My decision to attend community college was not an easy one. First off, I did not want to go to a community college. It wasn't my dream school or anything close to what I had in mind when I thought of college. No one imagines college being a short 20-minute drive away. College is supposed to be about leaving home and making memories with perfect strangers who will become your new friends. It's not supposed to mean community college.
I had a very hard time deciding what I wanted to major in. I jumped around from business to marketing to Spanish and back again. I just couldn't make up my mind. It was obvious too. I didn't even care that I didn't know what I wanted to do. I just knew one thing. I wanted to get away. It didn't matter to me what school I went away to; it just needed to be away from where I was. Every school I applied to, I was accepted. Having plenty of options to choose from should be a good thing, right? Nope. Now I didn't know which school to choose. My parents had been asking me a lot of questions that would have helped my decision such as, "Who has a better program for ____ major?" "How much is tuition?" "How far away is it?" They also asked, "What are you majoring in?" I guess the right answer isn't "I don't know." After a few too many "I don't knows" as an answer, they suggested what I was dreading. "How about community college?"
I fought and cried and wore myself out trying to convince them that I would choose a major, that I wouldn't be wasting their money, that I was certain of what I wanted to do. They were all lies. I just didn't want to go to community college. I even faked sick on May 1, college decision day, just so my classmates wouldn't laugh at me or look down on me for not going away. I was so embarrassed. I was in denial. I hated when other parents would ask, "Where are you going to school?" I didn't want people to think I wasn't smart enough to go away or that I couldn't afford it. That wasn't the case. I just didn't know what I wanted to do in the future. Being uncertain was just as shameful to me as the other two circumstances.
Looking back at it all, I'm glad I attended community college before transferring. It has helped me find a passion in communications, and I have decided to major in it. I now know that I wasn't quite ready to go away, and now I have grown a bit to understand that. I appreciate my parents' decision more, because it has opened up a world of clarity. Community college has shaped me into who I am. It is not shameful to attend community college. It is a great way to start of your collegiate career. It does not make you lesser than those who attended a four-year school. It just means you started out college a little differently. Remember, different isn't good or bad, it's just different.
