4 years ago my mom and I were visiting someone from church whose daughter was away at GSP. She was excitedly telling stories about everything her daughter was doing, the interesting field trips, the new friends, and of course she told me that I should apply for GSP. I politely said that I would consider that and immediately forgot about it as soon as I got in the car.

I knew what GSP was: Governor’s Scholar’s Program: a 5-week program where Kentucky’s “Best and Brightest” stayed on a college campus taking classes, making friends, and developing our talents. I had several friends away at GSP. They were always posting pictures, making statuses about how much fun they were having, and complaining that they never wanted to leave. I couldn’t count the number of times I heard someone call GSP “the best 5 weeks of my life so far.”

That all sounded magical and great, but not for me. This was 5 extra weeks of school, no cellphones outside of the room, and I was allowed to have visitors once the entire time. I thought about my boyfriend. I felt confident in our relationship, but what would happen to us if we barely spoke for 5 weeks? I thought about my friends, going to concerts and making memories without me. This was the summer before our senior year, our last summer to really hang out as much as we wanted. Next summer would be full of graduation parties, college orientations, and moving away.

Nevertheless, my mom was determined to have me go. So, she bribed me. She would buy and new phone if I applied to GSP. So, I applied…and I was accepted. Over the course of those 5 weeks, there were still times where I missed my friends so much I didn’t know how I could bear it. There were still times where I just wanted to go home and lay in my own bed. But now, 3 years later I have those feelings about GSP. I find myself constantly missing my GSP friends, or just wishing I could stay one more week. So, if you’re thinking about applying for GSP, here are a few reasons why you should:

The Money

This may seem shallow, but this was a big reason behind my going to GSP. Almost every public university in Kentucky offers some scholarship for GSP students. Even if you go to a school outside of Kentucky, it looks amazing on an application. College is expensive, and most people I know who went to GSP are paying little to nothing for their education. 5 weeks away from home is worth that I promise.

You Will Make Lifelong Friends

A lot of people say that GSP friends are the best friends because they’re just like you; they have the same interests and abilities (that’s why you’re all there). They say that a lot of your friends back home are just your friends because you happen to be at the same place 5 days a week. I don’t think that’s true for me since I’m still best friends with all of my high school, but there is something different about GSP friends. It’s been 3 years since I’ve been at GSP and I still have friends from GSP that I talk to weekly. I know I could call any of them up with a problem and they would be there for me. I love following their college adventures and relationships and knowing how they’re doing. It’s funny how strong of a friendship you can make it 5 weeks.

It Takes You Out of Your Comfort Zone

As a person with anxiety, I often joke that I don’t have a comfort zone because I am literally always uncomfortable. But, at GSP I got to see my comfort zone stretched to a whole new level. At the beginning I didn’t know a soul, and was terrified to even approach someone. At the end, I had a whole new group of friends, I had performed in a talent show in front of hundreds of people (talk about wayyy outside my comfort zone), I had worked on a farm, joined a 5k club, and became an avid poker player. Those weren’t things I ever could have imagined myself doing before GSP, but at the end I couldn’t be proud of myself.

It Is Something You Will Never Forget

The best part about GSP can’t be explained, it just has to be experienced. There are so many inside jokes, memories, stories that they will be all you can think about for weeks after you get back. It is just plain fun. There are dances every weekend where people actually danced the whole time. You go on field trips every week. One of my classes spent a day walking around downtown Lexington looking at street art. Another took us to different cute little coffee shops and bookstores. I had to give a presentation about art,but instead of the normal stuff, I got to give one about tattoos. These "classes" are way different than being in school.

I honestly don’t know if I can say that GSP was the best 5 weeks of my life, but I can say those 5 weeks were nothing short of life changing and that I would do it again in a heartbeat.