100.

Chey & Mom

I've reached it. I don't know how long this is going to be, what it's going to consist of, but I want it to be the most raw, heartfelt, and genuine blog post I can create. A hundred. After I hit the "Publish" button, I'll have reached 100 blog posts. Amazing, isn't it?

Elisa and my Snapchat filter!!!

Well on Friday, May 12th, I graduated from one of the schools I love the most. So many memories, friends, and knowledge gained here, it's almost terrifying to leave this comfort zone. Remember my surprise in my last post? My friend and blogger, Elisa, and I made a graduation filter for Snapchat... A little bit extra, I know, but it turned out so well and we pulled it off in about an hour. Both of us were so excited to use it and we let all of our friends know about it as well!

My grad cap,
carefully crafted in one hour,
the night before graduation.

After the endless selfies with friends while waiting for Commencement to begin, all of the 2017 graduates were seated and slowly but surely, each one of our names were called out and we proudly walked across the stage. By the time I knew it, I was shaking President Anthony Beebe's hand and posing for a (really bad) photo and I was sitting again. Many of us were on our phones, reading through congratulatory messages. I received one from my mom... Of course, I teared up. Then all the memories of SBCC kind of consumed me as I looked from one friend to another, thought of one friend to another... It would be the last time I see many of these individuals.

Post-Commencement, I raced to the parking lot to take photos with my beloved family and friends. So many students hugging their parents, tears, a myriad of bouquets and balloons took over the parking lot. Afterwards, I found my friends and we all took photos together, hugged, overreacted and squealed a little bit. Really, I know many of us were slightly saddened at the reality of not being able to easily see each other when we wanted to.

To my Marketing family:

• Melanie—You have impacted my life an incredible amount. The way I go about making decisions, caring about others, and even creative decisions have changed. I'm so unbelievably proud to have learned from you. The way you cared about me made me really feel like I had a belonging at this college when I never thought that could be possible. Because of you, I don't think I would have felt a sense of purpose while attending SBCC. Just simply put, thank you. I love you!

  

  Chey & Melanie :)

• Kirsten— There is never a dull day with you. You never fail to make me smile and always inspire me to do something happy or good in my day. After a tough and long lecture, I looked forward to working in the office. You made it a safe place for me to share my thoughts and I always appreciate everything that you do for me. I have never had such a strong support system at school and you have made that possible. Over and over again, thank you.
• Victor—I know. You're Scheduling. That doesn't change the fact that you've made the office such a wonderful place to be. Killing the still sound of the room with your humming and head-bobbing and our 2 o' clock mental road blocks are going to be something I will never forget. You're always so kind and hilarious! Oh man, I hope when I come back to visit... your arts & crafts skills will have improved a bit...
• Luz—I still remember the first time we met at Vaquero Welcome and I was standing at the top of the stairs. You shook my hand and smiled and introduced yourself. I just remember being super confused...! BUT, I'm glad I was able to work in the office and see you more often. Not only were you so thoughtful, but you always considered me for a job and I'm so grateful for all the opportunities you have given me because of that. You put a lot of faith in me and again, I'm so proud that I could represent the department at multiple events. Thank you, so much.

Chey & Friends... The night before graduation!

So now, I say good-bye and hello to an entirely novel and foreign chapter in my life. I'm in no way stone cold moving on as I'm forever changed. This entire blog holds precious experiences and the transformation of my character. I hope I was able to change a student's perspective and I served the purpose I was meant to.

Thank you SBCC for an unexpected, but fulfilling journey.

So much love and my sweetest good-bye,

Chey

Currently listening to Tunnel Lights by Ocean Park Standoff

One Last Hurrah

Tomorrow, Wednesday, will be my last official day as a student at Santa Barbara City College. It marks the end of an era. Okay, time to stop being so dramatic!

Tomorrow also happens to be the last two finals that I take before summer vacation comes to bay. Not only will I be running on two hours of sleep, but I'll be busy running around campus and meeting with my friend for a SPECIAL SURPRISE. She's also graduating this Friday as well...

Tonight, I woke up at 7:00 AM to study, went to work, and headed over to the library at 7:45 PM to study until 11:00 PM. My classmates and I studied for our Business Law exam which will be taking place at 8 in the morning which means I have an exam in seven hours and 29 minutes (it is currently 12:31 AM as I am typing this). Despite it being an awfully busy day, I received my new phone! It's activated, ready to be used, and just so perfect. It feels GREAT to have a working phone again.

Do you know what I love about this college? The community. I studied with my classmate, Hector, for the first time this evening and he's just one of the kindest individuals I've met. It honestly felt like we had known each other for the entire semester! My other classmates from Business Law who stopped by our table and just wished us all good luck, support, and smiles. It's just so comfortable! You don't even have to try hard to make friends... it just sort of happens.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Budapest by George Ezra

Memory Monday

While studying for my finals today, I naturally started to wander off into the different applications on my computer. My favorite thing to look back on are old photos through the years and after looking at a couple photos or watching a few videos, I'm so glad that I turned my camera on in that moment in time. I first received this laptop as a gift from my parents in August of 2015 so it has a ton of memories throughout my college career. Many photos were saved on my laptop so that I could blog about it later...

 This photo was taken on my first day of college. My younger brother, Nathan, was also going on his first day of HS! Weird fact: our hair used to be quite a bit longer before school started up. It was probably the shortest I have ever had in a really long time. Now, my hair's the longest that it's ever been! In this photo, I was SUPER excited to start my first day. It meant not having to deal with (many) people from high school, wearing makeup differently, styling my hair in a new way—it was just a fresh start.

I remember waking up early just so I could add waves into my hair. I had spent all summer since I had my hair cut to master the effortless wavy lob look... I think it turned out well in this picture! It's also crazy to see how much Nate's grown. I mean, he's still taller than me in the photo, but personality-wise... he's matured a lot and has a better understanding of the world. As an older sister, it's comforting, but saddening because the reality is that I'm aging. (I'll be 20 in August!)

 So this photo was taken during the Encore talent show held by the Ambassadors in Fall of 2015. That's right... Nearly two years ago. I entered into this competition, not really looking to get anything out of it. It was purely because I had a really hard time making friends and I just needed to be comforted by doing what I really enjoyed: performing. I know that I lost a lot of self esteem during the transition from summer to the first fall semester at SBCC, but this "competition" is what led me to the Ambassadors. Getting to meet some of the wonderful people, knowing that what they do is purely to get people together and draw connections between them was such a beautiful thing I wanted to be a part of.

This very last photo was taken on Vaquero Welcome during summer of 2015. My friend, Cami, and I planned on going together as we were both from the same high school and it just felt more comfortable that way. Cami and I explored tables, clubs, programs, etc... That's when I met Melanie and Karen. They had their own table, looking for bloggers for the school. Little did I know that this program would leave one of the most significant impacts on my life. I've been so lucky to meet my fellow bloggers, find a place with the Marketing Department of SBCC, and attend really amazing events. During lunch, Cami and I met our friend Alizah and the three of us just stuck and went to the rest of the workshops together. While we were crossing campus, this girl named Renata approached us and asked for directions to the next classroom. She didn't know where to go and then... she also stuck with us. The four of us would find that we would be spending the rest of the day together—adventuring to Stearn's Wharf, going to Renata's hostel, and exploring SBCC. I really cannot forget this day. It was absolutely amazing and it was my first glimpse into how wonderful my future was going to be.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Perfect by Ed Sheeran

It Comes in Threes

They say that bad things come in threes. I totally believe in this saying! In the past month, my iPhone just shut down on me. My poor phone was on life support—attached to an external battery—and would occasionally turn on and off. Obviously it was not in good shape at all. Finally, the week after spring break, it just completely shut off overnight, but a week later, it turned on again.. for a day and a half. Now, it's been off for the past three weeks.

My second "bad thing" is that the port on my external hard drive has come loose and can no longer connect to my computer. I keep SO many videos, photos, and documents on that little thing and what worries me is that I will no longer have access to it. I really hope that the port coming loose is just a minor, easy fix issue... I asked my dad and he's yet to come up with a damage estimate. I have really important pictures on there that still need to be shared with my friends and family and I'm SO afraid that I'll lose it all. What would I tell them?

Sometimes, I think it's just the fact that I have bad luck with technology. I mean... my laptop has a crack across its screen (totally not my fault), my phone suddenly shut off, and my external hard drive's port came loose. I did try to take care of all of these items, truly! Always had them in a case, was gentle with them... I have no idea where I went wrong. On the bright side, since I'm a working woman, I was able to experience my first very big purchase! I bought myself a new phone and it's the first time I have spent so much on something. Usually, my money is directed to food, subscriptions, or random craft stuff.

On Sunday, April 30th, I received some appreciation flowers from the Operations Manager of evolation yoga and I've managed to keep it alive for a week! That is definitely progress... At least I'm good at something (sort of).

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to 1, 2, 3, 4 by Plain White T's

Loose Ends

T-6 Days.

That's how long I have until I graduate from this amazing school. I have a prediction: my posts from this point forward will be extremely emotional and reflective on my life as an SBCC student. I feel like I'm ready to move on, but also like I have so much left to do here in Santa Barbara! Although I have lived here for the past eight years, my heart is finding it really hard to let go.

Maybe the stress of finals week is what's gnawing at my brain, but I'm also worrying about things that I've never had to worry about before. Like... housing, finding nice roommates, applying for financial aid, budgeting, when I'm moving, saving up. Just weird, small things that I have to do to start my life. I don't think I have mentioned it in a previous blog post, but I'm committed to San Diego State University! It's official. I'm an Aztec!

Since I'll be moving out on my own for the first time, I've been trying to figure out what I use the most and least so that I can take the least amount of things with me. Ideally, I want to live in a house, but an apartment might help me adjust a little better to the area. BUT, there will be a plan. Especially after finals are over, I'm positive I'll start devoting my time to what the new fall semester will offer.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to What Do I Know? by Ed Sheeran

Going Out with a Bang

Chey & Cameron: The one, the only

As the end of the year creeps up, the SBCC Ambassadors wanted to have a little get ready for summer kick off. Today, we hosted the very first CommUNITY Festival which was held at Plaza del Mar, the half dome stage near Pershing Park. We had pizza, local bands, student performers, face painting, mandala making, clothing drive, and just so much fun throughout the entire event!

Elisa!

Luckily, I was able to perform alongside our previous blogger, Cameron! We spoke about a week ago and he was looking for a singer to fill in for one he was going to perform with, and of course, I was really excited to participate in any way I could, so I took it. He and I got together on Thursday evening (yesterday) and practiced for a little over an hour and got SO much done. We chose and practiced four different songs:

• Better Together by Jack Johnson
• Stitches by Shawn Mendes
• Sweet Pea by Amos Lee
• Best Fake Smile by James Bay

Jamela -- Open Art

I honestly don't think that it could have been a better performance. Initially, we had a pretty small crowd and the atmosphere of the event was a bit dreary, especially because of the gloomy weather. But I think after we both got on stage—me singing and smiling, Cameron killing it on guitar—there was just so much energy to feed off of. Everyone was so sweet!

For the rest of the evening, we all sat down on blankets, sang, grooved, hugged, smiled, laughed... just all things beautiful. In the past couple of weeks, I've felt that I've loaded way more than I can take on my plate, but with times like these, I'm just glad that I do what I do with a smile on my face. These experiences is what makes college SO worth it. I'm surrounded by wonderful individuals, who make me laugh and just a better person overall.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Location by Khalid

Spring is Here!

Soda Lake

I find that with every year, spring has been my least favorite season. To be fair, my allergies these past couple of weeks have definitely spiked. I wake up, sneeze, use boxes upon boxes of tissues, and am extremely worn out when I've reached the end of my day. However, this time around, I have been enjoying the spring weather. Although we've had a couple of rain days, it's been so nice to have the sun come out. Since I've started working at evolation yoga, I get a view of the sea almost every evening and it's just absolutely breathtaking. I think another factor is that I have been more passionate about my photography hobby lately so all of the bright colors that spring has brought really encourages me to go out and explore a little more.

A path from Soda Lake

This season, I decided to visit the Carrizo Plain National Monument with my mom. It's exactly what it sounds like. The Carrizo Plains are plains that reside about 30 to 45 minutes outside of Santa Margarita, a really tiny town that's near San Luis Obispo. I saw that beside Figueroa Mountain and Grass Mountain, the Carrizo Plains was the next nearest place to go to see California's super bloom. I read a bunch of articles that said it was just out of San Luis Obispo so I expected the drive to be a little more than two hours and 30 minutes... When I pulled out my Waze app and entered in the destination, I found out it was three hours and 39 minutes away from my house... I was about to drive this nearly four hour drive (my mom promised to go only if I drove) to see flowers.

So, we made a whole day trip out of it. Woke up on Sunday morning, left the house at 9:00 AM, stopped in Pismo Beach to enjoy some of the famous Splash Cafe's Clam Chowder and walk part of the pier. By this time, it was about 1:00 PM and we were trying to catch Golden Hour at the Carrizo Plains—7:00 PM. Six hours to kill... I had heard about the Bubblegum Alley in San Luis Obispo and have always been curious about it. So that was out next stop! I was pretty excited. I asked my mom for two sticks of mint gum and chewed on them while we walked over to the alleyway. And once we were there... let's just say it's a lot cooler in photos!

Bubblegum Alley

Afterwards, we stopped at Target to grab some road trip and picnic grubs and finally drove out to our final destination. Once we arrived, I took a 45 minute nap in the car to rest up for the return home. 5:00 PM hit and my mom and I got out of the car to start shooting! There's a lake called Soda Lake there, which I learned was really shallow and usually there's no water, but I think because of the rain, we were lucky enough to see it sort of filled. There were so many flowers... Medium purple ones, tiny yellow flowers, and tall, white petaled flowers that lived on the hillside of the lake's lookout point.

About 900 photos later... my mom and I were all tired out and finally drove home. Arrived at 9:30 PM and ready to sleep. I'm so grateful for California!

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to No Make Up by Zion.T