New Chapter

by Daniel Hernandez 

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        “It's time to begin, isn't it? I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit I'm just the same as I was. Now don't you understand? I'm never changing who I am.” Not everyone is lucky enough to leave and branch out to bigger things, not everything is handed to us, and people don’t stay by your side. "It's Time," by Imagine Dragons is a song that really speaks to me and how I felt before and after I graduated from high school. 

        Since I graduated many things have happened in my life, I've been through the good times before I graduated. I felt in glory when I won tournaments, medals and all that seems like it will never end, but everything that begins has to end. The downs that have happened to me not only in wrestling but also outside of wrestling have also gone through things that have put me on my knees on the floor. I never thought it would happen and that does not mean I threw in the towel. I learned from my victories, I learned more from my defeats. When I receive the wrestling scholarship, I felt that my time in this city is over, that I no longer belong here in El Paso. I will always love my city, that’s where I was born; where everyone saw how I grew up. I need to venture to another place to pursue my dreams and learn to live my own life. My family thinks that if I move towns and move on with my life, I will change who I am. Deep down, I will always be the same person. I just need to turn the page and start a new chapter of my life. 

        There’s part of the song that says, “this road never looked so lonely…” during the first year of college, I have never felt so alone, I am the second one in my family to go to college. Unfortunately, the first one who went to college was not there to help me when I was lost and struggling. The people who are by my side supporting me are my coaches, friends, and teachers especially my mother. She was the one who was there all the time to support me in everything that I did. Everything that they have taught me such as dedication, determination and believing in myself- this is what motivates me to continue to chase what I want and never give up. When I felt alone, everyone did their part to guide me and make sure that I never left behind what I built. At then end of the song said “The road to heaven crosses kilometers of cloudy hell to the top,” in the end all the work that I have put in, all the failings that I had, and all the obstacles reach a point that everything has a price, and that price is when I fulfilled my promise to myself and demonstrate to everyone that it can be achieved. I will take on very difficult roads and I will be able to fulfill them; I will show everyone and return to my home. I love this song, it tells the listeners a lesson that no matter where life takes you, you don't have to change just being who you are or who you always have been. I am very grateful to all the people who have been by my side and to the people I have met along the way, all these people have taught me to never give up, they have guided me by their experiences, and being a better person. Since I left my city, I made a great promise to myself, that I will return with my degree and they will see that my roots never changed, that I am a better version of myself. 

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