April 10, 2024
Natassia Lucero '23
Submitted by Natassia Lucero '23
Who I was before, that is where the story begins. I was 21 years old when I unexpectedly found out I was going to be a mom. I was 22 years years old when I gave birth to my twin sons. Nothing stayed the same after that. Their dad did not want to be a father, he and I then split up, leaving me alone in our home that I could not afford. I worked hard, saved up for a little one bedroom off Ventura’s infamous, “Avenue” that was nestled in the hills of Ventura, but had a reputation for being a sketchy, and sometimes, dangerous part of town. I kept working, aimless and unhappy in my career as a banker, and struggling to be a single mom to two young toddlers. Eventually, I found my way back to completing my AA degree at Ventura College, but as life happens, I was now a mother to five kids, and very preoccupied with family life as a stay at home mother. The unthinkable happened when six years later, I discovered myself starting over yet again as a single mother, but now with my hands very full. Being out of the work force for so long meant I was to start all over again at a minimum wage job, and there I was, in a call center, finding myself lost in a sea of despair. I was wanting more, but I did not know how to start, where to start, to make that initial change. Leading to my next thought, the universe is a strange, wondrous place. I have heard people say, put positive energy you want out there, so it will come back to you. Well, one day, when getting the mail at home, I received an advertisement for the Professionals Program at California Lutheran University. I held onto that paper for a bit, and as I do, I pondered all the things that one person, five kids, single mom, pretty financially destitute, thinks to talk themselves out of such grandiose ideas. There was no time, I told myself. There was no money, I told myself. My mom did not even finish junior high school, and my own father skimmed by in life with just a high school diploma. The stage was set, but still, as a seed that has been buried in the ground, the thought of higher education seemed to awaken something slumbering in me. It was desire. I desired to be more, to have more, than the situation I was in, and that in itself bloomed to possibility. With this new sense of possibility, I attended the orientation, gathered all my documents from Ventura College for transfer, and braced myself for impact. There was no way in telling if California Lutheran would have me. I was older, somewhat wiser, but not your typical college student on so many levels. Well, it only takes one moment to change your entire life. One of these moments is when I received my acceptance letter from California Lutheran University. I remember that day, feeling as if I had just opened a very heavy door and was finally able to see what was on the other side. It was me. A new me, with more to offer herself, her kids, and the world. Possibility gives way to opportunity, and opportunity gives way to hope and change. With hope anything can be achieved, even if the road ahead can be a weary one to journey on, and for this I am glad to keep pushing forward for betterment as a student in California Lutheran University’s Professional’s Program.