Episode 039 - "Conversations with Recent Graduates"

Jaime interviews recent graduates.  They discussed their feelings about graduation and what they expect in the coming year.  Joaquin graduated High School in May 2025 and Lyanna graduated with her 2nd Bachelor's Degree in Nursing also in May 2025.

• Joaquin talks about what he expects in his first year in college.
• Tailgates, Football Games
• Lyanna talks about what she expects in her first year as a nurse.
• 12-hours shifts

Transcript

Jaime: 0:15

If by some chance, some stroke of luck, or some act of God, you have stumbled upon this broadcast, you are listening to the Chivalry Chronicles with your host, Dr. DLH.

DLH: 0:29

Damn doctor.

Joaquin: 0:31

David, we're gonna bring the tea use to not drink during the podcast.

Jaime: 0:35

Yeah. And me, Jaime. They need to make uh podcast equipment a lot more expensive to get some of these clowns off the air. Gather around as we discuss a modern manly approach to chivalry. So I hope you're ready, because I know we are. So let's get into it. Yeah, and we're back. We're sitting here talking to Joaquin Noriega and Liana Noriega. Joaquin just graduated from high school, he's class of 2025, and we'll be attending. Where will you be going, Joaquin, next year?

Joaquin: 1:18

AM, but blend for for one year and AM for the rest of my years.

Jaime: 1:23

Okay. And Liana just graduated with her second bachelor's from Texas AM in nursing. And what's in store for you, Liana?

Lyanna: 1:34

Starting my residency program.

Jaime: 1:37

Okay. So we thought, let's get on here and talk about what we expect our next year. And then that way, when they hear it next year, they'll be like, man, it didn't go the way I thought it would. You know, because everything changes. So, Joaquin, you just graduated from high school. How was graduation? What did you feel differently? I know we we videoed your tattoo on Friday. You graduated Saturday. So those are those are like rites of passage. Those are two big rites of passage, I think, for for someone of your age, I guess. So tell us, do you feel any different now that you got a tattoo? Do you feel any different now that you've graduated, you have a diploma, you have no more high school? Tell us what's going on.

Joaquin: 2:21

No, I don't really feel different after the tattoo. It's I'm sure, yeah, I'm taking care of it like after care and everything. About high school, it didn't really feel that much different. Like it just felt like I was just walking the stage. Like it hasn't really clicked in yet that I have like graduated and headed off to college.

Jaime: 2:40

When when do you think it'll kick in? I know it usually every year you end the school year and then you have all summer. Do you think it'll click in like when you move in to to uh to your dorm or when do you think?

Joaquin: 2:54

I think yeah, I think it'll it'll click in on moving day. Like as soon as we step foot in the apartment.

Jaime: 3:01

Okay. So and on that note, like what do you expect your freshman year in college? Like, what do you think? And then we have someone here that just went to, you know, had a freshman year like five years ago. So what do you think? What do you expect? How do you think it's gonna be different from high school? You know, what what are you thinking?

Joaquin: 3:20

Probably like for sure a lot more studying with the classes I'm taking. So I don't really have time for like, oh, I don't really have time. Oh, extracurricular things, like I feel I feel like I should I should just be studying. Like I of course I need like personal time, like in the gym and stuff, but for sure school will be the main the main priority.

Jaime: 3:45

You think that'll be the main priority? Can we you know record this and then send it over to your to your uh voicemail in about 10 months? Like, where's Joaquin? I don't know, he just left to another party. So tell tell what so you went to Northgate, right? When we went to Liana's graduation, you went to Northgate. Tell me about that. Like it was the first time actually going to Northgate with a bunch of college kids. What was that like?

Joaquin: 4:14

It was it was nice, it was pretty fun. Like it it it let me see like the college station I don't know, environment or like energy? Yeah, night like how it is during the day and how it is at night. Like it's different.

Jaime: 4:28

Like so did was anybody like how did people interact with you, like other people you didn't know, of course, you know. Did they you know, were they cool? And you know, when you're walking in, I mean, did how was that like yeah?

Joaquin: 4:42

They were like super, super welcoming.

Jaime: 4:44

Okay.

Joaquin: 4:45

Yeah. I just felt like oh, these are these are people like I would want to hang out with.

Jaime: 4:51

Okay. And Liana, going to Northgate with your little brother, what was that like? Was that surreal? I mean, would I know because you were like, let's go. So I mean, how did you feel about it?

Lyanna: 5:05

I was really excited. I think just because I love Northgate and not just for the bars on the street, but because everybody is so nice and you can just tell that it's it's a place where you feel safe and everybody is your kind of same age. And I also wanted him to meet my friends and kind of see what a night out looks like. But I'm really glad that he got to meet everybody and that he blended in super well. And I also just wanted him to get a layout of you know, the bars, kind of where to go, where not to go, and then also drinking with generational aggies. Well, that was afterwards.

Jaime: 5:55

That was afterwards, yeah. That was the same night. But yeah, I think there's video of it. Yeah, there's evidence of people drinking. Not me, but someone some underage drinking. I've never drank much. Okay, so Joaquin, what do you expect for next year? Like game day. I know that Liana has a, you know, things that she does during game day. Have you talked to her about it? Have you discussed, hey, what do we do? What do I do? Where do I go? You know, do I go early? Do I just go to tailgate? Do I go to the game? Because Liana was there four years and went to about as many games as you could go to. Uh, have you talked to her about it?

Joaquin: 6:41

I've I have not, but I'm expecting a lot of tailgates.

Jaime: 6:46

Okay.

Joaquin: 6:46

For sure, getting to the game early, right?

Lyanna: 6:49

Yeah, for sure.

Joaquin: 6:51

So, like, it'd be like going to a Cowboys game, I guess. Just getting there early.

Jaime: 6:57

Yeah. But this is different because tailgating, we haven't been to a tailgate, that's the thing. Like, when we go to the games, we go straight into the game, we go sit down, we watch the game, we leave. This is pretty much an all-day event because it starts early, you go to the game, or you go to tailgate, then you may or may not go to the game, and then it's pretty much a party all day. I mean, is that did you you need to get some of this stuff from Liana. Like, Liana, do you want to go through a regular game day for you and your friends starting at like 10 o'clock or whenever you get up because you were out the night before, I guess.

Lyanna: 7:36

Yeah. So it depends, obviously, on what time the game starts. But since our team wasn't doing too hot in my last semester, most of our games were at two o'clock, which means that tailgate start.

Jaime: 7:51

Okay, well, can you explain that? When teams are doing really well, when they when do they usually play?

Lyanna: 7:57

Seven.

Jaime: 7:58

Okay. So that's something to remember. That's that's that's coming from a you know, not sportsy football person. That's great information. Like if your team's not doing well, you play at two. If your team's doing really well, you play at seven. But go ahead.

Lyanna: 8:15

Yeah. So we had a lot of two o'clock games. Tailgates start three to four hours before every game. Um, so we would get up early. We'd be up by like seven, make mimosas, make breakfast, start getting ready. And then I was lucky because I was in walking distance to the tailgate. So we would just walk.

Jaime: 8:36

Right.

Lyanna: 8:36

I'd say lots of sunscreen is needed. You always have to bring your towel. You have to keep in mind what the field outside Reed Arena is going to be like. If you go to those tailgates, which are the men's organizations and some of the Hispanic fraternities, sometimes when it's like soft, it gets super muddy and it's just wet. And so you need to wear boots or shoes you don't care about. And other times it's super dry, and so it's dusty and there's dust everywhere. Right. So you just have to keep that in mind. But honestly, that whole stretch of, I think it's Olsen Boulevard, it's all tailgates. Family tailgates are closer to West Campus Garage, and then the organizational tailgates are closer to Reed. And you just walk up and down, and you can kind of go wherever, which is super cool. We would always go to the, we would meet at the giant blow up chicken. There's one men's org that has a giant blow up chicken outside and something that's super recognizable. So we're like, okay, everybody meet at the chicken. But yeah, and then we hang out there for ever and ever, three, four hours until it's like 30 minutes before the game starts, and we start walking over to the game. If it's a bigger game, like Bama or I guess UT now, we go over to the game much earlier because Yeah, it gets packed. It gets super packed, just getting into the stadium.

Jaime: 10:09

Okay. Let's take a quick break. Okay, we were talking about tailgating. Yes. Yeah. Tailgating. Continue. You said as you as you pick up your mimosa right now, tell us about mimosas on game day.

Lyanna: 10:30

For us, mimosas were the best part of game day. Every game day. We make mimosas, drink them while we're getting ready. And then once you get to the tailgates, they always have mimosas because we always have two o'clock games because we're not that good.

Jaime: 10:46

So last year you weren't that good.

Lyanna: 10:48

Last year, and I don't have high hopes for this year.

Jaime: 10:52

I'm gonna go ahead and say right now, they're gonna be good this year.

Lyanna: 10:57

That's what I said last year.

Jaime: 11:01

That's what I said the year before.

Lyanna: 11:05

Yeah, they always have good mixed drinks. They have it's given you're at a tailgate, so these drinks are in the big coolers or something like that. You grab a cup, you fill it up. It's pretty low maintenance. It's nothing fancy. But Mimosa is always part of game day. Obviously, you have to go to the games. I say you have to go, I think, at least half of the games every season.

Jaime: 11:32

Half?

Lyanna: 11:33

Half. At least half.

Jaime: 11:34

Okay, so so for people that don't know college football, how many home games are there in a year? Just at ballpark. Or how many games did you attend last year?

Lyanna: 11:47

Let's last year.

Jaime: 11:49

Well, the year before. Two years ago. Yeah, two years ago.

Lyanna: 11:51

Um I think I went to five.

Jaime: 11:54

Dang, that's a lot of games.

Lyanna: 11:56

Five or six.

Jaime: 11:57

Okay, that's more than half, ma'am.

Lyanna: 11:59

I know, but I'm no achiever.

Jaime: 12:04

This kid. All right. So, Joaquin, do you like what do you expect from from school? Like, what what do you think that so you're gonna go to college, right? You won't have your boys with you. Zach's not gonna be with you, Zeke's not gonna be with you. Some of your boys are do have you talked to anyone that's going up there next in the fall?

Joaquin: 12:28

No, I haven't I haven't had that conversation with with most people about college station. Most of them are going to like Texas Tech or State.

Jaime: 12:38

Okay. So that's gonna be new for you, right? Because you have to completely like re-up your your your your boys, right? Now you're gonna meet new people. Luckily, at the uh the Cambridge, yes, they'll have mixers, they'll have, you know, ways to kind of meet other students and you know, kind of kind of gather your friends again. So have you thought about that? And you know, yeah, it's pretty easy for you to make friends, right? I mean, you you kind of get along with a lot of people, but have you thought about man, I won't have my boys with me next year? So what's that gonna be like?

Joaquin: 13:14

I don't know. I mean it's not hard to make new friends, but for sure I'm I'm gonna be going to the the little events that the the Cambridge hosts. I mean, I'll still have the I'll still have my assigned roommate.

Jaime: 13:29

Right. But sometimes, man, the roommates can be dicey. Like sometimes they could be really cool. I so back in the day, you know, in the late 1900s when I went to college, I went with somebody from c from high school. And he we weren't we weren't, you know, we didn't hang out in high school, but he was going to AM, I was going to AM. Okay, let's, you know, let's go up there together. So we were room together, and he was cool. I mean, he was he was fine, right? He was a he was a cool dude. And actually, we're still friends. He calls me every once in a while. But this first semester was pretty rocky, and so by the end of that semester, he was gone. Like he partook a little too much in uh bonfire back when they had bonfire on campus, and they were out there all the time and tailgating and games and all that stuff. So in the spring, I got another roommate, you know, and so it's just it's it's a luck of the draw, it's a roll of the dice, it's all that stuff in getting good friends or getting a good roommate. So I mean I'd just be careful about that. I mean, you're all kind of going in there basically in the same boat, but it's it might be. Hopefully you get a good roommate. Or three of them, right? Because it's a four just one. No, but you share a uh common area, right?

Joaquin: 14:52

No.

Jaime: 14:53

I think so, son.

Joaquin: 14:55

It's two beds, one bath.

Jaime: 14:58

On your side. But you share a you share a living room with the other side. Oh, I think. Right? Liana? Yeah. Yeah, so you're gonna be you're you're you're gonna be in the same room sleeping with one other guy, right? But across the across the living room, there's two more people. So it's gonna be f four people to um to a room. Are you thinking about organizations? Have you you know there's a bunch of organizations there? Have you thought about that? Liana, what are good organizations at at AM for socializing, I guess?

Lyanna: 15:32

Oh, there's so many. We have over 1,500.

Jaime: 15:36

Oh my god.

Lyanna: 15:37

Student orgs, yeah. I think it really comes down to finding people that you can see yourself growing with and hanging out with. And sometimes that's not the org you think it's gonna be. Sometimes you think, oh, I really want this org. They do these things, they have this philanthropy that I really am passionate about. They throw cool events and you want to be part of it. And you go and you meet those people and you're like, mm, maybe not. And I know that happened to me. I wanted to be in one women's org and I went to an informational and I met some of the girls, and I was like, I wasn't really vibing. I didn't get that instant kind of connection. And then when I went to the meeting for the org I was in, but for most of my college career, I was like, oh my gosh, these girls are exactly who I want to be surrounded with. So I say keep that in mind. Sometimes it's not always the org you're gunning for, but you find your people, especially if you're looking for them. And sometimes, even when you're not, you can make friends in your classes. We have so many group projects that you have to get to know the people in your class. And a lot of the time, study groups turn into like hangout friend groups. So there's there's so many different things you can do, even like not being at AM that first year. I met a lot of people through Blyn. And there's some AM orgs that are open to Blynn students as well.

Jaime: 17:07

Oh, there you go. So, any any more thoughts on next year?

Joaquin: 17:13

No.

Jaime: 17:14

Yeah. Are you amped up for the drive up there? Because you're gonna drive up there by yourself.

Joaquin: 17:19

Yeah, I'm pretty, pretty. I'm I'm making the playlist. So that's that's a you know we talked about it earlier.

Jaime: 17:28

That would be a great podcast. Is what is your go-to playlist for a long drive? So that's I'd be uh I'd be eager to to to find that out and listen to it. So you you're set, you're gonna obviously look at stuff that you're gonna need for the fall.

Joaquin: 17:44

Yeah, I'm already looking at stuff, so I have I have my Amazon cart, so it's like Okay.

Jaime: 17:51

We may be in I was talking to the Olel and maybe a 75-inch TV up for grabs, you know, for the room, if nobody brings one. So think about that. Because the olel got an 85-inch TV, and so he's 85 inch?

Joaquin: 18:10

Yeah, he's crazy.

Jaime: 18:13

I want one too. But he's got the other two 75 inch TVs, right? So he was like, Oh, I was gonna, you know, give it to so-and-so say, Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. Wait a minute, just calm down. I said, Your nephew's gonna be up there, it might be needing a TV. He goes, Oh, okay, okay. I'll hold on to it. I said, Cool. So 75 inches is pretty good. Pretty damn good. Anything else that you think you're gonna need for next year? That Liana gave you a list, right? You need sunscreen, you need old shoes, new shoes, you need a hat. A cowboy hat? Okay, so we need a cowboy hat. You already have boots. Yeah, I already have boots. Because somebody over here, you know, we try to buy her cowboy boots for the longest. She's like, no, no, I'm okay, I'm okay. And she was one month in college station and calls us and is like, I need cowboy boots. We're like, go get you some cowboy boots. And then the next year she's like, I need a hat. So I was like, what? So you're so you already a leg up because you have boots, so you'll need a hat.

Joaquin: 19:25

Yeah, that's I think that's pretty much it. Also, some more some more AM merch for sure.

Jaime: 19:31

Okay.

Joaquin: 19:32

I have a couple shirts.

Jaime: 19:34

Yeah. That's just take nuns. Nun has a bunch of them.

Joaquin: 19:38

Absolutely not. She doesn't even wear them, so I know.

Jaime: 19:43

She wears my mild sweatshirt that she's had for years.

Lyanna: 19:47

It's so it's so much better quality than the clothing they have now.

Jaime: 19:51

Really? Is it thicker or what was it? It's a lot thicker. Yeah.

Lyanna: 19:54

It's like it's heavy, which I like.

Jaime: 19:57

So here you go. Steal that one. You have my permission.

unknown: 20:00

No.

Jaime: 20:00

This is Agate Sports, it's gray.

Lyanna: 20:03

Yeah. People ask me, they would ask me, like, oh, where did you get that? Yeah.

Jaime: 20:07

And I'd be like, back in 1995. It's been a time capsule.

Lyanna: 20:17

Yeah, I've had people offer to buy it off me.

Jaime: 20:21

That's funny. Because we had two. I had one and mom had one. Or maybe, yeah. So you need to you need to find the other one. And then of course you can do the the old school jersey. I have that one. The 12-man jersey with the collar has like it looks like camouflage, but like camouflage with like purple, I mean not purple, maroon, and then black, and then darker maroon. And so that was 98. Quick story, right? And 1998 was my last semester in college. And it was the O'Leo's first semester in college. Now he says, I don't remember this, but he says that I told him that in order to live with me, or I don't know what the story is, he said, he said, man, you forced me to buy you a jersey. Because they were they were expensive, right? Even then.

Lyanna: 21:12

They're still expensive.

Jaime: 21:13

Yeah. So I said, you know, you're buying me this. And so that's a jersey that that I have downstairs. And because it was his first semester and my last semester, we went to every home game that year. We said, I said, we're I gotta do this because I, you know, every other semester I was there, I didn't I didn't go to as many home games as I wanted to. So I told Tol, we're going to every home game. I don't care what it is. If it's raining, I don't care. We're going. He's like, okay. And that was the only time. So that's something for you, Lel. I mean, uh, Joaquini, go to every home game that you can because when you leave, it's one, it's not the same. Going as an alumnus, going as, you know, somebody's guy, it's not the same as when you're there. It's just, it's different. You know, I can't even explain it. But we went to every home game that year. And we've been back. I mean, the last time we went, it was been a long time ago, but it's just, you know, you kind of lose a little bit of plus you don't get to sit with everybody either. Uh you have separate seatings sometimes. Okay. So now with with Liana, you just graduated with your second bachelor's in nursing. Same questions for you. Do you feel any different? Is there a weight lifted off of you? You know, you don't have any more exams except for the the one that you're gonna take, you know, the ones that you take because of your profession. But is there anything? Do you feel different? Anything changed for you? What do you expect in the next year? Those type of questions just similar to Joaquin.

Lyanna: 22:50

I think after I took my last final, a weight was definitely lifted and then immediately replaced with the weight of studying for the boards. But I I think I was like super proud of myself for finishing my program and also super proud of my friends and everybody else in my cohort because we all started and finished together. There was only one person who had to delay a semester, but he is still going. He didn't completely give up. And my cohort, we had been together the the whole time.

DLH: 23:27

Yeah.

Lyanna: 23:27

And I think that also speaks to what a good program it is that we were all able to go from the starting line to the finish line together. But yeah, I think it was a super grueling experience, especially because it was accelerated and it was two years of coursework into 15 months. But yeah, I think it was really rewarding and I am excited to be graduated and excited to take the NCLEX. But I also know that the new grad year or your first year out of school is super hard as a new nurse. Just because nursing schools are geared towards teaching you how to be a proficient and a safe nurse across the board. But obviously there are different nuances when it comes to each specialty. So I think I definitely have a lot to learn. And it'll probably happen on the floor, which is what I'm a little bit scared about.

Jaime: 24:27

Well, explain what on the floor is.

Lyanna: 24:30

On the floor is on your actual unit in the hospital. So I'll be on the oncology and neurosurgery floor. So that would be me with my patients having an assignment of probably four to five patients. The good thing is that I'll have a preceptor there with me who is my mentor and can teach me the ways. But it definitely moves pretty fast, and they try to get you as independent as you can be within, I think it's 10 or 12 weeks. So that should be interesting.

Jaime: 25:10

Yeah. You know, I was telling um, I was telling a friend of mine that what you had mentioned one day which kind of blew me away, right? And here's why. You said what what is your work schedule now?

Lyanna: 25:26

My schedule now, I've been PRN, which is kind of like an as needed position as a nurse extern. I have been flip-flopping between days and nights.

Jaime: 25:37

Okay.

Lyanna: 25:38

But they're each 12-hour shifts.

Jaime: 25:40

How many on and how many off?

Lyanna: 25:42

Usually three on, four off.

Jaime: 25:45

Okay. So you you were doing seven to seven for three days straight and then four days off. Okay, so that sets it up. So you had mentioned you're like, I don't think I could do eight to five for five days, which which I was thinking about it, right? Because that's all I've ever done is eight to five, sometimes more. But you just have the two days off. Now, yeah, I guess because that's what you're used to now, it would be a you know, kind of a hard switch. For me, I was like, I think I would like to try the, you know, the the the three twelves, you know. And the four the four days off is probably what would make it, you know, what you want to do. Just four days straight is so good because when you work five days a week and you only have two days off, it kind of sucks because it takes you a little bit to wind down, and then by the time you're already ready to do something, you gotta go back to work. So I thought that was interesting. I didn't think about it like that, but yeah. I mean it it's it's definitely different. So what what do you expect in the next year? Like what where do you think are you gonna end up staying there? Are you going to look at somewhere else? I mean, I know this is your your this was your number one basically like that that's where you wanted to be.

Lyanna: 27:14

Yes.

Jaime: 27:15

So what do you expect?

Lyanna: 27:17

I'm not sure what to expect. Right now, I know that the hospital system I'm going to has a lot of resources and that they're very education-oriented because it is a teaching hospital. So we have nursing students, we have new grad nurses, we have residents, we have medical students. Basically, everybody is learning, which I like. So I'm excited to kind of be in that environment where you can see that you're learning and also the doctor who's working with you is learning.

DLH: 27:49

Right.

Lyanna: 27:49

Um, and I've heard that their education faculty is really great. We have a nurse educator on every floor. So it'll be really nice to have somebody to go to for questions, and that's their job. And I know I'm not inconveniencing them with my questions. But I'm I'm just kind of excited to get into the swing of things. And I feel like usually once I find my rhythm and what I need to be doing, then it's easier for me to like get things done. I just need a routine. And sometimes it's hard to have a routine in nursing because everything is changing. And when I see that on my floor, even as an extern, yeah. Your assignment changes, or people are discharged and you get a new patient, or something's going on with one of your patients. So you have to give up an assignment. And it's a lot. But I think I do want to stay at this hospital for a while. I think maybe I might go hopping around specialties a little bit, maybe shadow and see what I like. But for now, I've heard really great things about the oncology floor. And the people that I've spoken to who work on that floor have been there for five plus years. One lady was there 15 plus. So it's obvious that they love working there and that they have a lot of really good things to say about it.

Jaime: 29:17

Right. I know something in Joaquin was really super excited about is your pay raise. Joaquin, what did you say when you found out?

Joaquin: 29:27

That uh that Christmas is gonna be nice.

Jaime: 29:31

So what are you expecting for Christmas from from Liana?

Joaquin: 29:34

All of it.

DLH: 29:37

Oh no.

Joaquin: 29:38

I expect her asking my my Christmas list.

Jaime: 29:43

Yeah, you that's what you're so you have two lists right now, like fall, college list, and then Liana's Christmas. Are you gonna be calling her up, talking about, you know, spot me a spot me a bill? I promise I'll pay you back.

Joaquin: 30:03

I'll get you right. Yeah.

Jaime: 30:08

Something Liana won't be used to anymore. Or won't won't be used to, period, is if she ever visits you, you're gonna be like sliding a check over when you go to when y'all go eat. You got this. Do you think she's gonna pay for everything when she visits Joaquini? No. Are you gonna be paying for so who's gonna be paying when y'all go out? We'll we'll what's it called?

Joaquin: 30:34

We'll take turns.

Jaime: 30:35

Well.

Lyanna: 30:37

Oh, he just winked at me.

Jaime: 30:41

Are you gonna make Chris go pay for everything? Like it too. Oh my god. Y'all are a mess. So, okay. So we talked about if you felt any different about graduating, you got a tattoo. What you expect for the following year for both of you. Anything else that you want to discuss, because both of you have gone through, like we were talking about earlier, these are rites of passage. This is something you're gonna remember for the rest of your life, right? Assuming you don't have a head injury or you know you're not in a coma somewhere. You're gonna remember when you graduate from high school. So let's talk about that. When we were sitting at Joaquin's graduation, you said, I've never been to a graduation before. So tell us why.

Lyanna: 31:29

So I graduated class of 2020 for high school, which was the COVID year, the OG COVID year. We didn't get a traditional, was it like a stadium graduation?

Jaime: 31:45

Right.

Lyanna: 31:46

So I had never seen the setup before and I didn't know what that was supposed to look like because COVID hit before we even started planning for our graduation. And we had kind of like um quote unquote like drive-through graduation where you would come at your allotted time, you would kind of wait in a line six feet apart from the other graduates with your family. Right. Uh everybody had to wear masks until you walked the stage. Each family came into the school auditorium as like a unit, and your student would walk the stage, you'd watch them, and then everybody left. So your family was the only people who watched you walk the stage. Right. And it was kind of a short and sweet thing. I think we were there for maybe like 30 minutes.

Jaime: 32:31

Yeah, it was pretty quick. Do you remember that, Joaquin?

unknown: 32:34

Yeah.

Lyanna: 32:35

Yeah. You take your picture, you walk out. They had the big signs outside of the gym where we could take pictures and then you could go, and people were still coming in.

Jaime: 32:46

Yeah, Tia the joined us that day, and we have pictures outside where you're throwing your hat and all that stuff. But I I didn't think about it like that because we've been to so many high school graduations, right? Ours, you know, our own, and then you know, I went to my brothers, my older brothers when they graduated, my sister, my little brother. They didn't went to other high school graduations as you get older, right? But I never I didn't think about that at all. I hadn't totally forgotten. What was it like to to cross that stage? I mean, coming out to a big old crowd like that, y'all had 700 and some odd graduates. What was that, you know, crossing the stage? Did you did you feel different? Were you nervous?

Joaquin: 33:27

I was I was definitely nervous, and I don't know, because mom was supposed to hand me my diploma. Right. And she was walking up with me, and I was like nervous, so like like I was just like looking forward, and she started like rubbing my back. I was like, I was like, let's not, let's not do that right now. And so uh she was like, Okay, I'm gonna hand you your diploma. I was like, okay, and so y'all, y'all seen the video, and she peeks out, and she just like she goes back in the dark, and it's like, and then this old lady just handed me my diploma. I was like, and you could see me in the picture, I'm like, this like what's going on?

Jaime: 34:11

Where's my mama?

Joaquin: 34:13

And then yeah, but it was it was nice. I I heard y'all cheering for sure.

Jaime: 34:18

Yeah, and then apparently Zach's family was Yeah, Zach's family. They were I don't know, 15 rows up above us, and Rob and his family were to your immediate right coming off the stage, stage right. Okay, right, our left. And so so I got a text from Rob after you graduated or when you walked the stage. So that that was I mean, it's it's a huge crown. Like so I thought that was I thought that was interesting that I hadn't thought about the fact that it was you kind of forget it was a COVID year, or at least I do, but you know, it kind of sucked for you, definitely, because the prom, everything was canceled. And then your freshman year in college, which kind of sucked too, because you didn't really do much, which I told everyone, I was like, and I told you, stick around a little bit, hang out, don't don't be in such a hurry to freaking graduate, because once you graduate from college, it's over, it's done. It's you know, like you you cannot get those years back. You're stressed, right? Because you're you're taking exams, you got classes, all that stuff. Yes, agreed, right? You know, mom and I were there, but you cannot, you know, overstate the fact that going to those games, hanging out, going to Northgate, being with a group of friends that you love to hang around, you really have nothing to worry about. You have, you know, you don't have bills, you don't have all this stress out here of a job and stuff. You're actually that is, you know, you hear it all the time. That's the best time of real life. And it is. I mean, it's pretty good. So hang out. Don't be such a hurry to graduate. Also, don't take no six years and shit, you know. Yeah, like me. I didn't take six years, I took five and a half, maybe. It's about six weeks. That's six weeks. But also it entered a year, so it don't matter. Yes, it does. Still a year. I know. So, okay. So next year when we do this podcast again, sort of a recap of did it go the way you thought? So, so keep in mind, you know, whenever you're going through next year, that we're gonna recap this. Any final thoughts that you have regarding next year?

Lyanna: 36:42

Not next year, but I want to know what Joaquin's favorite partslash parts of high school were.

Jaime: 36:49

Ooh, good question.

Joaquin: 36:50

Honestly, non, you didn't really miss much at prom. What the hell? You didn't. It was okay.

Jaime: 36:58

Go ahead. It was it was really explain what happened. Walk us through the day of prom. So the whole day?

Joaquin: 37:07

Yeah. So okay, you know, I wake up and then I go to H E B and I pick up the the corsage and the bouton here. That's what it's called. And I start getting ready because me and Ava went to go take pictures around 5, 5:30 to the JW. She wanted to take pictures there, so we're like, okay. So I drive over there, and then we go take pictures for like an hour, and then we have a a reservation at Pisano's at 7:30. So then we go to Pisano's and then we eat, and then we go to prom. And one of one of the English teachers, I was he he he asked me if I needed one of the parking passes so I didn't have to pay for parking because kids were having to pay for parking. So it'll be like 50 bucks. And so he just gave me a parking pass, so it was free. And so I get there and we see everybody, but it's kind of like like they weren't even playing like good songs or anything. So everybody was like either on the stage and just standing there or sitting down at the tables. So we were there for like a good 30 minutes, and then we're like Really? And then you left? Yeah, and we went to McDonald's. So you really didn't you really didn't miss anything at all. So, but my favorite parts of high school were probably how many how many parts did you say?

Speaker 3: 38:44

Like or just like just all parts slash parts, if you have multiple, like dad always has.

Joaquin: 38:50

What the hell? His favorite song is a playlist. Yeah, no, his favorite song is always an album.

Speaker 3: 38:55

I didn't know if your favorite part was actually parts.

Joaquin: 38:58

So my favorite part was definitely the senior trip me, Zach, and Zeke took to Oh, they the their senior trip, not like the senior trip.

Jaime: 39:09

Yeah, our senior trip. So tell Nan about your senior trip.

Joaquin: 39:14

We met up at like eight in the morning. We packed all of our bags in Zeke's, and we took Michaela to school, and and then we went to a donut shop right next to it, and we got breakfast there, and then we just booked it to Porte. And it was it was really cool. The drive was the drive was really nice. We put the tops down of Zeke's Jeep, and so that was nice. And we went on the ferry. Oh, really? Yeah, it was nice, and we saw these big old, what's it called? It's not a seagull, is it a pelican? Yeah, it was a pelican, and it was huge, it was huge. I didn't even know they they were that big.

Lyanna: 39:58

And then we went we have been to the beach before. Yeah, we've seen pelicans.

Joaquin: 40:03

We saw it was right next to the car. Oh. On the ferry. It was pretty cool, and it looked at us. And then we got there and we stopped at a surf shop, and we didn't.

Lyanna: 40:17

Y'all got shark tooth necklaces and shit.

Joaquin: 40:20

We didn't get nothing. Zach bought a $400 surfboard. No way. $400. I told you.

Jaime: 40:27

Yeah. What'd y'all do with it? Like y'all put it on top of the roof or something?

Speaker 3: 40:31

Does he even know how to surf?

Joaquin: 40:32

He does know how to surf, but he was wiping out the whole time.

unknown: 40:35

So he doesn't know.

Joaquin: 40:37

So he was justifying why he got the surfboard, but it was $400 at the same time. So we're like, are we serious? And so I sat with it, and since the the windows were off, then we could just like stick it out like the sides, like this. And so I sat, I sat with it like this in the back seat. And we got to the we got to the hotel, which was really nice. It wasn't it was it wasn't that bad for like nightly. So er yeah. And so we got there, we unloaded everything, we made some sandwiches, some sliders with the Hawaiian rolls. Oh, we went to H V too, so we did that, and then we got to the hotel, and then we got ready for the beach, and then we went to the beach, and Zach was like struggling. It was bad. And there is there was a point too, it was like him like 30 minutes non-stop just trying to hit a wave. And me and Zeke were were at the at like our spot on the beach because we had the cooler bag and everything, and the towel just laid across the sand. And so we just see him throw the surfboard and like smack. And he like he was like kicking the water, and he was like, you could hear him like it was like it was bad.

Lyanna: 42:02

He was being like dad trying to fight the waves. What?

Joaquin: 42:05

But yeah, he was fighting the surfboard, and so after that, we just went to like a couple of surf shops, and we were just looking around, and then we went to the double decker water burger. Oh, the original water burger. Oh and so yeah, and then we got back home around like 12:30, and then we just went to bed, and then in the morning we went again until we head back to head back home, and then we head back home pretty early because I had to work.

Jaime: 42:41

Boo.

Joaquin: 42:43

Yeah, but it was nice, yeah. The the senior trip was nice, so that that was probably my favorite part of high school.

Jaime: 42:53

That's cool.

Joaquin: 42:54

Nice because it was like the first ever trip that it was just us, like we had to we had to present our itinerary to mom and dad and the rest of the parents.

Speaker 3: 43:05

Mom told me that.

Jaime: 43:07

Yeah, it was okay. It was pretty good. It was well thought out. They had prices on everything. Actually, we saved y'all some money. You gotta be honest about that. They were trying to get a room for like $400, $500. I was like, man, that's way too much for a room. And they finally found something that was it was not, it was up there. It was more than more than half of what y'all paid. What y'all pay for the room?

Joaquin: 43:31

202.

Jaime: 43:32

And that's I mean, that's pretty ritzy room, but still, that's kind of I would have stayed $100 somewhere at a roach motel.

Joaquin: 43:40

At the same time, ours was pretty nice. Okay, it was Yeah, I know.

Jaime: 43:44

Well, you paid for it. Yeah, but the one that y'all had originally was like $400 some odd dollars.

Joaquin: 43:49

And that's because it was an Airbnb.

Jaime: 43:51

That's insane. That's insane. Okay. Any other final thoughts? Liana?

unknown: 43:59

No.

Jaime: 44:02

Well, with that, congratulations on graduating. And we expect great things, right? Working? Sure. You graduate in four years? Two years. No. Two years. Two can. Non, what do we expect?

Lyanna: 44:23

I don't know.

Joaquin: 44:26

Nan's gonna be a Chris and call off every day.

Lyanna: 44:31

Uh-oh. No, I never call off.

Jaime: 44:34

Yeah. I don't think I've ever called in sick, honestly. In my life. It's yeah, it's not a thing. Mexicans don't do that. Chris is Mexican. Yeah, well. Kinda.

Lyanna: 44:48

He's a different type of Mexican. He's my Mexican.

Jaime: 44:53

Yeah. Um, okay. Thank you guys, and uh, we'll see y'all next time. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on your social media, and or leave a rating and review. To catch all the latest from us, you can follow us on Instagram and X. So thanks again, and we'll see you next time.