College isn't for everyone, but it is most definitely for me.

So you walk into the high school for the first time, running on no sleep from the previous night because you were too nervous to close your eyes for more than 20 minutes. Wondering who is going to notice that you're a freshman first? “Are they going to bully me?”, “Who will I sit with at lunch?” “Oh no will I get shoved into a locker like they do in movies?” A very big step for us all, and instantly you find yourself trying desperately to fit in, to be like everyone else, if you're different; you have another thing coming. Searching for that social status and popularity is almost inevitable. They tell you that it will go by so fast and before you know it, you will go from that scared high school freshman to the freshman in college. That couldn't have been more true. I blinked and it was all over. Luckily, I fell in love with my college of choice and was ready for the future that was approaching faster than I thought.

The summer before college felt like a weeks time and before I knew it I was on my way to campus. Listening to my favorite songs during that 40 minute drive, with nothing but fear and excitement filling my body. Reflecting back, I think to myself “Who even was that person?” Because truly, you think you have it ALL figured out. “Don’t listen to them” “How dare my mother try and give me helpful advice?” “Did my dad literally just say good morning to me at 6am?” And ill tell ya, that first night alone at college was the biggest eye opener that ever faced me. Before I knew it I was finding things out about myself that never crossed my mind, I was getting challenged by things that I thought I would be able to handle, and I was faced with adversity that I had to overcome all by myself. But most of all, my first semester taught me that it is okay to let some people that you knew your whole life go if they are no longer helping you grow, it is okay to fail as long as you get right back up with the intentions of trying again, it is okay to not have a clue who you are, and where you are headed, but most of all it is okay to break free from that social conformity that brought out your biggest insecurities.

When my first semester of soul searching, meetings with my advisor, and all night study sessions came to an end, I could feel myself changing, but for the better; improving. I took what I had previously learned and applied it to my current semester. I am now apart of greek life, a walk-on softball player, a writer, a musician and an avid learner. Starting this journey brought me to love my family and friends more than ever and most of all appreciate them for never giving up on me; for never looking down on me when I was so unsure of myself and my purpose in life. Ultimately that is exactly what it is; a journey.

And Finally, when someone asks me “What is the best advice you could give someone?” I would say, “If you want something, never let anyone talk you out of doing what ever that thing may be.” I could have turned down so many opportunities after people began to tell me the cons or negatives of what was on my mind, but I went for it anyway. Figuring things out for myself and myself only is what is helping me grow and mature. Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are the only one standing and let that gloomy past go already. College isn't for everyone and shouldn't be for that matter, but for me, it was equivalent to coming up for fresh air. All of the positivity and acceptance that encompasses me, is the atmosphere that I will strive to surround myself with my entire life, all thanks to my present college experience.