Chris Avila
salesman
“Eating on campus. When I was in school, the food wasn’t good at all.”
Chris Cavazos
plumber
“Every first day of school, all of the fights with my mom about laundry, shoes, food, and so on.”
Garrett Rice
youth minister
“It was the first day of school at Pioneer Valley High School. My dad gave me and my cousin a ride to school in his pick-up truck, and we threw our backpacks in the bed. After he dropped us off, I went to get my backpack and he thought he was clear and started driving away, but he ran over my foot and I screamed like a loser in front of the school.”
Brendan Marshall
annoying little brother
“It was my first day at college, and I tried talking with my roommate—making jokes and everything. But he wouldn’t say anything. Turns out, his dad died, and he was just super depressed.”
This article appears in Aug 26 – Sep 2, 2010.