It was 2010, and I was fresh out of high school. I was excited about college even though I had no idea what to major in. I kept changing my mind.

Ani, my good luck charm
It was the Summer of 2010 and I was 18 years old and I had just got accepted to Cal State Northridge. It was the only school I applied to because my parents were against me moving away. Sometimes I wonder what if I did apply to some prestigious college. How would my life be different right now? There’s no point to that though because it’s too late now. There’s nothing wrong with CSUN but maybe I could’ve done something different with my life or had more opportunities.

I spent the first year of college trying to figure out what to major in. I knew what my interest was but I knew that my interest would not get me a job. I loved theater and I spent seven years in the performing arts. I also understood that I was not very talented in the performing arts. Even though I didn’t want to be in front of the audience and preferred to direct the play, I still felt like it was a long shot. My family kept saying don’t waste your time doing something that you can’t find a job in. So first year of college, I got a job at a toy store and I went and spoke to a lot of counselors about different majors. I didn’t really have anybody in my family that I could go to because at the time most of my family didn’t have an education or only graduated from a trade school. They didn’t even understand what a bachelor’s degree was and I didn’t either. Sometimes God is watching out for us and we don’t even know it. I’m so grateful that I went and I got my degree instead of going to a trade school. I didn’t really know how to handle college or financial aid or anything like that and I just learned as it all came and tried my best. My mom was a big supporter of my education. My dad was just concerned about what time I was supposed to be home to try to control me and know exactly what I’m doing.

I had this friend from high school that also went to Cal State Northridge, her name was Ani. I always remember her big round eyes. I don’t keep in touch with her anymore but I used to call her my lucky charm. We were never that close but in college, we started hanging out more. She told me about how much she loved editing films. When she would talk about the film industry her eyes would widen up. We had a sociology class together along with our other friend, Marlon. It was a class full of maybe I don’t know 200 students. The assignment for the class was to go out and find a location and watch people. I actually don’t even remember what we were supposed to do but I know that Ani and I teamed up. For some reason, we decided to choose Ventura Boulevard as our observation place. We were on the corner of Ventura and Woodley and there is this carousel in the center of the shopping center. Ani wanted to ride the carousel so we asked the attendant where we can get a ticket. They pointed us to the hidden toy store in the corner of the shopping center. The toy store was buried away and it’s funny because I’ve lived near that place all my life and I had no idea it existed. So we walked into the toy store and I noticed the mood rings on the counter. I use to love mood rings and the only place I could ever find them as a child was in Las Vegas. Every time I went to Las Vegas with my family, I would go to one of their magic shops and I would get a mood ring and I would wear the crap out of it. Lo and behold there is a toy store 10 minutes away from where I live that carries so many mood rings. At the time I was also looking for a job. I ended up getting a job at the toy store and I always thank Ani because she really wanted to ride that carousel. The toy story changed my life in so many good and bad ways.

Love,

Frshta