Now that I am a senior in college, I have been taking time to reflect on how I have grown in these past four years. College has been great to me while high school wasn't too kind. I moved half-way across the country my freshman year of high school and those four years of my life were a constant battle of me trying to find a place to fit in at my school and still not be angry at my parents for making me uproot my entire life.
The first couple of years in Ohio were emotional ones. At my high school, everyone was in their own little groups and I felt so uncomfortable trying to hang out with people from school because I had no idea who or what they were talking about. Which is understandable, these kids grew up with each other and I was the weird kid from Nevada that didn't know January was a part of winter (yes, I did not know January was a part of winter, I thought it was a spring month; in my defense I did live in a desert until I was 14.) During high school, all I did was play softball, keep to myself and only hang out with a few of my teammates. Other than that I was not involved with my school at all. Also, my dad taught engineering and alternative energy at my high school- basically an all boys class, so I tried my best to avoid all of his students while making myself blend in with my peers so my teachers wouldn't notice me either.
When I went to college, I turned into a completely different person. I stopped trying to fit in and by doing that I found myself. I am not longer the shy girl that does not talk to anyone in class or the unhappy girl that lacks confidence. I am now the girl that can go anywhere on campus and be able to talk to anyone. I am confident in who I am as a person (mainly because I now know which month corresponds with each season.) I am also actively involved in five organizations on campus and hold an exec position in one of them.
College has given me the confidence I should have had in high school and then some. Without these past four years, I don't think I would have been able to accomplish the things that I have. I would still be the timid girl that was going through life unnoticed, instead of the self-assured woman that is not afraid to go after her goals. It is very cliche to say that college is the best four years of your life; for me that cliche is true. I have loved every minute of being a student at the University of Toledo and if you're like me and did not peak in high school, don't worry- being a late bloomer is a blessing in disguise that is completely worth it.
