ON THE BLUFF EN ROUTE
It Is Up to You PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEVONNA BEGAY
Thoughts from a Graduating Senior
FOUR YEARS AGO, with two suitcases in hand, I left for college from my home on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. I’d only had three previous experiences on an airplane. At the time I had my vision set on becoming a police officer and returning to the Navajo Nation to work in law enforcement. I’d watched the animated movie Zootopia in 2016, and I felt like Officer Hopps, the bunny rabbit police officer, coming from a small town to the big city, Portland. I also shared the same dream of becoming a cop and, like her, I was very scared. I did not know what I was getting myself into. I am fortunate enough to speak and understand my native language. Many people my age and younger do not. I was raised with Navajo traditional maternal and paternal grandparents. They all only speak Navajo and do not speak or understand English. Both of my parents taught me Navajo and English at the same time. Hearing the language day in and day out, being immersed in it, I eventually became fluent. My parents have both also taught me traditional practices and beliefs. One of the main teachings that got me to where I am today is the saying T’áá hwó ají t’éego. This phrase, instilled in Navajo teachings, means “It is up to you.” My parents have always supported my
6
PORTLAND
decisions, but they knew I had to want them. I had to apply to college, file my own FAFSA, advocate for myself, etc. This teaches people that nothing is just going to be given to you in life—you have to go get what you want. You are in control of your future, make it what you want. For this reason, I left for college because I believed having a degree would open up more opportunities for me. I always knew I was from a family that valued education, even if I did not know the opportunities it would give me. When I was very young, my mother taught me at home. I lived in a rural location where I did not have access to running water or electricity. At the time, my mother was obtaining her associate degree and would have to drive about two hours to get class materials, and she would also get us books. She taught me and my sisters how to write our names by tracing and teaching us the alphabet and numbers. One distinct memory that I have from my elementary school years was preparing the trail between my home and the bus stop before the beginning of the school year. My father would remove shrubs and bushes so we could know where we were walking with our flashlights in the dark hours of the morning
to make it to the bus stop on time. We would have to walk to the bus at 5 a.m. for a little over a mile. Every day for several years we made this trek just to get to school. Now that I look back, I see that my parents did so much for me, and I know I will never be able to repay them for what they have done to help me get to where I am. In the summer of 2016, I attended a summer college preparation program for Native American students. The program is called College Horizons, and this is where I learned about the scholarship— the Davis New Mexico scholarship—that has helped me pay for college for the past four years. My counselors encouraged me to apply, so I did, not knowing what opportunities it would bring me. One day I came home, and my mom had mail for me. I knew it had to be something good because it was in a large envelope. When I opened it, confetti came out, and my mother and I read the letter that announced I was a Davis New Mexico Scholar! Receiving the Davis New Mexico scholarship was the ticket that would allow me to leave the reservation and see places that I had only dreamed of seeing. I am part of the first cohort to graduate from UP, and I have enjoyed
