I’m a New York City College of Technology freshman student who is studying hospitality management. To be honest, my interest is to be an event’ planner. I want to be an event planner because I enjoy bringing people surprises and happiness. I think I can fit into this category because one of my character trade is that I’m a humorous person and I always have creative ideas, with this strength I can plan a lot of unforgettable events for my customers.  Another reason why I choose to study hospitality management is that in this industry we can explore a lot of different area with this opportunity I can figure out what I really want to be when I grow up. I am expecting in the next four years I learn how to communicate in a professional way.

It’s More than a Burger

High school is always a turning point in life. When I was a high school senior, I thought it was cool to be a wise guy. I was always getting into the teacher’s bad side. One of the things that every high school senior has been that they don’t care. They thought they worked hard in the past three years. So now they become wiser and cut school. I had done the same thing, but I liked to go to McDonald afterward for a fast burger. I liked to eat it fast because I was scared that police would catch me, so I never taste the real burger. For me at that age, just means it is fast food. I was one of those students because I thought I was getting into college. Now I didn’t have to care about anything. We have a sense that college only looks for your junior grade, so even though I did badly in my senior year, no one is going to care.

As a high school graduate, the most interesting thing is going to your dream college to register. The transition from a senior to freshmen, again everything looks new to you. The first time I walked into New York City College of Technology was in June. I was going to register. As I passed through the hallway, I saw the difference between a college and a high school. In high school, we are not allowed to use the bathroom after class because they are afraid that students were going to hide in the bathroom and cut class. In college, you can see people sit on the floor in a chair, and holding their laptop and trying to do their work. Here, they care about their work. In high school students try to avoid their teachers. That’s the difference between colleges and a high school student. After registration, I was hungry my friend, and I decided to go Shake Shack. Shake Shack, it is a fast food place and its one of the most famous restaurant in New York. I never thought about this visit would change my life, I thought it just a burger before I walked in and I couldn’t believe that it is right next to City Tech. I guess the next four years I’m going to eat Shake Shack once a week

When I first walked in the restaurant, I can smell the beef already. But more importantly it is a different kind of smell. I can feel I don’t have to rush like I used to when I was in high school. After my friend and I had sat, we ordered two burgers. While I was waiting online, I had realized that my past is a mess. I was always a wise guy who just tried to get through everything with a minimum of work, Especially in my high school senior year. I was always late to class. Sometimes I cut class too because I thought senior years isn’t important at all.  People told me that they only look for your junior grade, so I was lazy to do work and hand in late. But after I thought about it when I was still waiting online, that’s stupid. If you get a good grade in the junior year, and all the sudden you’re grade now is so low it just makes you look you’re an irresponsible person and makes you look bad.  But now there is a chance for me to change, and I’m a grown man. I need responsibilities. Also, we are paid to learn, we need to be patient and do things more carefully like waiting in a long line in Shake Shack. After all, you get what you want. The first time when I hold it in my hand, the softness of the burger felt like a little babies face. It was different from McDonald.  I can’t remember how a burger tastes probably because I was cutting school and feeling guilty. Sometimes food’s taste is bases on your mood, and now I agree with that. The melting cheese from the burger was getting everywhere. You can clearly see that the shiny oil on top of the bread makes you want to take a bite.  If I was younger, I might just eat as quick as possible but now I’m tasting the burger slowly. I’m not rushing. I’m not afraid of the police like I used to. My first taste feels like breaking into few layers. The softness of the bread and the hardness of the beef and also the fluid cheese was one of the big moments. It feels like tasting different stages of life and all the memories pop up my mind like reminding me to be a different person.

After all, it is not about the burgers but the meaning behind it. I figure out who I want to be and how I present myself as a grown man. For me, it’s symbolizing as a college student. What happens in the high school should stay in high school. I’m a grown man now, not a teenager anymore I don’t need a fast and furious life that I had before. I guess after this meal; I figure it out who I’m. I’m here to learn, to become a better person. I’m paying for my future. I can not let the laziness bring me down anymore. In high school, we cut school we don’t do homework, and we can still pass. But in college we pay for our classes, and I don’t want a passing grade, I want a better grade, I have to try my best to earn an A. If your absence certain times it means automatic fail. In college, a failing grade is more than you thought. You have to face a lot of problems. You may need to repeat the course and to pay for it. It’s going to appear on your transcript when you apply for jobs. If a company sees it, they might think that you’re not a reliable or irresponsible person. Therefore, they might not hire you. For me, this meal is a transition between a teenager to a man.