My senior year is finally coming to an end. High school is ending and it’s time to start a new chapter in my life. 

Although it is a little nerve-wracking to graduate, I am leaving high school with everything I wanted – knowledge and experiences. 

When you first walk into high school as a freshman, you’re expected to quickly find your calling, something you are good at; something that you can make a successful career out of.

I’ve moved and switched out of three high schools. Having to move to multiple schools because you’re a military brat was hard. For my first couple of years, I didn’t have time to make friends or find something that I was good at because each of the schools I went to offered something different.

When I started at East Central High School, nothing seemed to catch my eye. The only thing I “seemed to enjoy” was the Army ROTC. At first, I just thought, “Well, I’m not really good enough or smart enough for anything else so why not just do the military life, like my mom.”

I was having fun though. I was making new friends, memories, all that good stuff. Sadly, midway through my freshman year, I moved out of San Antonio because my mom had to be stationed at a military base in San Diego, California.

Although I was skeptical about moving to the west coast, I actually loved it. Besides being crazy expensive, the weather was always nice, there were different sights to see, and just a lot more fun things to do.

The high school there was a little smaller compared to other schools, but I still had fun. I had joined the wrestling team and finished many of my core classes up to my sophomore year. Doing so relieved me of so much stress for my senior year.

The school didn’t offer many electives though. The only thing besides playing sports was ROTC, which was great.  

All of the sudden, something felt empty inside – was I really doing all that just to be in the military? 

I sat and thought to myself, “Is this really what I want for my life?” I didn’t want to make the military a lifestyle but I just felt like I didn’t really have any other choice. There was nothing else that seemed to interest me to make a career out of.

Although I was still having doubts about my career choice, I was pretty happy in San Diego. Then, sadly, my mom had to be deployed for two years, meaning I had to move back to San Antonio with my grandparents.

I was devastated but happy at the same time, because I got to move back to my dream high school – Judson. It had so many classes to offer that my other schools didn’t have. Because I had already finished so many credits, I had multiple electives to choose from. I decided that the military life wasn’t what I wanted to do, so I stopped trying to make a career out of it. So out of all the other electives to choose from, I picked journalism.

“Why?” you may ask. 

Well, at first, I kinda just took it because… why not? I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try. After maybe about two weeks in class, I realized that I found my calling. What I love about journalism is the fact I get to tell stories and take pictures that others can read, see, express their feelings, and enjoy just as much as I did when writing articles or taking pictures. From that point on, I decided I wanted to be a journalist.

After finally reaching my senior year, I had the honor of being a part of both the yearbook and newspaper staff. I learned so much. I learned to be a better writer and a better person. Mr. Cabrera was one of my main reasons why I loved journalism. I feel like, without him, I wouldn’t have loved journalism the way I do now. He is an amazing teacher who expects great things from me and my fellow staff members.

Now that the year is about to end, I’m overjoyed to be taking all my knowledge I learned from journalism and will major in it at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. 

For incoming freshmen, eventually, you’ll find your calling – just give it time. Someone or something can help you find it. Sometimes it’s good to say yes to odd opportunities. You never know where your life may take you as long as you try something new.

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