-Wily, San Mateo
When I go back and think about my journey, there are some moments that stand out, but the one that really stands out would be early June 2024. That day was my happiest and the best day of my life.
It all began early January 2024. I was in a quasi-military school in a residential program where I agreed to go for five and a half months. It was cool, but it wasn’t the same.
My day would start at four-thirty AM doing exercises, making our bed, cleaning our space, and at six-thirty AM we would go to lunch and then head back to the barracks at eight AM. We would go to morning formation, and at nine AM our classes would start until three PM.
After school, we would take showers and after everyone was done, we would start on homework in a classroom. When we were done with homework, we had dinner. At the end of the day, we would write to our loved ones. We would end the night, and it was like that for five and a half months.
That’s why early June 2024 was my happiest day. It was my last day on the base. We did our regular routine, but at eleven AM we had to dip from the base and arrive at the theater to graduate from the program and earn our credits for school. We had a little ceremony.
I had won a five hundred dollar scholarship, and after we were released, we were able to go to our families and leave. When I left, I went straight to In-N-Out. After I got home, I relaxed for the rest of the summer.