High school was tough for me. I was always the "quiet one", the one that sat in the back of the class room, head down, avoided eye contact, and just generally tried to hide from the other students that were in my class; tried to be "invisible", if you will. High school was also when I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, but I'll save that for another article. Basically, high school was a bad experience for me and graduating was the best part of it.

Once I got high school out of the way, college was next. Oh, shit. I didn't even know what I wanted to do at that point. I had ideas before, but never stuck with them. Maybe film? I have always enjoyed watching movies. Sure, let's go with that. Now it was time to find a college that had a good film program. The University of West Georgia was one of the first colleges that popped up. It caught my attention right away, so I did some research on it. The campus looked nice, it wasn't too big and wasn't too small. It was a little expensive, but that's just how college is, right? I decided I wanted to go there, so I applied.

A few weeks later, I got an email telling me I was accepted into UWG and celebrated with my family. A few weeks after that, it was move-in day. My anxiety was through the roof. Will I be able to find friends here? Will I be the "quiet one" again? Will I fit in? These questions rolled through my mind the whole way there. When we arrived, my heart started pounding. My family helped me unpack my things and organize my room, they said their goodbyes and they left. I was left alone in this new place, living with a person I didn't know. I was terrified, but little did I know that the next week I spent at UWG would change my mind about college and the fears I had.

The entire week before school started consisted of fun activities and meeting new people. The staff and upperclassmen that put these events together were kind and helpful. Without these events, I probably never would have left my room and made new friends. It really did help me, and probably many other freshmen, get out of my shell. With the friends I made through the events came more and more friends. Eventually, I was out and about every day, hanging out with someone new and exploring the campus. I never would have seen myself in that position when I was in high school. In high school, I didn't want to interact with anyone. In college, however, I always wanted to do something, whether it was hanging out with friends or going to one of the many events the campus hosts.

I am forever grateful for my experience as a freshman at the University of West Georgia. I have never felt so accepted and at home like I have when I'm there. I will admit, I didn't have a perfect experience at UWG. I made mistakes, but I learned from them. I lost friends, but I gained even better ones. I went through hard times, but now I'm stronger. I have grown as a person since coming to UWG and I hope to grow even more. Thank you, UWG, for helping me meet so many great friends and helping me enjoy an environment I was initially afraid of. I will never forget this experience.