Life lessons are like a time capsule — every one of them holds a memory of the past.
As people grow up and adapt to various chapters of life, little pieces of every fleeting moment follow them. It often isn’t until one reaches a pivotal time that they realize all the little things that brought them there.
Junior Viviana Hernandez said the triumphs and hardships she went through her first couple of years in college taught her a valuable life lesson.
“The best life lesson I have learned from my first year at Pepperdine to now is to love yourself unconditionally,” Hernandez said. “Goodness, I think of that girl freshman year that started, and in so many areas of my life, I feel so disconnected and different from her.”
Entering Adulthood
Hernandez said she came into Pepperdine with different priorities than she has now.
“When I first started college, I really only cared about what outfit I was going to wear to class and who I would talk to walking back to the dorms,” Hernandez said. “I was worried about boys and friend drama constantly during freshman year. Now, especially after being in Washington D.C., this semester, I am focused on my career, my friends, my goals.”
Once she found her core group of friends — the ones who never judged her and welcomed her for who she was — Hernandez said she was able to embrace her true self. Going into her senior year, Hernandez said she is happy she knows who she can lean on for support.
“I am a better human being today because of these women [her friends] and their love,” Hernandez said.
Coming into college, junior Claire Everbach said the move from Texas to California was a culture shock. She was unsure what to expect and had an undeclared major. She said she chose to be a Psychology major on a whim and joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.
“The adjustment in and of itself is a lot for an 18-year-old to take on,” Everbach said.
Living on her own for the first time and trying to find her passion, it wasn’t until halfway into her sophomore year that Everbach decided to take the plunge and switch her major to Communication with a minor in Journalism. She said she was then determined to get involved in something that brought her closer to a community with similar career goals, so she joined the campus news show, NewsWaves.
“Before that, I didn’t really have a place at Pepperdine where I felt like I was doing something,” Everbach said. “From an outside perspective, it would be a little daunting, but now that I’m definitely in that community, and I’ve worked my way up on NewsWaves, I definitely see a lot of personal growth that has happened.”
Everbach has now held multiple positions on NewsWaves: associate reporter, entertainment reporter, field reporter, producer and anchor.
Entering a new place where senior Annika Huckeba had to pave a new path was unfamiliar to navigate, she said. Growing up, Huckeba said she always shared everything with her sisters, and college taught her to seek companionship in her faith.
“The first time in my life that I was ever alone was college, and I just had the sense of like, ‘Oh my gosh, I am so alone in this whole little world, and I feel so small and so little’ and all these things,” Huckeba said. “I think that time is when I learned God has to be your number one best friend.”
Senior Dave Lee said his initial idea of college was completely different from what he experienced once he got to Pepperdine. He said a lot of his expectations fit what he had seen college to be like in movies.
“Especially after the first year being COVID, I was so excited to come into Pepperdine that fall and just be exposed to so many people, but it wasn’t really the case,” Lee said.
The first few weeks on campus were challenging for Lee. He said he felt alone and confused because he was stuck in a cycle of comparing his experience to his friends’ experiences at more “common” colleges.
“Then, I learned that — meeting people — it’s sort of like a virus,” Lee said. “Like, you meet some people, and then you meet their friends, and you meet their friends’ friends. I remember it just got to one point where I was just meeting so many people, and that was awesome.”
Immersing himself into the Pepperdine community through socialization helped Lee accept that he was going to have his own college lifestyle, and that led him to adjust his expectations for the next two years.
“The first stage was being almost envious or jealous of the other schools,” Lee said. “But then, I shifted to appreciating and noticing the things that are unique about Pepperdine.”
Claiming an Identity
Amid the changes that came with college, Everbach said she was timid. The adjustment felt overwhelming at times, and it took a while to break out of her shell.
“I was super shy,” Everbach said. “I’d say even insecure.”
When it became imperative that she branch out and form relationships with those around her, Everbach said she felt a change within her.
“It taught me the lesson of being open-minded and being inclusive and curious about other people,” Everbach said. “I also think independence is definitely something that I’ve picked up on a lot freshman year and in the last three years.”
She said each year at Pepperdine has acted as a stepping stone leading her to her true self.
“If I told freshman-year me that I was in the position I am, yeah, I don’t think she would believe me,” Everbach said.
As Lee tried to find friends at Pepperdine, he said he joined an investment group and a business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, to help himself feel more connected to the life he wanted to live after he graduated.
“I found a passion, or a desire, for that [finance], which I really liked,” Lee said. “So, I’d say, my sophomore and junior years, Iliked to spend a lot of time with the Investment Club, and I was really inspired by people coming in and building a community.”
Practicing how to learn from others and how to share his own knowledge is a skill Lee said he is grateful to have developed.
Finding a sense of security within herself wasn’t necessarily easy, Hernandez said. She has had to remind herself not to care what others think about her in order to develop a stronger sense of confidence, even though, in the moment, it feels difficult.
“Sometimes, showing yourself self-love is showing yourself tough love,” Hernandez said.
Having a tight-knit circle she can count on has given Huckeba a hand in finding herself throughout college. She said unconditional love has meant a lot.
“I have made friends here in college who have seen me and loved me through really awful things but also have just made me feel seen — so seen and loved — more so than any friends I have ever had in the past,” Huckeba said.
At the same time, Huckeba said she constantly reminds herself that her worth and identity rely on her relationship with herself and God rather than external validation.
“I didn’t even know if my daily experiences were happening or were real because there was no one there to experience them with me,” Huckeba said. “I almost needed someone to validate my existence.”
Now, she said she appreciates life because “it is a real experience, and God is experiencing it with me.”
Looking Ahead
Starting fall 2024, Everbach will be a graduating senior. She said she knows she will have to start the job search, be mindful of the classes she’s taking, decide where to live and transition into an entirely new phase of life.
“I feel very mature, but I also am not ready to graduate — and I don’t necessarily want to either,” Everbach said.
Still, Everbach said she knows it is inevitable, so she is trying to live in the present moment and soak in the time she has left. Having settled into being this confident, social person at Pepperdine, the idea of having to start over again brings mixed emotions.
“The closer I get, it’s like the less ready I start to feel,” Everbach said.
Huckeba said she feels the same way at times.
“I’m scared to leave the people at Pepperdine,” Huckeba said. “I am so deeply grateful for the community around me.”
The idea of leaving behind the people Huckeba said have shaped her into who she is today is emotional. Her friendships at Pepperdine have been the most important thing to her so far in her life, and she will carry them into her future.
“I’ve learned what friendship looks like in college more than I ever had in my entire life,” Huckeba said. “I learned what it looks like to work through things, to love people in a deep way, to love each other through our faults, to celebrate with each other, to laugh, to cry, to dance. To do every human emotion together and to actively choose to do it together in such a deep and beautiful way.”
Huckeba is studying to be a doctor — a profession she hopes to use to help those in need.
“I want to go to med school for four years and do my residency, and then I want to spend the rest of my life giving away all those skills and things I’ve learned for free in every way I can,” Huckeba said.
Lee said he wants to go into finance after graduation, and he isn’t afraid of the unknown or change, even if he will miss the consistency he has had at Pepperdine.
“I always feel like Pepperdine sort of sheltered me into this comfortable and very nice place,” Lee said. “And, breaking away from that — I know it’ll be uncomfortable — but I know that I’ll grow from it a lot. I’m excited, and I do feel ready and prepared.”
Believing in oneself is the best form of self-care, Hernandez said. As long as she is happy with who she is, that is what matters because she will always be there for herself.
“The best advice I have received is simply to just let them,” Hernandez said. “Let them leave. Let them choose someone else. Let them say what they are going to say about you. Let them, and don’t let it harden your heart.”
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Follow the Graphic on Twitter: @PeppGraphic
Contact Liza Esquibias by email: liza.esquibias@pepperdine.edu
