Keily Escamilla explains her thoughts and ideas over what she believes is the truth, that no matter the origin everyone should get a chance.
Transcript
Keily Escamilla: Hi, I’m Keily Escamilla, and I’m currently a freshman in college.
Giancarlo Rivera: My first question of today is, what was your middle school experience like?
KE: Well, I attended Animo Jefferson, and half of my middle school experience was through online because of Covid. However, during seventh grade, I did join SRLA, and I ran the marathon. One of the reasons why I actually joined was because of my math teacher, Mr. Lo. He kind of like pushed me, and he helped me train throughout that time. And he was more than just a teacher to me, actually, he was there to help me resolve this one issue that I had during middle school, and he kind of tried to lead me to the right path, and I’m actually thankful for that.
GR: How did he try to lead you to the right path?
KE: He actually gave me advice. Some of it I did take it. Another piece of advice that he did give me that really helped was that he told me to choose who to hang out with and who not to hang out with, because in middle school, you don’t really see the world how it is, and some people might lead you to make the wrong choices.
GR: Did you actually listen to his advice?
KE: To an extent I really did, but also one of the, one of those lessons that problem led me to, actually, I actually learned a lot from that, and that’s also how I, like, kind of met my best friend, and she’s still my best friend to this day.
GR: Why is she your best friend?
KE: Um, because, like I said, we met during difficult circumstances, and well, when the pandemic hit, we just kind of got closer, and from there, well, we just lived through our high school experience together, and I was we were able to pull each other’s like differences and like help each other out through this difficult time, especially because during the pandemic, I feel like a lot of us got anti social. So when we started, when I started freshman year, it was kind of awkward. It was like, all over the place. we said, was Mr. Lo specifically talking about anyone in your life. When he says, Be careful who you hang out with. Yeah, he was talking about different people, and he kind of mentioned my best friend in that, in that scenario. But I mean, it’s because she was really different to me, compared to me, but um, we just kind of learned how to like, navigate each other and help each other out.
GR: How did you help each other out?
KE: Well, actually, um, we have similar personalities, but I think we view general as we have certain aspects of things. And honestly, like, I feel like I’m more book smart, and she’s with, how do I say that she’s kind of more like street smart, so she’s more aware another of, like, our world and how it is, and I feel like I’m better, like, when it comes to school. And so she would help me, like, kind of open my eyes to see how the world really was, and kind of navigate myself through life. And then I would help her with school and and so I think we just kind of balanced each other out.
GR: Another question from earlier, how hard was it to train during the pandemic? And a little bit before that?
KE: Honestly, in seventh grade, the pandemic didn’t hit yet. So during that time, at first it was kind of like difficult, because you’re not used to it more like. I specifically wasn’t used to training for so long. Or we used to train like, what, like, maybe four to five times a week. And honestly, at the beginning, it is kind of hard, but once you train more and your body just kind of gets into that routine, and it’s also like you had to, you have to keep that same routine and also find your styles and your ways of how you want to train, because it. Might not work, like a certain thing might not work for you, and that’s okay. And honestly, during the pandemic, it was really hard, because before the pandemic, you were able to talk to people and, well, practices weren’t as hard because you had communication and, you know, like, you could just, like, go off here and there, but you would also still train, you know, but during the pandemic, it was kind of, it was kind of weird, because it was just you like running and using an app to keep track of what you were doing. It wasn’t really like social, it wasn’t it wasn’t the same. The experience wasn’t the same. I guess we didn’t even actually run the marathon. It was just more of like, I’m not sure, but I think it was like the 18 minor or something like that, that we just did on our own. It wasn’t the same, because, like before that, we would obviously go to events, get our medals, receive snacks, and then, you know, like, go to Events. But during the pandemic, it was like really, really different.
GR: Even though the you didn’t fully do the marathon. Are you still proud of yourself?
KE: Honestly, yes, because the first time that I did do the marathon, I was in so much pain afterwards, but for my first time doing the marathon, honestly, like I think I did pretty well, because I trained really hard. And the funny thing, though, that I remember to this day about that is that once you finish the 26 miles, you still have to walk another two miles. And I remember I barely made it to the finish line because I didn’t take as many breaks as others, and so my legs were all wobbly by the time I couldn’t walk no more. I couldn’t walk those two extra miles. So what ended up happening was that I went on my little sister’s stroller, my mom pushed me those two miles to go get
my food and my sweatshirt.
GR: That’s interesting, and I didn’t know that, and that’s gonna be torture for me when I do the marathon this year.
KE: Yeah, honestly, like, I tell you, it’s all about pacing yourself and seeing what works better for you. And, um, also, I wasn’t aware that when you run the marathon you have to be careful, like, what certain shoes you use and how you take care of yourself, because I didn’t know that your toenails, like, could fall off. So be careful with diet, something people don’t talk about, but you know, like, really know your body and know your limits. Don’t try to keep up with others, or don’t try to, like, force yourself into certain things. You know where what your limit is for your body, and you should run at your own pace.
GR: That’s good. That’s good advice. I’m gonna move on to the next question that I have for you. What did you want to be before and after high school? How did it change your thoughts on life?
KE: Honestly, I would always say that I wanted to be a nurse like during honestly, like elementary and middle school, I would always say that I was going to be a nurse. Once I got to high school, I realized that that probably wasn’t the best fit for me, first, because I was scared of needles, second, because I didn’t like seeing blood. You know, it’s just like little things that kind of just like you don’t really think about until it’s actually like the moment of deciding, and then once I figured out that that probably wasn’t the best career for me, I would kind of just always talk about cosmetology freshman and sophomore year, I was really into that. So I really did think I was going to go to trade school for cosmetology, or any, like, community college or just a program for that, specifically.
GR: Isn’t cosmetology, like, where you like, do like, like stuff on people, like their nails or their hair stuff like that.
KE: Yeah, so cosmetology covers all of that. It’s just like, hair, makeup, nails and like other things that you learn. It’s a shorter career as well. That’s why it was, like, one of my main options. But honestly, a lot of people don’t really sincerely talk about this, but I’m a first generation, so it’s really difficult to understand your options, not necessarily, like, what colleges to go to, but your options of, like, hey, like, how much financial aid is this college giving me? Like, what programs do they have? And it’s okay to not know what you want to do. Like, that’s okay because you will eventually figure it out. But one thing is, you always have to keep your options open, and just because you don’t know what you want to do yet doesn’t mean that you’re not that you shouldn’t look into what you want to do or research it. It’s more like keep your options open, because at the end of day, you never know. Honestly, senior year, I was still struggling. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. If I wanted cosmetology or something else, and I was just kind of lost. And people make you feel bad about that, and parents push you, and they tell you, hey, like you need to know when you what you have to do already, and this and that, but they don’t understand the struggle you’re going through, especially if your first generation didn’t understand all the paperwork you have to do is not just like, are you applying there? No, it’s a really long process that you have to go through by yourself. Well, from my point of view, like, and the way I experienced it was, like, a lot of the stuff I kind of figured out on my own, because I didn’t have someone to ask and, um, I ended up choosing to go to a Cal State to study for human services. That’s a whole totally different route of what I thought I was going to study, but that’s what I’m currently doing. What is human services is basically, it’s a it’s a really big field, and that’s why I chose it, because with that, you’re able to be like a social worker, or like you work at like social services, you know, where they help people out with like housing or like stuff like that. It’s just, you can use that degree for a lot. You can even use it to be a counselor at a school, and so I think that’s why I chose that, because you could, you could really like, it’s a really big field, you know, it’s a really big major. So you can really pick like, anything that you want to do, you know.
GR: I have another question that might be more personal. Well, it’s something that you’re proud of, and why are you proud of that?
KE: Well, since I recently graduated, I’m actually really proud of the fact that I graduated high school with honors. At first, I was kind of kind of going through a lot what my freshman and sophomore year, I was going through a lot of personal issues, and it really affected my mental health. And I’m just really glad that I was able to still push through in school. And maybe there was times when, like, I didn’t reach my potential, but at the end of the day, I still pick myself up, and I was still able to graduate with honors.
GR: That’s why you’re proud of that.
KE: Yeah, because you you really have to, it’s more than just, oh, you’re doing good in school. Oh, great. So that you have to think about, like your personal life and how certain things could affect your mental state and certain friendships. And that’s that’s one of the advice that I would give you guys, once you’re entering high school, be more aware. Be more aware of your surroundings, of who you’re with. Because you’re not a little kid anymore. You’re already starting to be a young adult, that certain things will reflect on your on your future. That’s why, when they tell you, like, when they tell you, Oh, do good, do good in school and this and that you probably don’t understand that you just like, oh, okay, but no, there’s more than there’s more to that. It’s more of like handling your personal life and school. But what I would tell you is, keep your circle small. Make sure you put your priorities first. Put school first your sports, because a lot of that is going to help you in your future. A lot of a lot of sports and activities that you do in high school helps with with college. So I would say, like, put, set your priorities, prioritize yourself before anyone else, whether it’s like your partner or your friend or whoever it might be, prioritize yourself because at the end of the day, like it’s your future.
GR: In the end, what are your goals in life? What’s something you want to achieve?
KE: Well, um, first, I want to learn how to drive, because I already have my permit for some while, and I and I still don’t know how to drive, and I think that that could be a small goal. And that’s okay, because that small goal can help me a lot in life. It could help me get to school faster, or, um, I feel like honestly, driving is on this is in this day. It’s a necessity. But I guess a bigger goal in life would be, um, to actually finish my career. Because, yeah, I mean, I’m in my first semester of college, and honestly, like, it’s so different from high school, and it’s a lot more, but I think I’m if I’m able to push through and keep up, like, with my schedule and actually prioritize that, then I could actually graduate and get, my degree and start working as a social worker, because that’s why I’m doing Human Services, because I want to be a social worker to help out like other kids who don’t have a chance, or, you know, make sure that they have the opportunity that a lot of us have.
GR: Yeah, and you like helping people out.
KE: Yeah, it’s actually something that I really enjoy, and so that’s specifically why I wanted to be a social worker, because at the end of the day, like, everyone deserves an opportunity for a brighter future, and whether you take the chance or not, it’s really on you, but I do think that everyone should get an opportunity
GR: That’s good. Thank you for your time.
