Written in the stars *COMPLETE*

Three Years Later

Sam

     I had heard many people tell me about how much better college was than high school, and I never believed them. However, three and a half years at my university in San Francisco had proved everything that everyone told me to be right.

     I had spent my freshman and sophomore years completing my prerequisites and deciding on my major. I was going to major in graphic design, with a minor in advertising and marketing. Junior year was uneventful but busy. And now, halfway through senior year, I was really surprised that college was almost over. The friend group that I had formed for myself freshman year had broken apart somewhat but I found new friends my sophomore and junior year and this group stuck together much better than the first.

     My days, while still filled with entertainment and adventure, still tended to follow a schedule. I woke up at around the same time each day, got out of bed, got dressed, brushed my teeth, and completed the other parts of my morning routine. I had two or three classes each day but usually, they were in the afternoon or just before lunch so I had time in the mornings to go on runs, work some shifts, or study which was always nice. I had never been much of a morning person anyways so having extra time to wake up before I had to do academic work was very helpful.

     Senior year was about halfway over and I was considering a master's program, but I wasn't sure yet. I had been reading and researching schools with good master's programs in the area, trying to expand my options when I came across a flyer posted on a website for a Santa Clarita Arts School.

     The flyer outlined and advertised a contest the school was holding. They were holding an art contest for the categories of 2D traditional art, 3D traditional art, digital art, and photography. The flyer only had the basic category information but after a few minutes of diving farther into the website, I found more entry information and prize descriptions. The third-place winners would be awarded materials related to their art medium, such as pastels for the 2D traditional artists and a new drawing pen and tablet for digital artists. The second-place winners would receive entry to a summer art program they were hosting and the first-place winners would receive scholarships to the school itself.

     I was intrigued. Getting a Master's sounded wonderful, but the cost was definitely not. I researched the college website and decided that it was worth looking into further. The campus looked really nice and a lot of people seemed to like it based on the comments and various blogs and articles I read about it.

     I printed the flyer out with the intention to show it to my parents later in the week when I had another shift. I tucked the flyer into my jacket pocket which was hanging on the door to my room. I had lived in the dorms my freshman year but I didn't want to move in with my parents afterward so some of my friends and I found a small house just off campus and pooled our money to pay for rent. My room was small but I was lucky to have my own.

     My room had various sketches I had made taped to one wall but not many more wall decorations. There was a desk I had brought with me from home in one corner and my bed opposite of it. It was cozy. My work apron hung on a hook fastened to my door next to where my jacket was which reminded me that I did, in fact, work today. I sighed and got up to start my journey across town to the coffee shop.

     I walked into the shop and the little ding of the entrance bell alerted my parents that I had arrived. Jenny, now in high school, also worked at the shop, and she waved at me as I walked behind the counter.

"Dad is in the back making scones for this morning and Mom is running errands."

"Okay, thank you. How was this morning? Busy?"

"Not too bad. I could use help with drive-through."

"On it."

     I walked to the back room to find my dad pulling a piping hot tray of scones out of the oven. I slipped my jacket off my shoulders and hung it up, taking the flyer for the art contest out of my pocket at the same time. My dad set the tray down on a nearby table and slipped off his oven mitts. Even though my dad had been consistently in my life for over four years now, I still found it strange to see him pull out various trays of treats and make drinks. He wasn't always at the coffee shop because he still had his corporate job but he helped out when he could.