It was not long ago I was making the biggest decision of my life… deciding where to go to college. All my friends were applying everywhere. I was at the point in life where home felt the safest and like the most prominent place to remain, but I took a leap of faith and headed 5.5 hours South to the Bluegrass state. I remember opening my college acceptance letter to the University of Kentucky with the uttermost joy. I also remember opening my rejection letter to the University of Southern California, reassuring me that Kentucky would be my new home. I didn’t realize how much I have changed since that moment and reflecting on a year of college leaves my heart warm and my emotions overwhelmed with pride. I am happy and in this place and at this moment I am better than who I was before I came here.

It’s no secret I was scared out of my mind to leave an amazing group of friends and a supportive family, who had left such a remarkable impact on my life. I mean one minute I am comforted with the thought of having so many people to rely on and the next I am alone in my dorm room skipping down the hall just to latch on to the first person I meet.

It all happens so fast and in a matter of time you blink and you realize that a year felt like a second. The life I have now was not part of my plan. It isn’t the dream I fantasized about in high school on that rare occasion I decided I was too cool to pay attention in class; it is so much more.

I have friends. I have friends who love me and support me unconditionally. I have sisters. Sisters that remind me home is only a place, but it’s the people that surround you that make it so extraordinary. I have a passion. A passion that embodies who I am and one that I can peruse every single day. Here I have everything I could ever want.

College made me patient, strong, and loving. College made me a better person and the University of Kentucky continues to push me to be a better version of the individual I was yesterday. I am grateful.