I have to admit, when I was in middle and high school, the idea of going back to school for a whole another year was equal to hitting my head against a spiked brick wall. I hated high school because I could find the purpose behind it. Core courses were meant for people going into science and math, two things I couldn't understand for the life of me.

Then there was people like me who thrived on music and theatre, but those were considered "extracurricular activities.” Honestly, those were the only things I ever looked forward to at the beginning of the year, and even those became bittersweet the closer I got to graduation. I won't lie, graduation was the best day of my life, well one of them anyway.

Then I got to college and I cried, I pulled all-nighters, I made mistakes, I met unlikable people and I wouldn't give it up for the world! That's right; I would gladly do it all over again if it meant staying at the amazing college I call home.

Otterbein in only one year helped me find the passion I was constantly struggling to keep throughout high school. They gave me the drive and desire to keep going at it and I did! They offered more help in one semester than high school did in four years! They didn't tell me to do what made them look good on paper, but what I wanted to do that would make me both happy and successful.

Yes, I had bad moments that I don't like to think about and I made mistakes not worth mentioning. However, those mistakes made me realize what I really wanted in life and what I wanted to continue pursuing. The people I met concreted what I wanted to see in other people and it even helped me to discover myself as an individual.

High school was so focused on "being the best" that the joy of learning was sacrificed and I hated every moment! They were so determined to be recognized and appreciated that the students had to take a backseat to academic success. But not at Otterbein.

I can be whoever I want to be and do whatever I want to do because it makes me happy! The professors care about you, they want you to learn and love what you learn, they want to see you succeed. That's more than I could say for my high school teachers, well the majority of them.

So, yea, I can't wait to go back to school on Monday and I can't wait to cry those stressful tears and pull those all-nighters all over again! I can't wait to freak out over that paper due next week and that project I hadn't even started yet. Why? Cause Otterbein is making me a better person each and every day and I can't find myself going anywhere else anytime soon.

Thank you Otterbein and I am ready for another year with you! Bring it on.