Hi everyone!!!

I apologize, but it’s been forever!

So many things have happened. My best friends just got married, I will have a piece of my work published in January, my partner finally got her license as a phlebotomist to start working, I found someone to sublet my apartment, and the list goes on.

Now I am currently at the stage in my life where I have officially finished my undergrad career, and am now in the process of figuring out my life. Then again, isn’t that what we try to do everyday?

It has been a rollercoaster these past few weeks. One thing leads to another, and another, and another; next thing you know, you have all of these things to figure out and you don’t even know where to start. That was me. Emphasize was. 

I’m not going to lie, once you get into a routine, you get so used to it that as soon as you stop it’s hard to get back into that routine again. For instance, about a week and a half ago I went back home, and decided to take my yoga mat, which has been SUPER beneficial for me in keeping exercising consistent. Yet when I left home to go back to school, I had forgot my yoga mat and water bottle at home! My partner tells me that I always have to forget something at my house, which is somewhat true… fine, I always forget something. It’s not my fault though! A house filled with 10 people everyday can be overwhelming, especially once you’re getting ready to leave and everybody is asking you when is the next time you’re coming home, why can’t you come sooner, and why do you even have to leave. I’m not gonna lie though, I do love when my siblings ask all of these questions because it shows, for me, how much they want to see me again.

I missed this.

Being able to openly talk to you all and just let you know how I am and how everything is going, what my plans are, what I’m thinking. It’s my safe space. I hope you all have been doing well.

Being in this transition of leaving school and moving back home, has made me think a lot about what I want for myself. More importantly though, it has made me see clearly what I want to do for my community.

I’m not going to lie, one question I have always struggled with is the question of, “What do you want to do after college?” I think many of us have. But for some reason, as much as I was interested in something, I could never see myself doing something for the rest of my life. It’s not that I’m lazy, or that I don’t want to do anything. Its just, I have always felt the need to do more for my community. My youngest siblings are in 6th grade; they’re fraternal twins. In everything I do, I always try to keep my siblings in mind. To give you some perspective, I’m 23. Knowing how the youth are our future, I’ve been trying to think long-term in what I want to do. What does that look like? Will it have an impact? How is it relevant to my community? Will people respond to it?

All my life, I was told that I should be a good student, go to school, get a good job, have a family, and be happy. Yet, at the expense of my happiness, how are the people around me doing? Personally I’ve come to terms with how society has been constructed throughout history, and what I want for myself. In today’s society, it’s the norm to essentially follow and do everything I’ve mentioned. Of course, this is just my way of thinking, it doesn’t apply to everyone. On the contrary however, this way of life is necessary. How else would we pay our bills? How else would we maintain our families? How else would we be happy?

I, instead of answering those questions, question those very questions to bring perspective as to why those questions should be the foundations of our very lives. (Sounds like a tongue twister lol) But that’s just the way I think, which doesn’t make it easy for me to vision what I would like to do, or accomplish, in my lifetime.

This is what is constantly going through my head. It can be overwhelming at times, and yes, I have to consistently ground myself, but I have finally found a passion to challenge myself everyday. I love questioning what we know, why we know it, and how we know it.  Basically questioning everything we’ve been taught. Yet at the same time, understanding our intersectional and multiple identities, and how that has shaped our experiences and where we are.

So, as I transition into this new stage of my life, I ask myself, how can I do what I love, while also making a difference, that’ll make an impact on peoples lives, but also contribute to the greater good of society. I’m happy to say I’m working on it. So stay tuned.

Aside from all of what I’ve mentioned, don’t forget that you don’t have to express your love, happiness, appreciation to your family and friends through expensive presents this holiday season. Companies thrive on these months, because its when they make the most sales and profit. Therefore, I want to challenge you all. Set a budget for Christmas presents, and don’t get me wrong, that can look different for everyone; whether it’s how much you want to spend in total, or for each person, even saying that realistically, you can’t afford presents and thinking about what other alternatives are there to spread the joy of Christmas. I’d love to hear if any of you take this into consideration, or have your own way of doing so.

Anyways, it’s been a long week, and I still have finals to finish, but I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate the time that you took out your day to read this.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week!

Fausto Figueroa

Thursday, 4:15 PM