This past weekend, I went to see the university that I am attending for graduate school. Four years earlier I had toured that same university as a possibility for my undergraduate schooling but could not cope with how open the campus was and how that exposure made me feel uneasy. Having been back there now with four years of college, being away from home and all that entails, and a semester spent abroad all under my belt, I left that campus feeling differently than I did the first time. I am a lot more calm this time around and sure that this is going to be the right fit for me going into my graduate studies.
Maybe it is the mind of a 21-year-old who has experienced so much over the mind of a seventeen year old who had never ventured far from home on her own that makes all of the difference. Looking and thinking back on it all now I can see how much I have changed and come into my own self throughout my time as an undergraduate. I started college as an extremely shy freshman who knew absolutely no one and was completely homesick all of the time. Joining Greek Life my second semester of college defintiely helped me to acclimate to college life and finally adjust to my new reality. Now I see myself as a quiet person but not completely shy, as someone who has gained a new level of confidence in herself although that confidence is always a work in progress, and as someone who knows and values what is truly important in my life.
Four years have almost come to a close and I know that I still do not have all of the answers that I need for life, but I am wise enough to know that not having all of the answers is why it is called life. Life is a journey and we are not always meant to have all the answers but instead figure out some things along the way. If you asked the me of four years ago if I would ever feel comfortable attending a school like the one I am attending for graduate school I could have answered with a quick never. Yet here I am feeling not only comfortable but confident in myself and the journey that I am about to undertake. I do not have all of the answers or next steps figured out quite yet, but they will come in time. More importantly I cannot wait to see how this new journey next year will help me grow and change for a better, more confident future me.
