A Letter To The Student Who Is Thinking About Transferring

My college decisions started in high school as I narrowed my choices of schools which I was going to commit to for playing soccer.

My D-2 search ended at Loyola Univerisity of Chicago, I soon after realized that I did not want to continue to play at a collegiate level.

I wanted to enjoy Chicago and the university to its fullest extent. After my first day at Loyola Chicago, I knew something was off, I was still in contact with all my friends that were at different schools and were so excited for their upcoming 4 years. I did not feel the same.

I remember feeling intimidated and scared, I felt extremely out of place. This was different, I lived in Seattle Washington for 12 years, then Hanoi, Vietnam for 2 and then Cincinnati, Ohio for 4 years so I was used to being put in uncomfortable and new environments. I am a city child at heart, so I knew it wasn't the intimidation of the skyline either..it had to have been something else.

Soon after my first week of schooling in Chicago, I met a girl named Maddy, who quickly became my best friend. We explored the city and tried our best to apply ourselves to school. After opening up to Maddy about how I felt about being at the Loyola and she expressed she too felt extremely out of place.

Together we explored the options of other schools, with more traditional based campuses with strong _teammenship?__big blue? Unity?

I realized that even though all my life I've adapted to new places and bright lights it was time to take some time for myself, focus on what I want, which is to grow and educate myself. I found the University of Kentucky.

It was close to Cincinnati, but not too close where I'd be surrounded by the same high school friends and townies I'd see every other day. I knew I would be able to grow and experience something I would probably never experience in life which was living in the south; Kentucky.

I knew this was a time for growth, and I kind of liked the idea of me throwing myself into a new environment on my own terms. Something different but still comfortable at the same time.

What I'm trying to say is transferring can be intimidating and difficult but what I've found in life is that decisions that make you nervous, or put you out of your comfort zone tend to be the best ones.