Timothy will be attending Columbia University to study engineering
In his own words...
“What’s the point of all this?” I said to myself as I reluctantly got out of bed to brush my teeth. My father had just finished hammering on my door with his fist as he excitedly hollered at me to wake up. I could already smell the burnt aroma of bacon accompanying my usual toast and egg breakfast sandwich. As I arrived at the table, my mother was already nagging me to hurry up and eat. “Hurry up and eat, we’re going to be late!” she said as I barely sat down to put my shoes on. “I know mom!” I annoyingly said due to her fussy way of thinking. I heard my dad in his Jeep Wrangler honking the horn repeatedly to get us to hasten our slow pace. As I walk out, food still in my mouth, I realize that morning was the last morning I’d spend with them before I had set off to travel across the country on my own for the first time.
We headed to the airport, I had a flight to Chicago, Illinois. I was selected to be a participant in the National Hispanic Institute Great Debate. At first, I didn’t see it as anything phenomenal, I just thought of it as a simple summer trip. Due to living in Texas my whole life, I was familiar with few noteworthy experiences which resulted in me not knowing much outside of my home state. When my school counselors contacted my mom about this opportunity she immediately started to prepare without even giving me a chance to decide. I wasn’t excited for this trip like most people would be, I really had no expectations for it. My goal after high school was to stay in town to be near family. As I went through security, overwhelming anxiety began to set in and I realized that this trip could change my life.
My first steps onto the Midway International Airport floor felt like walking on another planet. The atmosphere had a strange aura about it. Everything felt completely unnatural, which only intensified the more I explored the foreign land. By the time I arrived at the college dorm, my home for the next eight days, I was already astonished at the sheer number of differences between my home city of San Antonio and this unfamiliar territory.
I walked up the stairs to find my room door already opened, I peeked inside and realized that I had a roommate. For the first time in my life, I would have to share a room with a completely random stranger. I was already behind setting up my bed and laying my clothes out for the next day as my roommate’s bed was already made. In my sloppily made bed I set off to sleep. “I’m going to shower first,” I heard my roommate say, waking me up in the process. I hadn't set my alarm and I realized breakfast was already being served in the main cafeteria. I immediately rushed to get dressed and get to breakfast. I was so used to my parents coddling me that I was flopping like a fish. The feeling of being independent and having to be self-sufficient as a person was something so bizarre to me, yet it felt so exhilarating. In another state, hundreds of miles away, I felt a sense of enthusiasm.
The experiences of living like a college student, the meeting of a plethora of new and diverse people, and the ability to be independent were all events that I enjoyed. This opportunity changed my small view of the world. I was experiencing life outside of my city. I was so ready to live a plain and straightforward life, but this experience fully expanded my views. That week was when I found my “point” and for the first time, becoming independent became my passion.