It has now been over a year since I made one of the most life changing decisions I have ever chosen to make. In January of 2015, I made the choice to pursue an early high school graduation. It started as a thought and quickly became reality as I sat in my councilor's office and she explained to me how the process would work. I was ecstatic. I felt in my heart that graduating high school in December, rather than in June of the following year, was the right choice for me.

However, as I began to tell people of my plan, I was met with mixed reactions. Many people told me I was making a huge mistake. They listed off all the things I was going to miss out on and insisted that going through with this early graduation plan would be preposterous. Well, I did it anyways. I graduated High School in December of 2015, and in January, I began college at the University of my dreams — Texas A&M. Never once have I ever regretted this decision. Sure I missed out on a lot of my senior year, but what I experienced because of graduating early, in my opinion, is worth so much more than what I missed.

Unfortunately, I was often ridiculed as people insisted I was graduating for the wrong reasons. At the time I did have a boyfriend who went to Texas A&M, and people frequently accused me of graduating early in order to go to school with him. However, anyone who knew me well knew that this was absolutely not true. In fact, I was only in Kindergarten when I decided that I wanted to be an Aggie. Not to even mention the fact that I come from an Aggie Family with many cousins, aunts and uncles who were once enrolled here or attend the University presently.

Many also criticized me saying I was trying to grow up too fast. In my personal opinion, “growing up” is all relative. Everyone matures in their own way at his or her own pace. As for me, I felt like I was mature enough to go to college and live on my own. My parents were both 17 when they started college, and they encouraged me and helped me through each step of the process. I talk to my parents every day, and they are still a major part of helping me through my daily life. I do not think that I somehow missed out on an important part of my youth by leaving high school early. Though I did not have the typical high school experience, I had an incredible one that was unique in it of itself.

For me, graduating early was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It helped me to escape the drama that I had been so desperately trying to escape all of my life. It helped me to find lifelong friends whom I could not imagine my life without at this point, and it helped me to grow as an individual. I think that college has changed me, but it has been for the better. This experience has given me a totally new look at life, and I thank God every day for giving me the opportunity to go on this little adventure. I would encourage anyone who was given an opportunity to go off to college a semester early like I did to take it. You will be praised by some and ridiculed by others, but what they think is entirely irrelevant. This is your life, your dreams and your choices. Do what makes you happy, and trust God to be there to carry you along the way.