I have always thought about life outside of Indiana. I have been across the pond a few times and love each culture differently. I have been to a lot of the states and I love each for different reasons. Growing up in a state known as the “highway state” was just a way to pass 17 years of my life. I knew after my first month in a new school, I had no desire to stay in Indiana after high school. I wanted to be somewhere far enough where I could truly start a new chapter in my life.

I knew a few things about myself that a huge university would not be able to offer me. I knew I wanted to play collegiate softball. I knew I wanted a school where I wasn’t just a number on a seating chart. I knew Buena Vista was the perfect university after one phone call.

I had been searching, adding and crossing off schools from my “Future College List,” and BVU was one of the first school I crossed off my list because I was being a stereotypical teenager and I didn’t want to move to Iowa. However, as I kept crossing schools off BVU kept coming up in conversation I had with the lady helping me find the one. I eventually reconsidered and filled out a softball questionnaire and within a week, I heard back from a coach. We had a good amount of email conversations about what I was looking for, what positions I played, and most importantly the struggles I’ve faced with my shoulder surgeries.

The coach put me in contact with the admissions counselor in my region and we swapped a few emails, nothing exciting and I was ready to call it quits on BV again. I had other schools looking to give me athletic scholarships and I was ready to sign my Letter of Intent to play at Culver-Stockton, until my admissions counselor called me on a Saturday afternoon not long after I got home from winter workout. I was so against thinking about colleges in that moment I almost didn’t answer but I answered the out-of-state call.

“Hello, this is Taylor.”

“Hi Taylor! This is Zoey Residorf, your admissions counselor at Buena Vista University.” I was thinking, "Here we go, another wasted phone call," but it was the complete opposite. I believe we talked on the phone about an hour about everything in the book. She probably knows me better than I know myself now. My mom asked me when I came back down from my room who I was on the phone with laughing and using my different voices and I simply said Zoey. I kind of just let her wonder who this Zoey was until she called my mom.

Our emails got a little more exciting as spring approached and I was entering into my final high school season. Our phone calls seemed to get longer and it was pretty evident that Iowa was going to be my new home. I finally decided that Buena Vista University, without an official visit, was going to be the one. The thought of moving nine hours away didn’t hit me until we had the van packed down and I was leaving Indiana.

So did I really choose Iowa or did Iowa choose me? I think Iowa chose me. If it weren’t for the countless emails with the coaches and Zoey, BV would yet again be crossed off my list. I thank the great guy upstairs for blessing me with the ability to be strong enough to say goodbye to my best friends and my parents. I cannot believe I will be starting my second year in less than a month when it feels like it was just yesterday that Zoey and I had our first conversation.