C.M.

Christopher Mendez

“When I first came to Community, a senior and a sophomore in our forum took me under their wing. I think they did most of the heavy lifting — they always sought me out and went out of their way to make me feel included and cared for. I care about them, but I feel like my personal journey of growth was more influenced by other things — mainly my relationship with someone who doesn’t go here. I’m not in a relationship with them anymore, but I’d say we’re still close friends. I feel like my relationship with that person has really shaped me as a person. Back in middle school, I really didn’t really know how to interact with people in a compassionate way and I think I was a little egotistical. I had a bit of a superiority complex because I felt like I was pretty aware of what was going on around me — I had a good understanding of things that people didn’t expect me to have an understanding of. Since then, I’ve learned how to be more considerate and thoughtful. I’ve learned how to listen to other people better, and how to be supportive. I’ve learned to be more in tune and in control of my emotions, and am a calmer person than I was in middle school. I’ve also gotten better at having deep conversations with people, but I’m bad at forming initial connections and having engaging light conversations. I struggle with that. And, I need to figure out what I want to do with myself professionally. I just know that I want to do something that helps people.”