I hated high school. I hated everything about it and I could not wait to get out of my hometown and start over. I didn't see eye-to-eye with my peers; I found the town in general unpleasing and I have never felt like I belonged there.
When I found Longwood, I found my home, my friends, and my family.
Now don't get me wrong, I love my family and I miss them daily, but I've found myself at college and I genuinely think I'm a better version of myself here.
Through my college experience at Longwood University, I've found so many people that bring out the best in me and make me feel like I belong - something I rarely had in high school. I actually have a social life. I'm no longer left wondering what I'm going to do on the weekends when I used to always be at home watching everyone else have fun. I'm no longer constantly feeling like I'm not good enough. I don't have to second guess if I'll be included in plans or if I'll be conveniently forgotten. I've found such amazing friends who actually care about me and support me, and that's one of the biggest blessings I've found.
I've also discovered that I love living on my own (even though I have roommates.) While my parent's home is perfectly wonderful, I don't want to leave the cozy college apartment I've grown to love these last couple months. I adore my roommates and all the laughs we have every night while we do homework before bed. I've grown to love the noisy atmosphere living in a college apartment brings, and going to sleep in silence is the oddest thing now.
I'm a routine-oriented person; obviously, at college, my daily life follows a fairly strict and regular routine. When I'm not in school, that's nowhere near the case - my day-to-day activities change constantly. This summer will be different since I'll be teaching a summer program full time, but I'll miss the life I live at Longwood no matter the situation.
Going home means returning to the place where I felt a lot of pain- from bad friendships to my first love. My hometown holds all of my painful memories and returning is always a little difficult. I'm still at the point in healing from my high school love, and being home just allows those emotions to resurface.
I love my family. I love my dog. I constantly miss them and want to visit. But now that I've come to college and discovered who I'm meant to be, I'm so much more content to stay in the tiny town of Farmville where I'm happiest.