College is not for everyone and deciding which college is right for you is close to impossible. However, once the disorienting and exhausting first weeks are over it, really starts to feel like home. I'm currently a freshman at the University of St. Thomas and I can honestly say I am so lucky to call this beautiful place home. It has exposed me to new people, places and classes. It has given me the following 10 things I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.
1. FRIENDS!
In college there is always someone to be hanging out with, someone to be eating with and someone to study with. You will find your people and you will never feel alone.
2. Food.
The dining hall workers are the realest because they serve some of the best food out there. I never have to cook for myself and there is always a wide variety of things to choose from.
3. Amazing Professors.
You can't get along with everyone, however I have come to love almost all of my professors. They offer me great extracurricular opportunities and are always willing to give advice. They have helped me decide what I want to do with my life and advised me on how to get there. Sometimes you sit in class looking a lot like Anna Kendrick, don't worry your profs are waiting in office hours to help you!
4. The ability to live with lots of other people.
At home, I had my own room, my own shower, and a much larger bed. Living in the dorms has taught me how to share my space and how to live with community bathrooms (a skill that is highly undervalued).
5. Places to be active.
College has an amazing, free, recreation center and always has different intramural sports going on. So really you have no excuse not to be in shape.
6. People.
College has made it very evident to me which kinds of people I like and which kinds of people make we want to claw my eyes out.
7. Navigation.
Once you move to a new place and live in a new city you really learn how to get around. I have never been good with directions but college is helping me work on that.
8. Studying.
There is a big difference between studying for a high school test and studying for a college exam. Luckily, our library is perfect for such activities. Hopefully college will rid me of my procrastinating habits for good. Someday, when I am working the job of my dreams, I will be able to thank my college for the wonderful education and work ethic it has given me.
9. Stories.
Living with so many people your age and having the freedom of a true adult makes for some amazing adventures. Whenever I come home from college I always have stories to tell and wonderful memories to look back on.
10. Leading me to who I'm meant to be.
Above all, college is shaping and molding me into the person I was meant to be. Every day and every struggle allows me to move closer and closer to a person I am comfortable and happy with. I would have never learned the treatments for Schizophrenia, or how to conjugate words into the preterite if I hadn't made the decision to go to college, but more importantly I would never have found myself. I am hopeful that this process will continue to push me and that some day I can say college was one of the most influential experiences of my life.
