Mixty Espinoza

It’s that time of the year again, when the Recreational Sports Facility transforms into a loud and jampacked hub of tables and crowds of students.

This country isn’t perfect — nothing is perfect — and while I recognize its vast imperfections, I’m still proud and grateful to be an American. 

I want to take advantage of all the opportunities and resources we have here at UC Berkeley before I am no longer a student.

My academic transition to UC Berkeley went smoothly because community college adequately prepared me.

My first year at UC Berkeley has given me the impression that making friends here isn’t as easy as it was in community college. Just living in the vicinity of other students did not mean I was going to have friends.

Occasionally, though, the jokes became sexual and vulgar. The inappropriate jokes about my body or their body or even customers’ bodies became a normal part of my work day.

I can’t exactly pinpoint what I thought the outcome of attending Santa Barbara City College for all those years would be, yet starting when I was 18, I managed to be enrolled every fall and spring semester at SBCC, varying between part-time and full-time enrollment.

Community college was supposed to take two years for the average aspiring transfer student. That average wasn’t going to apply to me.

My grandparents came to the United States for better economic opportunities. Their immigration gave my parents access to better basic education.