College was a thrilling and rigorous experience. Coming right out of high school, I was completely overwhelmed (in a good way) by the level of freedom and opportunity I found in the university setting. I had chosen an out-of-state school that no one else I knew was going to, thinking I could start a new reputation. And so, I pushed myself to be more gregarious and participate in more campus activities than I had done in high school. I lived in the dorms, worked in the dining halls, studied in the libraries, attended school events and lectures, and even went to a political rally. I took some music classes, but was far too swept up in the intellectual and social highs of college life to take them seriously. Music was a hobby, while learning was my life.
My dad once told me that the time you spend in college was unlike any other time in your life. That description always stuck with me and inspired me to live my college years as fully and vigorously as I could and to learn as much as possible. I loved the idea that I could study whatever I wanted. I took honors literature courses and fell in love with the Transcendentalist movement, particularly the writings of Emerson and Whitman. In my history courses, I enjoyed studying the American Revolution, particularly the philosophy behind the Federalist Papers and the U.S. Constitution. I took acting classes and joined the opera ensemble. I took weight training, yoga, pilates, and even an aikido class. But my greatest interest was language learning, so I chose to double-major in Linguistics and Spanish.
From a young age, I had my heart set on teaching children and teens. I had been a tutor in reading, math, and writing for several years. I loved teaching more than any other activity (even more than music, or so I thought at the time). I chose Spanish as my target language because it was my favorite (and most challenging) subject in high school. To acquire a new language, you had to remember words, rehearse the pronunciation, get a feel for the grammar, and navigate complex social situations. It felt like the ultimate test of power for the human mind!
Studying Spanish in college was more interesting than I had ever imagined. I wasn't only learning the language, I was learning history, literature, culture, and everything under the sun, and we just happened to be using Spanish in the process. I connected with many interesting classmates and teachers during this time. Also, our Spanish courses emphasized the importance of indigenous peoples throughout the Americas, and this was a point I really took to heart and later on applied to my teaching and in my travels to Latin America.
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​While studying, I also volunteered in public schools. I spent two terms working in a second-grade classroom and chaperoned their field trip to the aquarium on the coast. I spent four terms volunteering in a middle-school Spanish classroom working with small groups and teaching the whole class whenever possible. Volunteering here affirmed that I wanted to be a middle school Spanish teacher. It was my favorite part of the week!
Linguistics gave me a philosophical basis for understanding how the mind learns language. The university's approach was both theoretical and applied, and I felt like I got a good understanding of how to engage my students in learning language by opening their minds to the process. During my freshman year, I even co-authored a publication in a linguistics journal with one of my professors.

​My minor at the university was theatre arts. I took classes in acting, design, theatre history, and vocal performance. I acted in El Soldado Razo, a Luis Valdez play (in a mix of English and Spanish), and performed in The Magic Flute, a Mozart opera (in German), with the opera ensemble. My interest in languages became very useful in singing and vocal performance!
During college, I also wrote and recorded three full-length albums as a singer/songwriter. Life was exciting!
Eventually, I moved into an apartment with a roommate and allowed my college experience to evolve. I had a girlfriend for more than half of my time in college (who I also stayed with through grad school). And I spent a good amount of time sitting by the river, reflecting on life, nature, the mind, and the soul. I re-read my favorite novel, Siddhartha​ by Hermann Hesse, every year.
Everything that happened during my college years was valuable and beautiful. It was meant to prepare me for the future. After finishing my degree, without even taking a summer break, I entered graduate school to get a Masters in Teaching.