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You could say that my passage from high school to university is a very difficult one to tell, however you got to start somewhere. My journey begins in 2021, when I started my 5th semester of high school and suddenly the question that every one was asking was, “What’s your career of choice for university?”. Now, you have to realize that at 17 you really don’t know what you want to do for the rest of your life, or at least in my case. It’s not just that I didn’t know, but I think I also didn’t want to know because it was my way  of holding on to my high school life which for me it really was a great one. For me at the time, it was a really tough question due to the fact that I lived in a sort of bubble, a bubble I loved I might add. I say this because I really was enjoying my day to day, and who wouldn’t. I went to the school I loved with all of my friends, I was having great grades, my relationship with my parents was at its best, and really my only responsibility was to enjoy my time in high school.

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Come the start of my 5th semester, suddenly the word “university” was in everyone's mouth and that’s when I noticed that high school wasn’t forever, and I really needed to start thinking about my future, and fast. The tough part and the part that really bothered me was that I had no idea what I wanted to do with my adult life, nevertheless, that was the only thing that people were asking me. When I say everyone, I really mean it, it was my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends, teacher, etc. Looking back, it’s not as bad a situation as I thought at the time, it was just that I was getting really overwhelmed with everything that came with said situation. The shock of having to grow up suddenly hits you and there’s nothing you can do about it. The process starts at the beginning of 5th semester, and suddenly it seems that you just have to know what to do for the rest of your life.

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After that sort of “shock phase”, I got to the conclusion that the change to the university life really wasn’t that bad. Now, I obviously needed some help from my loved ones to get to this conclusion and really embrace the change that was  coming The loved ones I’m talking about in this case were my parents, they guided me through the process of learning how to leave fear aside when change is coming. You could say that they were the ones who opened my eyes, and let me see that the change to university was really going to benefit me in the long run.

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I really think that without my parents, I wouldn’t have been able to embrace the reality that was coming my way due to the fact that there were many elements that got in the way of me deciding what my path would be. Some of these elements are indecisiveness, insecurity, lack of responsibility, laziness, and most importantly the fact that I didn’t want to grow up. All of these elements previously mentioned were the ones that made my process very difficult and kept me from having the mental clarity that’s necessary to take on such an important transition in your life.

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At the beginning of my transition from high school to college, I faced what would be the first challenge of many. The challenge I faced during this time was that I felt really insecure about having such a radical change in my life, which caused me to go in some kind of state of refusal. I didn’t want to face the fact that the time to go to college had arrived. This obviously created a huge block in the way of me completing this process, and at some point it even caused me to think if I really wanted to go to university. With the help of my parents and other people, I finally got out of that state, which gave me the ability to truly start the journey. It transformed me and made me realize that I had to enjoy the process because I would only be able to live it once.

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As I mentioned before, my parents played a huge role in helping me embrace my next step in life, though they weren't the only ones. Another person that helped me throughout this transition and helping me choose my career path was my tutor, who I consider as my guide in this story. Throughout different conversations, my tutor made me have different self reflections about what I wanted to do in life based on my strengths and the things I find interesting. The other person who really helped me was my uncle, who I consider as a key helper. Once I had some sort of picture of which profession I wanted to choose, I decided to talk to my uncle who has a lot of knowledge mainly about economics and law. I left that talk with a lot of understanding about both of these subject and with a more clear understanding of what I wanted to study.

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Taking the decision of which career path I wanted to choose was probably the hardest decision of my life. During this time, I felt like all of my future was hanging in the air, and that’s simply a really hard feeling. Of course that’s very dramatic, nevertheless at that time you truly feel like that, mostly because of the pressure you feel from society to choose your profession. Little by little, I got to the final conclusion and I eventually chose economics as my career choice.

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After I finally got to decided on economics, I truly started to feel that I was excited about my transformation to the university life. I also started to notice a sense of responsibility growing in me and a sense of wanting to start university. I felt that I already wanted to begin university and a life where I would become a more responsible and hard-working person.

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I really started to notice the transformation that this process caused in me. To begin with, it made me be more comfortable with change and uncertainty, which I think is a very valuable attribute to develop. This transformation also made me be more excited about the future, instead of stuck in the past like I was at the beginning of this process. It made me realize that the fact that I had to become a more responsible person was actually a good thing because that way I get to become a better person, and I'm able to create a better future for myself. I think that I’m not the only one that has noticed this change in me, also my parents and other important people in my life have mentioned that they’ve noticed that this process has made me evolve as I get closer and closer to become an adult.

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My transition from high school to university has in some way made me consecrate as a hero in the eyes of the people that are going through the same thing I went through. With the experience I have gained from all the stages of my transition from high school to college, I have been able to help other friends and family members who are going through that same uncertain process and don’t really know what to do. All of them have really appreciated my input and most importantly my understanding due to the fact that the people around them many times don’t understand the situation. I feel like I was very fortunate to be surrounded by the people I have in my life during this process because without them, I couldn’t have acquired the knowledge I have today on this matter.

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Looking back on my first year of college, I can analyze the continuance of my hero’s journey with great detail. This year I have faced multiple ups and downs and although the ups have been great, the downs have also been very challenging. It's very clear to me that high school is not the same as college, and identifying my challenges will help me continue my journey with a better preparation.

The first challenge that I notice from my first year in college is that I got distracted very easily. I think that this is due to the fact that high school was so much easier, which allowed me to get distracted with other things during class. I compare this challenge to with a mermaid due to the fact that they are famous for distracting mortals so that they could accomplish what they wanted, often being disaster.

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The second challenge that I noticed was that “Semana 5” often brought some sort of chaos due to the fact that it’s the most difficult and stressful time of the semester. Before college, I had never had to handle that type of pressure and stress, and it often brought really chaotic situations within me. I really identify this challenge to a dragon due to the fact that they are often pictured to bring chaos in mythical stories.

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Another challenge that I have identified this year is that entering college you come in with a magical picture that you are supposed to be good at everything that involves your career of choice, and that is just simply not true. That idea brings a lot of doubt to yourself when you go through the tough times that college brings. I identify this challenge with a unicorn due to the fact that that unicorns often represent magic and innocence, and that is the perfect description of this challenge.

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The fourth challenge that I have identified in this journey is that I often found myself extremely tired due to the fact that most of my classes were at 7 in the morning. This meant that I had to wake up at 5 in the morning, which is why I compare this challenge to a vampire. I like this comparison because vampires are often pictured as nocturnal creatures in famous mythical stories.

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The next challenge that I had to face during this journey was that there was often conflict and opposition within the work teams. This situation brought a certain threat to the teams, which reminds me of the leviathan. Leviathans often bring these characteristics to different situations, so that's why I think this is a fitting comparison.

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Another challenge that I went through during this journey was that I felt solitary i due to the fact that I was no longer with my friends during class. Loneliness is a tough challenge to go through, and I think a perfect comparison is the Nandi bear. In mythical stories, the Nandi bear is often depicted as a solitary creature.

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The seventh challenge that I had to go through during this first year of college is the insecurity brought by facing an unknown situation. This is a very real challenge, and I like to compare it to the jumbee. This comparison comes due to the fact that jumbees usually represent the unknown.

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Another tough challenge that I had to face during this journey was finding the proper guidance. I had to find people familiar with my career due to the fact that my parents studied different careers. I compare this challenge to the Tulpar due to the fact that it's viewed as a figure of guidance.

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The ninth challenge I had to face throughout this journey was that sometimes I had to sacrifice going out with my friend because I had school work. This was really tough due to the fact that coming from high school, I never had to do something like that. The comparison I found for this challenge is Camazotz due to the fact that he is associated with sacrifice in order to attain something.

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The last and most important challenge I had to face during my first year of college was that I needed to adapt to the new stage of my life. In this case, I chose to compare this challenge of adaptation to the Barmanou. This is due to the fact that the Barmanou is characterized by his great ability to adapt.

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I have a main motivation to get through this college journey with the best of my abilities. My motivation through this journey is the fact that college is the place for me to prepare myself for the future. This journey will make me into the man I need to be in order to succeed in my personal and professional life. This motivation overcomes every obstacle that I have faced and that I certainly will face because I know that I will see the dividends of this experience in the future.

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To go through this experience, I certainly need the help of the guides and mentors that have a role in this journey. The guides that are most important for me in this process are my parents due to the fact that they have guided me my whole life and for me to go through this process it will be no different. My parents are the most important people in my life, and I need them by my side during college. Another mentor that I have talked to in this first year of college and that I will continue to need is my uncle. My uncle has plenty of experience in my field of choice, and I consider him someone that I can go to when I need the help that my parents can’t give me.

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My inspiration during this process is to acquire all the necessary skills I need to succeed in my professional life. I have it clear in my mind that during this university life, I need to take advantage of all the tools and opportunities I’m offered. The sole thought of imagining what my professional life could be in the future drives me to want to learn everything about my career of choice and prepare myself the best I can for the future.

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The main superpower that I have to defeat the obstacles that are going to present in front of me is that I have a relationship with many people I care about. I believe that my friends and family will help me keep a balance through this journey because said balance will help me clear my mind through the tough times that will inevitably come. Of course this is not enough, I believe that I have aptitudes that I have acquired throughout time that will be of great help. The main aptitudes that I have are resilience, determination, and humility.

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I also can't ignore the fact that throughout this journey, I will have to face many temptations that could distract me from the end goal. I believe that the main temptation that I will have to face in this journey is partying with my friends and not focusing on my studies. I say this not only for the partying in itself, but I believe that going out with my friends reminds me of the times when I used to have fun without having the responsibilities that come with college. Becoming an adult can be scary, and that’s why I believe that this can come in the way of this journey.

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I think that this past year has changed me for the better due to the experiences that came with it. The main thing that I learned is that there comes time to lock in on school and not procrastinate in order to manage the workload and not get overwhelmed.

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This past year has made it really clear in my mind that I’m not a high-schooler anymore and that I have to get my priorities together if I want to be successful in this college journey. Realizing these types of things is the very first step in order for me to become a college graduate, though I can’t ignore that there are more challenges to come and consequently many more learning in the process. I have also realized that I don’t need to wait until I graduate to contribute to society. Apart from community service, I believe that as an undergraduate I can do internships in different fields and in the process start learning things that will help shape me personally and professionally.

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“Veni, vidi, vici” is my motto of choice when I think about how I want to be in my college process. This battle phrase means “I came, I saw, I conquered”, and I think it’s really fitting for the challenges that will come in this college experience. Of course, I don’t take this phrase literally, though I think that in a certain way you can see how it fits college. The way that I would adapt this phrase to college is as “I came, I studied, I learned”. It’s not perfect, but I really do believe that if I handle myself with this mentality, I could really come out of college with great knowledge and experience.