There was a time when I ripped every letter ACU sent to me to shreds.

I threw the pillow cases and water bottles they sent me in the trash. I hated my parents for signing me up for a tour against my will, and even more so when I secretly enjoyed it. I hated everything about ACU. So why did I decide to go there?

My grandma, dad, and other members of my family are ACU alumni. I also go to the Hills Church of Christ, where you are the odd one out if you don't have any ACU connections. My parents always told me that I was an Abilene girl, but I hated the idea. ACU had been shoved down my throat my whole life so of course I would do everything I could to get away from it. Then came senior year of high school.

I applied Abilene only to earn brownie points with my dad, not because I had any intention of going there. When I got my acceptance letter and scholarship offers, they were thrown in a college crap drawer and forgotten about until February. However, after attending an exclusive recruiting dinner (only 12 people in the Fort Worth area were invited), my heart began to soften towards the idea of ACU. I applied to 9 schools and was accepted to 8 (including Pepperdine, my dream school), but still had absolutely no idea where I wanted to go. So, an in attempt to surely cross a college off my list, I went to the accepted students weekend.

There's something about ACU that just draws you in. I grew up fighting that because I wanted to believe I was choosing my own path, not the one my parents laid out for me. Unfortunately, no place had ever felt so much like home. I met with the advisor of the major I applied for (I chose a different major for every school because I was undecided) and I learned that I would be really good at social work and I loved the department. I thought the campus was beautiful and not too big or small. And the people were amazing. Every person I met was kind and helpful and had a way about them. I felt a sense of peace walking around the campus, knowing that God was in every nook and cranny telling me that this was the school for me. I knew I had been defeated.

Three weeks later, I verbally and officially announced my commitment to Abilene Christian University and I haven't looked back since.

Go Wildcats!