Decisions, Decisions

Every day we are faced with having to make decisions that can alter our path in life. When I graduated high school, I enrolled for my first semester at UCC. I think my major was psychology at the time because I was unsure of what I wanted to do. I did well that first semester but I was more preoccupied with hanging out with friends than setting goals for my future. I missed the deadline to enroll for the spring semester and trusted myself that I would enroll for the following. Unfortunately, it took me seven years to return to school.

During those seven years, I made choices, not thinking about my future. All I cared about was the present and having fun. I partied and drank. I did not do anything that major that could’ve sent me to jail or sent me to the emergency room, but I was just not thinking of what I wanted my future to be. During a small period of time, my home environment was stressful living with my mother and her being upset with my choices. I took a mixology class for fun and liked it so much I thought of being a bartender. Bartending sounded appealing because I would be surrounded by the things I enjoyed doing, plus I would get paid. 

In the midst of deciding what I was doing with myself, I eventually met my boyfriend who I have been dating for the past eight years. With the support of my family, my partner, and new friends, I decided that going back to school was the best option for me and my future. Had I not made the decision to stop surrounding myself with bad influences, I would still be stuck in an environment that encouraged my drinking.

I have cut all ties with people who I feel would not motivate me to make something out of my life. I don’t believe those friends were bad people, but they continue to choose a lifestyle that I no longer wanted. Because of social media, I still see glimpses of what their life is like, particularly one girl I was very close with. She has now become a bartender. Through her social media, she constantly shares that she drinks while working and drinks there while she’s off because she’s hanging out with friends. I also see the type of people she continues to surround herself with. I recognize a few people from before and to say the least, some are not great influences. Sometimes I am speechless when I see her post the things that she does. It is hard to believe that I was almost following in the same footsteps. I am very thankful that I chose a different path for myself and I am heading in the right direction; therefore, I do not regret any of the decisions I have made in my previous years. I am looking forward to the next step in my life when I graduate, as I will be the first in my family to have a bachelor’s degree in America.