“Julie you need to be really careful when you go to college…like seriously. Don’t take rides from strangers, don’t get drunk at parties, be careful with your money…just make sure you think everything through and be cautious,”were the words that my mother said to me before I left to college. I had grown up in a bad environment throughout high school, so I thought to myself, “Okay mom, I already know all of this, I’m not stupid.” If I only knew those were probably the wisest words someone could give me before I left.
I came to San Marcos, feeling so excited, and almost invincible! The diversity in my university gave me the chance to meet a lot of new people from all different kinds of backgrounds and cultures. My random roommate whom I knew nothing about turned out to be pretty awesome. The campus was beautiful; there were so many amazing views everywhere I went! Everything seemed to be going perfect. Now, at Texas State University, the San Marcos River is a huge attraction. It is even a tradition to jump in the river when someone graduates. So one day, my new friends and I decided to go swimming in the river.
After walking up a big hill, we finally saw the river, and jumped right in! Unfortunately, we didn’t see the sign that said, “Strong current, swim at your own risk.” I am a pretty good swimmer, so the thought of danger never crossed my mind. Suddenly, my foot tangled in some weeds. I thought it was no big deal and tried to reach down to untangle it, when suddenly, I felt a strong current push me down. I started panicking because I couldn’t swim with my foot stuck, and all my friends had gone to the other side of the river. I began to scream for help as the weeds pulled me down deep into the water. I could barely breathe, I was waving my hands so someone could see, but the only thing progressing was my shortness of breath. It was at this time that my mom’s words came into my mind…I should’ve been more cautious.
Obviously, I survived the accident or I wouldn’t be here talking about my near death experience today. However, I realized that as teenagers, we feel nothing can happen to us. We leave doors unlocked without thinking someone can come in at any given time to steal. We tend to think it’s cool to have older friends who can get us beer when in reality we should be wondering why is someone who’s 25 hanging out with 18 year old teenagers? Or take me for example; I didn’t seem to get any hints of danger. There were no life guards, I didn’t know how deep or how strong the current could be, etc. Overall, college is a great experience for anyone because you learn to value items, you become more responsible and life just turns more adventurous and fun! But please, take some words of wisdom, you are not superman or wonder woman, things can happen to you if you’re not forethoughtful.