Sammy Nishihama

By Alana Shields

Future. When people think of the future they see space, technology, and climate change. Things that are far away in time or in a way, apocalyptic. Future seems to be something that isn't going to happen for a while, even though the future can be something one minute from now, or maybe two weeks, or three days. Future is whenever you want the future to be. 

Sammy Nishihama is a high school sophomore living in the oceanside town of Morro Bay. Future to Sammy is opportunity and new beginnings, such as college, academics, or being a role model. Sammy is living up to her childhood dreams, goals, and accomplishments.

As a child you look up to the older kids at your school, how cool they are, wishing that you could be as cool as them someday. Growing up, Sammy looked up to her older cousin. The 5 year old Sammy looked up to the 15 year old cousin who had all the friends. When interviewing Sammy she stated “and I always thought she was so cool… she always hung out with me.” Sammy, now at the age of her cousin, shares how she has stepped into her own role model shoes with her younger cousin, Gracey. “Children when they are young don't really listen to their parents so when they have someone they look up to it changes everything,” Sammy says, answering the question “What makes being Gracie’s role model fun?”.

As Sammy’s senior year creeps closer, she has started thinking about going to college. I asked Sammy what her dream college was, in response “I really like University of California in Santa Barbara”. “It's really nice over there, I like the weather,” she shared.