I Want to Go to College

When I was a freshman in high school, I had to go to a high school where I would be in class only with other people like me who have disabilities. I wanted to be in classes with my friends from middle school. My mom met with the teachers and the principal of the high school to see if I could change my classes. They said no, and I was really sad and angry. Other kids made fun of us, and some of the kids bullied us. My mom got really mad, and she talked to the principal of another high school. I went to a different high school in my sophomore year where I could go to all the classes with everyone else. I also joined the basketball team and the cross-country team.

My Spanish class was in a classroom in the school library. There was a bulletin board outside the classroom where seniors posted the logos of the colleges where they were accepted. I was a sophomore, and I asked my friends if they were going to college, too. Everyone said they were going to college and they talked about what they wanted to be when they grew up. I wanted to go to college, too.

So, I went home and told my mom that I wanted to go to college just like my friends. She told me that maybe I could go to a community college, which is a college where you have to go to school near your house and live at home with your parents. She said that colleges where you go away and live there wouldn’t accept me because I have an intellectual disability. I was sad and confused about that because I wanted to be like everyone else and go away to college and live there. Everyone was always telling my mom and me that I couldn’t do things, but she advocated for me and sometimes she got mad and yelled at people so that I could do things like go to summer camp and go to basketball camps and be in classes with my friends.

My mom could see that I was sad. She googled “college for students with intellectual disabilities” and she found a list of colleges that have students just like me. Most of them were very far away. There were only two colleges in California, and I couldn’t go to one of them because I had to be twenty-two years old. The other one in California wasn’t good because we found out that all the students like me had to live together and go to class together. I wouldn’t be able to live on campus or be in classes with other college students. I wanted to just be a student like everyone else.

My mom found two more colleges in Michigan where she has a lot of friends. We also found a college in another state where my dad has a lot of friends. We visited a lot of colleges. I applied to one college, and I was accepted! My mom was sad because the college was so far away and I had to take an airplane to get there, but I told her I was going to be okay. I went there for one year. My parents told me that I wouldn’t go back for a second year. I can’t talk about that, and all I can say is that all parties are satisfied.

At home I was sad and depressed and mad. I told my mom I didn’t want to go to college anymore. I stayed in my room and played video games and watched a lot of YouTube and Netflix videos on my iPhone. My mom tried to make me happy by making my favorite foods, like acai bowls and mac ’n’ cheese. My dad took me with him to go run errands with him. They gave me a lot of chores to do around the house. I got a gym membership so I could work out every day.

My mom told me I had to apply to college again. I told her I didn’t want to go to college. That wasn’t really true, but I was just upset. She told me I couldn’t just stay in my room on my butt and do nothing like the pirates who don’t do anything in VeggieTales. My parents helped me make goals so that I could focus on doing things that would help me get accepted to other colleges. She enrolled me in the local transition program so that I could have something to do during the day. I learned how to take the bus, wipe down tables at a restaurant, and fold clothes at a clothing store. I also took a basketball class at the community college.

My parents also helped me find a job. I found three jobs. I worked at the Amazon Fulfillment Center twenty-five hours a week scanning and loading boxes. I got paid $15.50 an hour. I had job support from the Arc San Francisco at Amazon. I met Congressman Ro Khanna and he offered me an internship in his Santa Clara office. Best Buddies helped me learn how to do my job at the congressman’s office. I also got a summer internship at my church. I worked every day and I learned how to take Lyft to get to all my jobs and to school.

I started to feel better because I was learning new things and hanging out with people. I went to visit my friends from high school who went to college in California at UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Stanford, and San José State. None of these colleges accepted students like me. So my mom looked again at the list of colleges that have students like me. She made a lot of phone calls and wrote a lot of emails. We made a list of nine more colleges all over the United States and we visited all of them. I am really good at finding my way around an airport. Also, my mom says that I am strong, and I carry her luggage when we travel.

My parents said that I had to apply to college, but it was my choice if I wanted to go or not. They said that if I didn’t apply and I didn’t get accepted, then I don’t have any choices anyway. I filled out my applications. Some of them were late and past the deadline. I was very excited to be accepted to three colleges—Syracuse University in New York, Union University in Tennessee, and Georgia Tech. I liked Georgia Tech the best because the buildings and dorms and campus looked like San José State in California. Also, it doesn’t snow in Georgia. The weather there is sometimes like California, but sometimes it’s hotter and sometimes it rains more. My mom was sad again because Georgia Tech is far away from California, but I told her I would be okay. I am happy that my parents made me apply to college even though I told them I didn’t want to go when I was sad. I’m glad because I had choices, and I really did want to go to college just like my friends.

Georgia Tech is so awesome. I have some classes that are only for students like me in the Excel Program and some classes where I am with students who are getting bachelor’s degrees. Some of the classes are hard, and some are easy. I have a tutor that helps me with my homework. I also have a social mentor and a health and wellness mentor. I had an internship on campus at the Ferst Center where I took tickets and told people where they can sit. I go to football and basketball games. I joined a church group on campus. I also joined the public speaking club. My friend Erika and I decided to start a Best Buddies chapter at Georgia Tech. Erika is an engineering major and she is very smart. She was the president of her Best Buddies chapter at her high school in New York. I started a Best Buddies chapter at my high school with my friend Isabelle. Erika and I both had experience with Best Buddies. I went to the leadership conference at Indiana University six years in a row!

I had to go home before spring break in my first year because of the coronavirus. I made plans with my college friends Nick and Rashawn for spring break to visit my friend Chris Jones and his wife, Nanette, and their dog, Mochi. They live in Seattle but they used to live near me in California. I used to dog-sit their other dog, Yuki, when I was in middle school and high school, but Yuki died because he was old. After Seattle, my college friends and I were going to go to Los Angeles and go to Disneyland. But we all had to go home. I hope that we can go to Disneyland and Disney World after the coronavirus is over.

I am now in my second year of the four-year college program at Georgia Tech. I am taking four classes—Science Foundations of Health, the World Today, Financial Literacy, and Career Success II. Some classes are virtual and some are in person. My favorite class is the World Today because I learn about history. The easiest class is the Science Foundations of Health class because I have to keep a workout log and I like learning about how to take care of my health. It is hard for me to understand some of my classes like Financial Literacy, but my tutors help me. Also, my dad is a special education teacher and if I call him, he will help me, too.

I have a job at L.A. Fitness where I open the gym on the weekends and I check people in and take their temperature. I have an off-campus internship as an office assistant at Decatur CoWorks. I have to take the MARTA train to Decatur and transfer from one train to another train. I have a campus internship at the Clough Undergraduate Learning Center information desk. When people have questions, I tell them where to go. I have three roommates. One of my roommates, Lee, is a biomedical engineering major, and my other two roommates, Nick and George, are in the Excel Program like me.

I like going to college because I am learning how to be independent. I can take Lyft by myself from home to the airport and take the plane to Atlanta, and I can take the MARTA train from the airport to the Midtown station and walk four blocks to my apartment. My mom helps me plan my meals every week with a spreadsheet. I use Instacart to order my groceries from Publix or Sprouts. I am learning how to make my own meals. I make my own chiropractor appointments and dentist appointments and flu shot appointments. I also make my own Covid-19 test appointments because we have to take a test every week. I take a screenshot of my test results and text it to my parents so that they don’t worry about me. I am good at putting my appointments on my Google Calendar.

On Wednesday, November 4, 2020, I turned twenty-two years old. My house church group and my roommates celebrated my birthday with me. We had pizza and cookies. We had to eat outside because it’s safer to eat outside than inside because of the coronavirus. We also wore masks when we were not eating, and I brought hand sanitizer so everyone could disinfect their hands. We had a lot of fun on my birthday.

A lot of people ask me if I miss my mom and dad and if I get homesick. I don’t miss my parents that much. They visit me a lot, and they text me and we talk by video on my Facebook Portal. I told my mom that she had to stop texting me all the time. I told her she can only text me once a day. She looked sad when I told her that, but she understands that I need my space. When I tell her how I feel, she will change, even if it makes her sad. My mom misses me a lot, but she is also happy for me and proud of me because I am doing a good job going to college. My mom is always worried and that is annoying, but she is also awesome. I asked my dad to teach me how to drive when I go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas break, because I want to get my driver’s license someday. My dad is awesome.

A lot of people ask me what I think makes a good college program. I think you need to have inclusive classes, not just classes only with students with intellectual disabilities. Also, it’s good to have all kinds of friends and roommates and not just friends in the Excel Program. Also, parents should get on airplanes with their kids to visit colleges so they can see what the college is like before they go there.

I also like being at a college where there are a lot of different kinds of people. I am half Mexican American and half Filipino American. I have three roommates. One of them is half African American and half Filipino American, and the other two roommates are white. One of my classmates is from Switzerland. There are a lot of international students at Georgia Tech. One of my classmates was a foster kid for most of his life. I have classmates who are from all over Georgia and from other states. We are all different, and that’s cool.

I don’t know what I want to do after college yet. Next semester, I want to work at the airport as a wheelchair attendant. I am good at finding the gates at the airport and I like jobs where I am moving around. My trainer at the gym is a stuntman and an actor. He was in the movie The Fate of the Furious. I want to visit him when he makes a movie. My buddy Kyle works for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA and I like basketball, so maybe he can help me get a job there. He also works for a photography and video studio where companies make commercials. I like acting, so maybe I can get a job there too and be in a commercial. I like to travel, so maybe I can work on a cruise ship or at a hotel. I know that I want to have a job so that I can pay for my own house, and someday I want to get married and have a wife and kids. I want to do what everyone else does and have a good and happy life.