Everyone sees everything differently. It’s something that I have realized during my time in high school. There is this tendency that some people notice things that other people happen to brush off.

Hey, my name is Erixon “LeGOAT” Fulgencio, and I am currently a junior at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School. I’ve been offered to start and create my own column, called, Erixon’s Eye.

While in school, you get the chance to interact with so many different students, with their own unique mind, voice, and experiences. In this column, I basically want to share some of my own experiences and the way I saw them, whether it be times I procrastinated, stressed over a test, played basketball, reached world-level robotics competitions, or anything in between, with a hope that readers are able to relate to some of those experiences as well.

Whether it’s about the usage of AI in the classroom or hitting imaginary game winning shots, I want Erixon’s Eye to display my own experiences and perspective about various topics, through the lens of my own “eye.” For me, one of the clearest moments of facing the unknown happened through Early College.

You’ve taken a big jump in high school. Or, maybe a heavier load. But, you’ve decided to tackle the Early College Program. Immediately, you feel lost. Doing all of the paperwork, understanding the deadlines. An unfamiliar topic, comes with even more unfamiliar words and phrases like, “dual-credit,” “LCC,” and tons more. It gets even worse when you start your first day of class, feeling heavily unprepared or ready, but this is a common experience amongst many people who take a jump into the unknown.

Sticking into your comfort zone is often the biggest factor in what limits you, from your own experiences and potential. Something that I constantly think of and what I’ve noticed is that not only in school, but in life, and even for myself, we tend to quit something and give up when it gets uncomfortable. The unknown casts this sense of worry and doubt, that can be hard to shake off. 

When I first signed up for Early College, I honestly had no idea what to expect from it. I immediately was scared. I doubted myself every step of the way, whether or not I did this correctly, or even the small things like, wondering if I put the right phone number in, or if I spelled my own name correctly.

It didn’t get any easier when I started my first Early College course, being IS (Introduction to College) 103. I was still lingering with doubts of my own abilities, but I noticed something was changing. As the semester progressed, and I got used to the flow of work, that sense of discomfort and doubt slowly washed away. 

And as the years passed, while there was still this sense of unknown, I began to feel confident in the work I was producing, the courses I took, and finally building this sense of clarity on my goals. 

By reaching out of my own comfort zone, I was able to build a positive purpose to something, like my academics. Doing so has let me build this sense of confidence, and belief that I’m able to do uncomfortable things, and still make the most out of it.

And as a fellow student, I felt like I’ve had to “lock in” multiple times. Other times I’ve felt this unknown while learning anything new in class. The urge to pull out my phone and look up the answers, just to simply be right rather than learn and be confused, is no stranger to me.

But, if you take that leap. That leap to experience the pressure of unknown and doubt, you may discover something new about yourself, something that you may never get the chance to see if you don’t.