Taking a semester off from school helped me get myself back on the right track. 

Many of my friends went straight from high school to a four year, and are getting ready to graduate this spring. 

I failed three of my semesters at City College before I realized I had to take control of my life, and that my success was up to me.

So I took the spring of 2018 off and didn’t tell anyone because I felt like no one would understand why, or they would judge me for coming back and graduating late.

Taking a semester off of school should be normalized and not looked down upon.

Looking back, I can see now that many of my friends would have understood and supported my decision, as we were all under the same amount of pressure.

I came back to City College this semester, and not being completely out of the loop is something I am grateful for. 

My counselors helped me figure out what classes I needed to retake and which would fit into my schedule.

I started taking advantage of all the great resources for students City College had to offer, like the Express to Success program and the academic counselors.

Now I spend at least two hours a day studying and doing homework, and when I need help I visit the tutoring office and ask. 

I became more aware of what I needed to do for myself in and out of school. 

I realized what I wanted to do and from there I began again from phase one. I retook classes and came out on top. 

I started off slow and easy with two classes, and I had amazing teachers who helped me and answered my questions. 

Before, I would have just not done the work because I was too embarrassed to ask questions because I didn’t want to seem like I wasn’t paying attention. 

When I came back to City College, I was ready. I knew what my end goal was and what I needed to do to reach it. I began to ask, listen and learn from my mistakes.

After seeing myself being able to accomplish the goals I set when I first came to City College, I saw it.

I saw myself out in the world as a broadcast journalist, reporting on the latest sports action from that day. I had the opportunity to attend the 2019 Southern California Sports Broadcasters: Women Who Cover Sports luncheon this summer and it motivated me to continue my path and passion to cover sports. 

If I took anything from what I went through in my college career it was that it is okay to take a breath if you need to, but remember to come back to continue your passion.