The RamPage

5 Years Later: DM Graduate of '07, Cristian Palacios

Monday, June 11, 2012 By Lizeth Tizoc-Perez

It's been half a decade since Desert Mirage High School said good-bye its very first graduating class. The class of 2007, who witnessed our precious school grow and become what it is today, is now only five more years away from coming together once again. And, after last Wednesday's graduation ceremony, one has to wonder, “What happens to all of these people?” because, after all, they were the first graduating class, and it's possible to say they were also the test-run for Desert Mirage. So what actually did happen to DM's class of '07? Well, it's impossible to determine where everyone ended up, and if it is, this reporter is not about to go out and interview everyone . Straight from the horse's mouth, here's what happened to ONE of the many graduates, Cristian Palacios : “ It's been a total of five years since you graduated, what's happened in your life since?” -Well, I started my first year of college, and I pretty much worked half the week and the rest of the week I attended my classes. I began my first year with general education courses, which were pretty easy, since I was already acclimated to the amount of work I had to do. However, overall the experience was altered due to circumstances I had no control of. I had started the process of the AB540 program, which was meant to help me out in school as a California student rather than a foreign one. Although the program did extend a lending hand, I was still not able to afford the fees because I wasn't allowed to work as undocumented. During that year, my car was taken twice by the police. Then, unfortunately, at the end of that year, my father wasn't home anymore, and my house was falling apart. I had to drop out of school and dedicate myself to work, in order to maintain financial stability in my home. Thanks to a good friend of mine, World Financial Group (WFG) was presented to me, then hired me as a sales agent. WFG showed me that you can make it in life without having a degree, it just takes more effort from my part. “ What do you miss the most from your teenage years at Desert Mirage?” -The girls, the sports. And, yeah, that's basically it. Nah, just kidding. I actually miss getting the chance to work out every day and mingle with the close-knit family I built while involved in DM's activities and sports. I also miss the vast amount of freedom I was given as a teen. “ Is there anything you would have liked to have done differently in high school?” -Definitely. I didn't play basketball my senior year, I didn't play football my freshman . I missed a lot not having done that. Also, in high school, my self-esteem was really low as far as my appearance goes. I had a lot of acne, so I missed out on a lot because of that, too. Like, there was always people taking pictures, there were always events for which I was there, but I just didn't get close to the camera. I didn't like taking pictures as much. But now that I'm old, and (I guess, speaking for myself) now that I don't judge based on appearances as much as I used to, I know that I should have taken the opportunity to be part of more pictures. They're just memories that I'll never have proof of. Plus, I was just sports and academics. I would have loved to have done drama or music or something else, basically become more involved in other activities DM had to offer. “ Do you believe your alma mater adequately prepared you for what was waiting for you when you walked across that stage?” -Well, actually, I did notice that coming out of school, I wasn't fully prepared as an undocumented student. That's something I think DM should work on, because the part of the student body that has special situations like mine was, should be taught about the kind of things to be expected. In reality, it's not good enough. I feel that, when we graduate, we have to come out stronger and with the mentality that “oh yeah, anything is possible”, but also that you have to be willing to put in all the necessary effort. You can't just think you're the shit just because you graduated. It takes more than you think to make it in the real world other than all the crap they filled my mind with, telling me how it would be as easy as having a diploma (although no documents) to make it in life. “ What came up in these past few years that you wish you'd been more prepared for in high school?” -Well, life after dropping out was hard because everyone I knew up until then was putting me down about dropping out of college. They'd come up to me and explain how I'd never make it in life if I kept going through that route. I felt it was stupid, cause I thought, “If you're not feeding my family, you really don't have a say in where I go and what I do with my life.” Nobody else is gonna come and pay your bills. I wish I'd learned that it's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and if I didn't look out for myself and my family, nobody was going to. “ Do you have any advice for seniors who recently graduated from Desert Mirage?” -I'd like to say that, if you receive enough financial aid necessary for you to go to school, then you shouldn't have an excuse not to. I have friends that graduated from UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, and UCLA this year. These guys, they've had it made with scholarships and grants that they received to continue on to college. I mean, if I had had it made like that, this would be a completely different story, but that's just not the way it was and I've had to deal with it. So, if you have that opportunity, you better take care of it and not take it for granted. “ They say the college experience is the most memorable experience one encounters. What do you have to say to this?” -Yeah, they say it's the best four years of your life, but ask a few teachers around campus. Can they really tell you that those years that it takes to become a teacher were the best four years of their lives? Most of them would say it was the bomb, that they had the most amazing time, but then there are those who won't. Because those are the ones who, like I said, didn't have it made. Those are the ones that will say, “No, I had two jobs, I had many classes, I had to wake up at this time, I had to be doing this, this, this, and that.” Are you really gonna expect them to tell you it was absolutely free and not stressing? I just think that, even if I had continued on to college, it would have been more financially stressing than it already was when I started my first year at COD. “ Up until now, do you feel you're a good example for future DM generations?” -Yes, I feel I'm a good example. I mean, look at what I've been able to do. I graduated high school undocumented and now I'm a successful businessman. I dropped out of college but busted my ass in order to get my family through tough times. I think I've set a good example so far for those who aren't fortunate enough to be in a good economic situation. And one last word of advice from Cris to all of those who think they need citizenship to reach their dreams: “No matter your circumstances, anything and EVERYTHING is possible is you work hard.”