I left home to pursue higher education and it has been one of the best and hardest decisions of my life. At first, I was very skeptical about leaving the world I knew so well behind. I was having a hard time deciding if I wanted to leave my hometown because I was a little terrified of being by myself in a place I had never been to, for more than a day, before. My family’s culture is very family oriented, and from the time that I was born until before I came to college, I had never been away from my mom for more than 24 hours. I continued to think about it more and I came to the conclusion that it would a good idea to go out into the world and make it my own.

The whole transition from living at home with my mom to living on my own in a building full of girls was rough. It was honestly my lest favorite part of the whole process. It just caught me completely by surprise. I was not sure what to think of it because being a first generation college student in the United States did not give me much knowledge. But after that, I was so glad that I chose to leave home and explore my horizons.

The first week at Baylor is called Welcome Week and it is a tool for the incoming freshmen and transfers to get acquainted with the school. During that week, I met people from all over the country (east coast, west coast, you name it!). Getting to meet so many different people was so rewarding because it allowed me to see how unique people are and how wonderful the cultures that are not my own are as well. After that week, I still didn’t know much about the environment surrounding my school but I did know that I had made a good choice regarding the school. Even though I had only been at Baylor for a week, I knew that my experience was going to help me grow as a person.

As freshman year took off, I began to become familiar with the world outside my school. I started to explore and to drive without GPS because that’s usually how I learn my way around (but I would make sure I didn’t get too lost!). I found myself in places that were so different from where I live back home and even more different than the environment at school even if it was less than five miles away.

The students at Baylor are said to live in the “Baylor Bubble” since the surroundings and the school don’t reflect on each other. I decided to look past our little “bubble” and learned that although Waco was a small town, it had so much to offer. Keep in mind that this was before “Fixer Upper” became the greatest hit of HGTV and put Waco on the map. So, I gave Waco a chance and it really put things in perspective for me.

Waco is not a big city and it does not compare to Houston or any big city at all. It’s a small college town with not a lot to do when it comes to indoor activities like shopping, bowling, and all those fun things. But this allows everyone to get out and enjoyed the outdoors so much more. You can find the most breathtaking views in Waco and you are able to relax and take it all in without the pollution of the big cities. Living in a big city usually consists of an overall fast paced way of life. Coming from a big city to a small town taught me to be patient and to slow down a little which is something I probably wouldn’t have done if I wouldn’t have moved three hours north.

So after all of these word, if you’re still with me just remember that you have to keep an open mind about the pieces of the world you have yet to meet and you will, too, someday find a place that allows you to sit back and view your life from a different perspective.