PHOTO: The Slacker Chronicles with Eric Yanez, The Signal blogger and social media community manager. Image by The Signal Staff Member Eric Yanez. — The Signal blogger Eric Yanez. Image by The Signal Staff Member Eric Yanez.

My secret life as Hunter the Hawk

By Eric Yanez On Apr 13, 2016 413 0

I have not done my homework this week because I was too busy looking back at my time as Hunter The Hawk. Hunter the Hawk is UHCL’s school mascot, if you didn’t already know, and I would like to share my experience as a mascot.

Hunter the Hawk UHCL mascot; Eric Yanez, The Signal Social Media Community Manager; Robin Aleman, social work major; at various events throughout the 2015-2016 school year at UHCL. Photo courtesy of Eric Yanez, The Signal Social Media Community Major. — Hunter the Hawk UHCL mascot; Eric Yanez, The Signal Social Media Community Manager; Robin Aleman, social work major; at various events throughout the 2015-2016 school year at UHCL. *Photo courtesy of Eric Yanez, The Signal Social Media Community Major.*

Believe it or not, I almost didn’t even go through with the whole mascot role. There was a lot on my plate at the time, and I actually declined the offer after going through the interview process. Luckily, Robin Aleman managed to give me some encouragement and I went on to become Hunter.

The first couple of times I was in the costume I had to learn how to adapt. I couldn’t see when I was in there. The eyes are pointing diagonally, so there is no way to see directly in front of you. This led me to bump into people, including children; the horror! Let’s not forget how hot it gets inside the suit. This is code red for getting sweat in your eyes and that burns! I had to dance to “Watch me (Whip/Nae Nae)” while struggling to keep my cool from the pain of sweat in my eyes. This was not a great situation, but this is where I learned the secret mascot trick of using bandannas. Keep in mind, this was my first time in the suit.
Hiding a double life can be tricky. I don’t know how Hannah Montana did it all those years. You have to come up with unique excuses as to why you can’t hang out on certain days. This was super hard at first, but later I became an amazing excuse maker. Hiding the fact that I was Hunter to my friends wasn’t as hard as some may think; they simply never asked. This might be because they just could never imagine that I would be the school mascot. I always felt so guilty for virtually nothing. The only person I told was my mom, but fear not she is merely an adorable lady that has no idea how to use the internet, or even a phone, so it’s not like the anyone would know.
Being Hunter the Hawk was simply one of the best things I have done in my life. I would never trade my experience for the world. It made me realize that even in a bird suit people don’t judge. I can be myself in or out of the suit, and all that matters is that I’m happy with what I’m doing. Till next time homework.