At the end of high school, I was so excited to get out of my small town and move off to college and start a new chapter of my life. Granted, it was only 40 minutes away from home, I still was more than happy to begin my life as an official "college student."
Moving into my dorm was thrilling and beginning classes had me feeling absolutely ecstatic about my future as an educator. Unfortunately, my first year just wasn't everything I had hoped. I faced a sexual assault within the first two weeks of the semester, struggled with my major clinical depression and had issues with my roommate. I ended the year in a cramped single dorm calling my mom every night crying because I just wasn't sure I was in the right place.
Maybe it's the lack of student life on campus during the boring weekends or the fact that I'm simply not a party goer, but I didn't enjoy college like a lot of my friends seemed to be. Perhaps it's the fact that I don't like eating school food or living with others all the time. Or maybe college life just simply isn't for me. While I researched other schools and did a whole lot of praying, here I am, year two at the same school.
Ultimately, I've decided that this is the school I want to receive my degree from and I'm learning to make the best out of every day. Thankfully I've ended up with a small group of great friends. Those hard times showed me who cares about me and people I don't want to leave if I were to transfer.
Simply put, classes are good. I do my work, I do my best to maintain stress levels and try pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I joined a women's acapella group and signed up for extra clubs that caught my interest. I continue to come home many weekends and constantly find myself off campus studying, eating, or shopping to get away and spend some time by myself.
To all of my other friends, whether you're at a local community college or at a big university, I hope you're enjoying this part of your life and making it the best it can be. If you're like me and college is simply just another round of education, that's okay too, the best is still to come!
College, for me, isn't like the movies. It's a lot more relaxed than raging parties on the weekends and constant stress. It's enjoyable, but really I'm just here to get my degree and get on the road to pursuing my dream.