Boston is a city that everyone should visit at least once in their life. There's endless possibilities of things to do like spending the day shopping and walking around Fanuil Hall or catching a Red Sox game at MLB's oldest ball park. The city offers schools like Boston University, Boston College, Harvard and Bentley that are some of the finest institutions of higher education not only in the Greater Boston Area but in the world. Hospitals like Mass General and Brigham and Women's call Boston their home, leading the city to have some of the best doctors and nurses in the country. So why would anyone want to leave such a great city?

That's what everyone asked me in September of 2015 when I told them I was only applying to one school in Boston, or really one school in Massachusetts. I'm from right outside of the city, Lynn to be exact, but I can hop onto the T and be there in a half hour. Although I took the tours and attended the information sessions of schools like Boston College and Emmanuel College, something was off; both amazing schools that offered what I wanted to study, but something just didn't feel right.

I don't know if it's the fact that I'm an only child or that I haven't exactly been "all over the world", but when I was deciding about where I wanted to go to college, schools in Massachusetts and neighboring states just didn't make the cut. I wanted to be my own person and show my mom and dad that I can be on my own. My parents pushed me to apply to schools in Maine and New Hampshire, which I did, but I didn't have the biggest intentions on attending them.

I remember telling my guidance counselor the spring of my junior year that I wanted to explore my options out of state. He signed me up on the good old Naviance website that helped me decide what schools I wanted to apply to and gave me a better sense of my chances of getting in. Being the professional he is, he reminded me to have safety schools for both financial and location back ups, which is why I decided to apply to four schools: Emmanuel College, The University of Maine, Saint Anselm's College, and of course, College of Mount Saint Vincent.

You're probably thinking what? Is she crazy? Only four schools? Compared to my friends who applied to ten or twelve schools, this might sound a little risky. I had planned on applying to more, around eight or nine, but when applications cost around $50-$75 that changes some things. Much to my guidance counselor and parents dismay, I did not apply to Salem State University, the school that is 15 minutes away from where I live, for that main reason.

I visited CMSV in early August with my parents for an information session and tour and instantly fell in love. The fact that the school offers my major, has a superb Campus Ministry program, is minutes from Manhattan, which is great for future internships, and is outside the state of Massachusetts makes this school the perfect fit for me. I remember filling out the early action application for the school and freaking out at the fact that I may not be accepted. My friends were applying to schools like Trinity College and UMass Dartmouth and didn't show one sign of nervousness. But I was freaking out.

I remember sitting in my fifth period trigonometry class doing classwork in early December. I had an ipad for my book, which was an easy distraction at times like this. I found myself constantly refreshing my inbox that week, patiently awaiting an email that would decide my future with CMSV. I told myself to stop checking, it would come soon enough, so I hadn't checked my email all day. When I did open my email, there was some from stores I had accounts with, Facebook and some others. I was quickly scrolling through when the words "Early Action Decision" caught my eye and I nervously clicked on it, reading the words "Congratulations" and instantly freaked out.

I texted my mom and dad a picture of the email and was crying in the middle of my math class. Apparently my mom was Christmas shopping and cried in front of a cashier, but hey, I got into my top school! After that moment, I stopped panicking and began to enjoy my senior year, attending all of the sporting events, activities and more that my school had offered.

Don't get me wrong, I am in no way, shape, or form leaving home to get away from my mom and dad. I am so blessed that they are allowing me to follow my dreams and attend a school that I love in the city that I love. They have done nothing but support me throughout my entire life, sending me to Catholic school for fourteen years, and will support me throughout all of my future endeavors. I will miss them terribly, along with the rest of my family and friends when I'm at school.

Although Boson is a great city that has so much to offer, I am very proud to say that I can call the College of Mount Saint Vincent my home for the next four years as a declared communications major with a minor in writing. I am ready to be on my own and I am patiently awaiting move in day so I can start this next chapter of my life.