I’ve never liked the first day of school, no matter how many of them I’ve had – and I have had way too many during my college career. I will never understand how people can be excited for early morning classes, homework and tests.

This first day of school was different though. I didn’t have a single class yet I spent most of my day on campus working at a job I never thought I’d have, in a field I never thought I’d be in and I will admit it wasn’t that bad.

After transferring universities, changing my major three times I am not ecstatic about the restart of classes, but I am also not dreading it. The biggest change is that I am actually doing and learning something that I love. And that is what my advice would be to any and every student, freshman or senior – do something you love and enjoy the time you have in college.

The dream is to do something you love and get paid for it but, sometimes, we get scared away from what we enjoy because it might not be financially sustainable. If you are educated you can do anything and earn a good lifestyle no matter the profession. The trick comes in how hard you are willing to work to make whatever your choice is financially sustainable.

It’s not an easy thing to do. It took me years to figure out what exactly I wanted to do and how I wanted to spend the next 60-to-70 years of my life. Even when I’m done with my degree there is no guarantee I will be doing what I love. But that just goes back to how hard we are all willing to work.

Going back to making the decision, that’s where being patient and enjoying your time at UTEP comes into play. I’m not going to endorse spending more time than you need in college, but I would not recommend speeding through the road to graduation either. It’s a time to make mistakes and bad choices, as long as you learn from them. It’s a time to explore the different options in order to make of the most important decisions of our life.

It took me a lot longer than I would have liked but I think I made the right choice after many mistakes and that’s how I ended up at The Prospector.  And this time might be my last first day of school.

With the beginning of a new school year comes the beginning of a new year for The Prospector, a year that is quite important. After the university celebrated its 100 years of existence, it is this publication’s turn to celebrate its centennial. This will be the one-hundredth year in which The Prospector has served as a way to inform UTEP’s student body, from the point of view of the students.

Starting out as a monthly magazine, The Prospector has now turned into a weekly newspaper with daily online publications.   

We strive to inform students about anything and everything that may have an impact on their lives, from the new basketball signings to the prices at the new cafeteria. We want to write about issues that will interest you because not only do we want to inform you but be a voice for you.

At The Prospector, we want to know what students are thinking, what they are interested in and what they think about our work. We want this to be a place with which students can identify and feel comfortable with.

There are various ways in which students can interact and play an important role with this newspaper. Every reporter and editor is just a phone call or email away. Questions or concerns about stories and ideas on issues that would be interesting to read about will always be welcome here. At the bottom of every story you read, either online or in print, there is an email address where every reporter can be reached.

Luis Gonzalez may be reached a [email protected].