It has been a while since I felt sure of what I wanted to do. I wanted to become an engineer coming into Dartmouth but after a rough relationship with physics, I decided to close that door and open a new one. After talking to my Dean and to upperclassmen, the best advice that they gave me was to pursue something that you truly felt passionate about. They told me that there is a difference between what you like to study and learn (in my case, math, physics, literature, history, chemistry) and what you truly feel passionate about (in this case, literature and advocating for my Latino brothers and sisters). It was then that I realized that what I had been doing before had been what I liked, not what I truly loved.
My spring break community service trip took me to Immokalee, Florida. A place that very few people have ever heard of but that is one of the most important farming towns in the United States. Being there, feeling the weight of poverty that falls on the shoulders of my brothers, more than 90 percent of the town is Hispanic, I felt the need to advocate for those that have no voice for they live in the shadows of this great nation. Poverty, environmental issues, immigration issues, low wages, rough working conditions, factors of oppression just seemed to pile on and on. Yet, as they piled, they sparked up a passion with in me. A passion that I would like to believe had been dormant until that moment. I realized what I would love to do. I found what I was truly passionate about. With that realization, I came back to campus, with a different mindset and a sense of assurance, knowing that I had found what I wanted to do for the next four years.
For the seniors reading this, I know that you guys have your acceptance letters and the giant task of deciding where to attend. A word of advice. Leave your opportunities open. Choose a school that gives you plenty of options when it comes to academic fields. I am thankful that Dartmouth is not just an engineering school. Otherwise, I would have not been too happy taking classes that I no longer liked. A lot of people change their interests after they get to college. Keep this in mind. Make sure that you always have a plan B because life never goes as we think it it will. Keep your door opens because you never know if the door that you are aiming for will close.