I can’t believe in a month that I will be in my junior year of college. Its unreal how quickly time passes. if I think back to when I was starting, I was a different person in every way. If you told me in August 2014 about all the amazing things that were going to come my way as a result of college I would’ve never believed you. Honestly when I started college I was in such a different place mentally and emotionally.
The summer before college was very hard for me and I had become so bitter as a result. That summer as my high school journey was ending, a lot had gone on in my personal life. I had been really emotional towards high school ending and did not feel ready to move on yet. My closest friends were all going their own ways and I felt like my life was over. My first year of college wasn’t easy, as I was carrying emotional baggage from my past. I was still holding onto my feelings from the summer and the end of high school. I didn't feel ready to move on in my life. Mentally, I was still stuck in high school and that summer. This affected my first year a lot, I was closed off to the world, I just wanted to be in my little zone. I made very few friends in my first year of college, and I mostly kept to myself. I would come to school, finish classes, then go home. I would only hang out with my friends from high school. I rarely talked to people at college. I was stuck in this shell that I made for myself. I wasn’t ready or willing at that point to break out of my shell. No one forced me to seclude myself; I did it to myself. I honestly was miserable.
At one point, I was ready to transfer schools and head to another school where my high school friends had all gone. I felt like I needed to be with them to be happy. I let the past and bad circumstances ruin my first year of college. That was my immaturity and lack of wisdom. If I could go back and talk to my self during my first year of college I would say don’t stay in the past and let a bad summer mess up your college experience. Don’t hold on to the past. Move on and enjoy college and enjoy your life now. Thankfully as my first year of college was over, I began to break out of my shell and started living my life again.
The summer before my sophomore year was honestly amazing. I have no other words to describe it. Everything I wanted from the last summer came true in the summer of 2015. I went on trips and vacations, had incredibly fun adventures with my best friends. I lived the life I always wanted. I came to college refreshed and ready to start again. I was ready to begin again. I had truly let go of the past. I was ready to enjoy this part of my life. I’m thankful that as soon as sophomore year began that my life at college truly began. I made so many amazing friends, reconnected with my friends from orientation, and in the process made many more amazing friends, and so many awesome connections.
My sophomore year of college kept getting better during the fall semester; photographs I had taken were actually published in the school’s literary magazine “The Voyager”. It was honestly the best feeling ever. I felt so accomplished and I felt like things were finally coming together for me. Two more incredible things happened for me during the spring semester. I got an amazing job on campus in one of the offices. It’s been an amazing experience to work on campus, I’ve been able to learn so much and grow as a person. I’ve even been able to work on campus throughout this entire summer. The other amazing opportunity was when four photographs I had taken were featured in the gallery on campus. It was such an incredible blessing and opportunity to have my work recognized and to be a part of the community here.
I honestly never expected college to be such a blessing for me. I thought after high school was over that my life was over, and the best part of my life was over. But to be very honest college has been even better than high school. I wish I knew two years ago that the best days of my life weren’t over. The best days of my life were just starting. I always think back to when I wanted to leave "St. Thomas Aquinas College" after my first semester was over and go to a different school were the majority of my high school friends were, how different would my life have been? I honestly think it would have been a mistake. I would have never grown and matured the way I have now. Staying at St.Thomas Aquinas College allowed me to grow and develop on my own and find myself and become my own person. I was given amazing opportunities here and I don’t think I would have these opportunities anywhere else. I was able to break out of my shell and make amazing friends and connections. Being at college allowed me to start fresh and become more social and confident. This new confidence has improved my relationships here and my relationships with my friends from high school and my family.
College has finally made me the person I always wanted to be, someone who is confident, wise, mature and self-aware. The biggest difference between me going into my freshman year vs. me going into my junior year is that I am truly happy and satisfied in where my life is right now. The last few years have been an amazing journey for me and I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.
