When I started my freshman year in high school, I surprisingly had never even heard of Hunter College. I heard about it in my junior year, which is pretty sad since it's a CUNY after all. Yet, no matter how much my friends talked about it I still never felt drawn to the school. I had big dreams in high school, many of which were unrealistic. After growing up a bit I realized those dreams weren't happening any time soon and that I might as well start thinking realistically about my future. I sat down with my school adviser and together we looked at which colleges would be the right choice for me.
At first, I thought Brooklyn College was it. I always had my eye on it. It was near my house. It also helped that I had friends and family that went there. I applied to Hunter College simply because we had six slots to fill in when doing our college applications. It also just sounded cool for me to say, "I applied to Hunter." I never expected to get accepted. So imagine my face when I read, "Only 1 out of 4 students are accepted, that means out of 28,000 we chose you." That's right. I screamed just like all girls do in those cheesy comedy movies when something good happens to them.
My mother was ecstatic. She moved to America from Syria when she was 11-years-old and the farthest schooling she ever achieved was the ninth grade. So what did it mean for her oldest child to get into Hunter? Let's just say I've never been prouder to be her daughter. Despite my happiness, I still felt drawn to Brooklyn College because all my friends were going there. There wasn't a single person I knew that was going to Hunter. When I had to decide where I was going to college, it came down to Brooklyn and Hunter. Everyone told me to go to Brooklyn, except my mom.
"Make me proud. Let me be able to tell my friends that my daughter is in Hunter College. Please go to Hunter, for me," my mom would say. "But mom the commute," she stopped me right there. My mother made a strong argument. "You've lived in New York your whole life and you know nothing about the city. You aren't street smart and you never leave the neighborhood. Go out, experience the city, meet new people, get out of your comfort zone! You can always transfer if you don't like it."
Well, the thought of transferring hasn't crossed my mind because I love Hunter. Before college, I didn't know New York City's subway station inside. I didn't know that there were train lines that weren't letters. I didn't know what the city looked like at sunset from Hunter College's eighth floor terrace.
I went to a private high school and elementary school; I grew up in a bubble. I had no clue how beautiful everything is outside of Brooklyn. My friends say I still have it bad because of my commute. But it does have its upsides. During my commute, I do my readings and homework that I was too lazy to do the night before. I always have to wake up early to get to school on time, which is always a perk when I have a test or final. And there's always the beautiful purple-orange sky overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge that can be seen from Canal Street to DeKalb Avenue.
I took a leap of faith and listened to my mother. Now, I go to school in the city. I have a diverse group of friends, compared to my high school group. I'm learning new things about the city every day. And yes, although sometimes the homework and exams are torture, I'm a proud Hunter Hawk. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith to get to where you're supposed to be. Other times. you just have to take the 6 train to get there.
