My Personal Journey to Peace and Self-Reliance

This was one of the few summers that I didn’t really have to do much in terms of school. I’ve tutored the last three summers and I’ve taken a summer class or two. However, the only classes I need in order to get my BA are all upper-division now—and can’t be taken during summer. So, I say all this to make this grand statement: I’ve had nothing to do this summer.

I caught up on some reading for pleasure (The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison is a great book!), but most of my time during the day was still uneventful. Rather than boring myself to death, I did something I would never imagined I’d do: I started going to the gym.

In the beginning, I would go to the gym three days a week, which I thought was more than enough. I followed a full-body routine, and by the end of each workout, I was trenched, tired, fatigued—but I felt good. I kept with this routine for another two weeks before moving on to four days a week.

           It wasn’t long before I noticed this newfound energy I had. I started to do other things that I would never had expected myself doing, such as doing laundry, cooking for myself, washing the dishes, and other at-home tasks that are simple in nature but are still things that most people don’t care to do.

          By doing these things, I’ve discovered a kind of independence that you don’t often learn about in college classes. By taking care of myself (and my immediate surroundings), I no longer feel like I need something to be happy, to be fulfilled. Admittedly, some days were a hit-or-miss for me, meaning that there were days I would be happy or unreasonably (and questionably) sad about whatever. However, my outlook has changed on many things. I plan on continuing my personal journey of achieving self-reliance and independence, for I am realizing Ralph Waldo Emerson’s simple yet wise words in that “nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”

By Ernie Reyes, WRC Tutor, Fresno State Student