When I was a senior in high school, I was thinking about all of my choices for colleges. What did I want to major in? Or, even better, where did I want to go? For some reason, I had my mind set at one university that was out of state. I was absolutely fixated on going to this college because it seemed like the best choice for me. Turns out, it wasn't.

Going to an out of state college is hard for a lot of reasons. The biggest problem was finances. Of course, your tuition is so much more expensive when you don't live in the state of the college you're attending. I simply couldn't afford to live on campus and go to school at the same time so I opted for my last and only option- online classes.

Even with online classes, I had to take 2 loans out (that I'm still paying off almost 2 years later). I didn't want to, but I wanted that degree from a 4-year university. Even before I started college there, my mom kept telling me that I could just easily go to the local community college here and at least get my basic classes out of the way and not have to pay for tuition or take any loans out but, for some reason, that just didn't sound like the "ideal plan" for me.

Almost none of my friends are going/went to a community college. Most of them are still attending their "dream university" while I quietly watch behind the scenes.

Long story short, I attended the 4-year university for 1 school year. I simply couldn't afford to keep taking loans out and be in debt for the rest of my life. After I decided to not pursue an education there, I applied to the local community college and have just recently completed 1 year there.

My point is, it's OK if you start out at a community college or even if you stay at a community college and never go to a "big time" university.

You are not any lesser than someone who is attending a 4-year university.

When you're looking at college options, you have to do what's best for you, mentally, physically, and especially financially. Sometimes it isn't that easy to just pick up and move hours away to go to school and, if you're anything like me, it might be a little hard to watch your friends go and do what you thought you'd be doing, but know that you're doing what is best in your situation and, who knows? Maybe after you complete your certification/degree at community college, you may be able to go to your dream university.