This is chapter 2 of Jesus Valenzuela’s story, centered on his experiences during the second semester of his Freshmen year at the University of Arizona. Jesus is 19 years old, and is a graduate of Desert View High School in Tucson, where he was born and raised. Jesus is passionate about music, basketball, and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business.
Jesus says he spent much of the second semester losing weight he gained during the first semester, “One of the things that I really struggled with back in my first semester was my increased weight gain. I gained the ‘freshmen 15’ (pounds) which seems to be an actual real myth. It kind of brought me down because I didn’t feel as comfortable with myself as I normally was. But I have some really good friends who kept me accountable with my actions and my eating habits, and I actually ended up losing those 15 pounds during my second semester, and losing an additional six pounds while I was at it. The weight loss has definitely been a big change from the first semester, and it’s going to continue because I have goals, which take time, but I’ll get there eventually.”
Jesus adds that the weight loss is helping in other areas, “Now I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with where I’m at, and that in itself – the weight loss – helped me academically by having a better state of mind. The weight loss has also help me musically – especially after a good basketball game my vocals are nice and warmed up, and I have this inspiration to sing.”
