Five years ago I was about to graduate high school. I had committed to a university close to home, but far enough away to avoid the hometown stigma. I wanted to be somewhere that I could start over and begin everything again. Having been an outsider all through my elementary and high school years, I was hoping college would be different.

It wasn't.

My first year started off great. My roommates and I got along, classes were awesome and I was making a lot of new friends. However, once I started my full-time job and became involved with a collegiate sport, everything changed. I no longer felt like I was liked by my roommates as I never saw them or was asked to do things with them and I was back to being alone.
I was never really surprised that people thought I was weird. I sing and dance no matter where I am. I make smartass comments like it's my job. I'm extremely talkative to everyone and sometimes I don't know when to shut up. It's easy to think I'm weird because I am. And I love that.

I have always been taught to embrace my differences and love what makes me ME. This is great in theory but really hard in practice. I have never really felt like I belonged anywhere, and it wasn't until this year that I found where I fit in.

As an art major.

I have met some of the nicest people in the world in the art community at SVSU. Not only are they always offering help, a shoulder to cry on, someone to vent to, or some extra photo corners, but they accept everyone for who they are. For the past five years I have been able to sing, dance, make smartass and sarcastic comments, and talk as much as I want with people by my side who love me for all of that. (Sometimes they tell me to shut up, but that's a given)

I, daily, have had people excited when I show up to class (usually 5 to 10 minutes late) and hug me when tears start forming from stress. I have people willing to listen to my bogus stories and side with me no matter what. They have kept me calm and held my hand in times of extreme frustration as I have with them. They have been more than my classmates, more than my friends, they have became my family.

I graduate from this awesome university in just a couple of weeks and I am having a really hard time with it for many reasons, though it hadn't really hit me until yesterday.
While standing in my last critique, I took a look around the room. I looked at my classmates and thought about this semester's journey and how hard we all worked to create these final portfolios. I was so proud of everyone for overcoming all of the struggles that we encountered. And I realized that we wouldn't have made it through those struggles without each other. I remembered all of the funny things that happened and when the entire class erupted into laughter for something someone had said and I smiled.
Aaand then I cried.

I would like to extend a huge "I Love You" to the entire art community that I have been blessed to meet through my years at college. I have never felt like belonged to a group of people until I met you guys and I wish I could begin to understand the level of happiness that brings me. You all gave me a place to be myself and people who I felt genuinely cared about me. I never questioned our friendships or your compliments. I never was afraid to talk to any of you or make the jokes that at least I thought were funny.
For the first time in my life -- I BELONGED.