As the year of 2013 came to an end, I can surely reflect that there were multiple life-changing moments that had happened over one of the most important years of my life.

1. The day I found Markiplier

One of the most important things that happened was I stumbled over a gaming-related YouTube channel. The YouTuber was called Markiplier, and he was one of the most influential people to me as a gamer. I subscribed to him and watched all of his videos for they were hilarious and I absolutely loved his personality. But then he released some videos that didn’t have any games at all. Instead, he was talking to his followers and in one particular video he talked about his harsh life and why he loved gaming so much and his reason for starting a YouTube channel. That video had impacted me so much because I’ve been told my gaming hobby had served no purpose and was completely useless and wouldn’t get me anywhere in life. But for people like Markiplier, it did get him somewhere, and he said as long as you were passionate and dedicated, you can make a difference just being a gamer. Markiplier’s gaming stream has raised over $100,000 towards charity, and that’s something to be proud of. And because of him, I have a little more faith that maybe I could do something like that in the future.

2. The class at the Boston Convention

Besides gaming, I have a passion for writing and Journalism. So when I went to the JEA Boston Convention in November, many things happened that changed how I write and how I go about publishing an issue and managing a website. In Boston, I took numerous classes to try and expand my knowledge about the press and writing. But I thought I had a pretty good idea about how powerful writing really was, but I’ll never forget how much it hit home when I walked into to an ad-selling class. An ad-selling class, I mean come on, I was so caught off-guard by our instructor named Nora, I thought she would get right into how to market our products but she started off by telling story about herself in high school. She was saying how she had been elected homecoming queen but didn’t have a date. So her mother made her brother take her, and this yearbook editor whom didn’t really get along with her took a picture of her dancing with her brother and put into the yearbook. Nora confronted her thirty years later at a reunion about the yearbook. That’s when she took my hand and talked to me as if I was the yearbook editor; “Thank you so much for putting that in the yearbook, my brother passed away years ago, and that is one of the very few pictures I have of him,” and then a tear swifty passed down her cheek. There were tears in my eyes and then she smiled and began to address the class once more. That moment really hit me; because that’s when I realized that Journalism is so much more meaningful than I had ever known.

3. The day I turned 18

.Another life-changing moment, was turning 18 over Winter Break. Usually I shrug off my birthdays because they don’t have value to me. But I’m legally an adult now, and reality hit me when I realized I’d be moving away from my parents shortly after I graduate–and there’s only a semester left of school.

4. The week I spent with Andrew

One the best things of my life happened over August. I had been in a long-distance relationship for over three years. My significant other is Andrew, and he’s from Australia. We met over a video game, and eventually we decided there was more meaning to our friendship and we started dating. He came up to California for the first time to pick me up for school. I remember the first moment I saw him–I was filled with so much excitement and joy it was almost surreal. I ran up and jumped into his arms (someone in Journalism saw it all) and we didn’t stop embracing each other for what it seemed to be a year, but it was probably ten minutes. I realized how much I loved him from the week we spent together, about how much a good relationship could mean.

5. The day I left Mom behind

Lastly, and also unfortunately the decaying connection to Mom finally ended, and that changed my life. We had a harsh mother-daughter relationship over the years, and my sister warned me of trying to fix our problems, for my Mom didn’t care enough. She had been cold and rejecting towards my sister and I, but I had always believed I could make her care for us. Unfortunately, after one weekend of hell, things have finally boiled over and I came to the realization that not every person can have a relationship with both of their parents. This particular weekend, she had picked me up and as soon as I opened the door to her van I was already met with her criticisms.

“What are you wearing? You need to do something with your hair, and your nails are long. Why aren’t you wearing makeup?”

I rolled my eyes. It was going to be one of THOSE car rides. I put my laptop in the backseat and in that car ride she ended up screaming at me so much, I told her I put up so much and all she gives me is crap. We ended up turning around after she told me I was a mistake and she couldn’t wait till I was 18 so she didn’t have to worry about child support. It was that moment when I realize that my Dad and sister had cared for me far more than she did, and I didn’t need my biological mother to move on in life, if anything my sister was more of a mom to me than Mom. Ever since that car ride months ago, I have not spoken with my mother since and I have been perfectly fine.

by KALEEN SINGH