6 Years Ago Today I was a Freshmen at UMES

Time Flew by

8/22/2012, I will never forget that day. 5 in the morning on the way to The University Of Maryland Eastern Shore with my father who I was just getting to know and a over packed white Cherokee full of useless stuff for my dorm room. Unlike your typical incoming freshmen, I wasn’t excited for college, I was nervous. One, back then I was hiding my former Xanax addiction with ease, and for a couple of days I was off of it. Two, being white in a  mainly black family being Hispanic made me feel that It was going to be hard to make friends already.  Three, I was very socially awkward due to my rough period growing up and I preferred to be alone. Four, I used to have a huge fear of the unknown. Five, I was dirt poor coming from a struggling family. (I literally had 3 dollars in my account) Six, as ridiculous as this sounds, my voice doesn’t match my face (LOL).

All I was honestly doing that week leading up to moving in was praying, listening to J.Cole/Kendrick/Wale/Miguel, watching the Dave Chapelle show, and fighting my depression/addiction. At first when I moved in everybody was surprisingly friendly to me and it shocked me. Back then I didn’t realize everybody in college has a huge fear of the unknown. That’s why we were at UMES, to find ourselves. I found a couple of my high school friends, and my best friends for life later that week (Omari, Jordan, and Terrell).

The Hastags #UMES #UMES16 also helped me to meet and make some lifetime friends. I even began to want to get off Xanax. Unfortunately that didn’t happen until I was forced off at the end of my freshmen year but I’m here today better then ever.  It was a start for me though, I began to picture what I wanted to do that day. I walked past a couple of older students with a camera and a microphone. I was always intrigued in media arts as a kid and seeing that confirmed that I wanted to change my life around to pursue it.

8/22/2012 is a date I always remember because it marked the begging of true change for me. From taking my diet seriously,  getting off my addiction, making friends, network, pursue my dreams, learning humble confidence, and get closer to god.  I write this in hope to let an incoming freshmen know that if you’re feeling nervous about going to your new school, don’t be. Enjoy the time because it goes by fast.  6 years ago I barely knew a thing, 6 years now I appreciate everything.

Best,

John TheDMVDaily CEO