing that text wasn’t a way for me to brag about how happy I am and how perfect my life is; I took that as an opportunity to reflect on how much my life has changed since I got to USC and (especially) since COVID started and forced me to be away from my friends for so long. Most importantly, I talked about “full-circle” feeling of things: finishing up my degree at my dream school, closing this cycle with the same people I started it with, and my coming of age as an independent, mature, hard-working queer person that feels comfortable in their own skin. I have really been able to find myself here at USC, and as I am getting closer and closer to graduate (T-5 months, 13 days), I have really been enjoying getting to reflect on all the things I have done in the past 3 and a half years that have led me to where I am today.
After all, that is what college is all about. Finding yourself while trying to figure out the balance between social life, academics, internal discovery, mental and physical health is extremely challenging. Although it might be hard to see past the struggles, in hindsight, I can now see that all those ups and downs led me to become the person that I am today. All the all-nighters, club meetings, tailgates: experiences I probably won’t get to live through ever again, but I am happy I get to close this chapter of my life with some of the best people I have ever met.
To first semester freshman year Gus: hey there bud, I know things are a bit tough right now, but hang in there. It’s going to be one heck of a ride!
