Adulthood is scary since the future is not crystal clear, while childhood was not as complex. Children have it made since someone picks out their clothes in the morning, packs their lunch, and pays for everything. Becoming an adult means that there are bills to be paid, work that needs to be done, and doctor’s appointments you need to make on your own! The path to adulthood is not set in stone and there can be bumps in the road along the way. Becoming an adult comes with the pressure of figuring out what to do with your life. It becomes a reality check so to speak since you have to dig down deep and really think about how your life is going to change.

College can help with the creative process of figuring out what to do with one’s life. There are vast opportunities presented at the thousands of Universities across the globe. College is an immense transition of its own and I am less than a month away from starting my own journey at Regis College. I am so thankful to have picked a wonderful college for the next four years. Regis is a family. I will never forget the day I found my letter in the mail from Regis. In the letter, I was told about the various programs at the school as well as the competitive tennis team. My mother and I rushed to the nearest computer to learn more about the school, the academia, and the tennis program. We were so impressed and knew it was the perfect place for me. Small. Catholic. Competitive tennis team, various programs, greater Boston Area – what could be better than that?

I continued on with my college process and fell in love with the campus at Regis. I even toured the school a record breaking 12 times, but that is a story for later. I plan to study Communications with a minor in Writing and plan to go to Law School afterwards. I will also be a member of the women’s tennis team as well as the Honors Program. I am so excited for what the future holds for me at Regis and I know I made the right decision to go there. Now the countdown to starting college is so close and my anxiety level is skyrocketing. Stress is added to the fire anytime there is change. It just takes time to get acclimated to new surroundings. College is a time for me to find myself and experiment with a whole new world of opportunities.

Does anyone realize how much is needed for college? I feel like I am investing more into Target with everything I need to buy. It will be worth it though since I will feel more comfortable in my dorm room when I have every box on my checklist checked off, or maybe that will just make my mother feel better. And did I mention that I need to buy a whole new wardrobe? I have gone to Catholic School for the last six years with strict rules on uniforms. That means that I wore my uniform every day and when I was not wearing my uniform I was wearing tennis clothes. No more wool skirts with oxford shirts that were way too itchy to wear at any time of the year. Now every day I wake up for school I will have to coordinate a fashionable outfit or maybe sweatpants will do!

Reality has hit me hard like a ton of bricks. I am an adult now and even with a wonderful support system, I am still on my own. The world seems to be spiraling out of control with all the hatred that seems to be the sole source of the tabloids. There seems to be a different shooting or hate crime that is shown every day. It has become the social norm of society which makes being on my own so much more horrifying.

Change is scary, but that is the whole process of growing up. The world is a frightening place with everything shown in the media. It seems even worse to anyone entering into adulthood since we are now on our own. Those before us were able to make it through the hardships when transitioning into adulthood so we just have to give it our best. You are not alone. It is okay to be scared because remember this, we are all in this together.