After a full year of agonizing over STEM classes that I wanted to convince myself I liked, I decided to make a change and be involved in things that I actually care about, and that have some sort of significance in my life.
Having grown up as a part-time translator for my parents, I’ve seen the importance of knowing English to navigate US bureaucracy at dentist or doctor’s appointments, and in adult-related responsibilities in general, like paying bills for example. This year, I am co-coordinating an ESL program on campus to have students teach weekly ESL lessons to Pomona College Staff. This has been such a rewarding experience thus far, and I am already super excited to see how eager students are to expand the program to foster community between students and staff.
I am also very involved in IDEAS (Improving Dreams Equality Access and Success) at the Claremont Colleges, a club that aims to create a safe space for undocumented students and allies to freely talk about the struggles of undocumented students, to support one another, and to raise awareness of challenges undocumented students face on their journey to higher-ed. This is only week two, and I was shocked by the amount of support folks are already starting to show for the program.
This is a little bit of what I’m up to. I would say that last year, taking all these classes that I knew I wasn’t passionate about, it was a matter of balancing myself emotionally, and constantly trying to keep my mental health intact with the stress of STEM classes and figuring out “como corre el agua,” or how the water flows at Pomona College. This semester, I am much more satisfied with my classes, and much happier with my commitments.
I am also sleeping, which is also good.
Still, I am almost decided on becoming a math major, and feel like this is my honeymoon period before I get to the grind. It will be difficult, but doable, and after a year of constant struggle with the “impostor syndrome,” I feel much better equipped to navigate these academic spaces with the certainty that I am here because I deserve to be, and with those in mind who because of ridiculous obstacles put on by their social environment are not, but should have been.