Dear University,
At first I was afraid that I wouldn't fit in. I didn't have too many friends in high school, so I wasn't sure that it would be any different in college. How could I make new friends when I feel like I'm so shy and introverted. I mean, I'm extremely outgoing, but not when it comes to meeting new people, and thats what college is all about. I was sure I was going to hate college.
About 3 months in, I realized you weren't so bad; you were actually kind of fun. I ended up meeting new people that were just and strange as I thought I was; I felt that I could handle this. But things quickly changed as I realized college isn't much different than high school. There was still drama, cliques and more drama. I didn't finish my freshmen year with the same people I started off with, and you know what, that was okay.
My sophomore year I went in focused on my studies, and I felt this was going to be a great school year. Throughout the months, I realized that doing things without my mom there was extremely difficult. I was having issues with financial aid, professors, and my grades, and I wasn't sure I could handle them on my own. But you pushed me. I was alone at college and I was forced to handle things on my own, and I surprised myself in the long rung.
The end of sophomore year proved itself to be just as hard as last year, but my problems weren't coming from friends, they were coming from my classes. I had was struggling to get the grades I wished the receive and I was losing motivation to stay focused on my studies.
I remember one morning I decided to see my academic counselor just to see if I would be able to graduate on time. I left that meeting a changed person. I had switched my major to Journalism and suddenly everything felt right. I walked out of your main building and the air was calm and I felt like I had made my first important decision in life, and I couldn't wait to see what Junior year had in store.
My junior was better than both my first two years combined. Although I felt like a deer in headlights switching from Psychology to Journalism, I knew that this was the path I was meant to be on. No matter what work I was given, or how challenging my classes seemed, nothing felt like "work" to me. It all felt like a leaning experience to build my passion in writing.
With all that in mine, I also met some amazing people, cut off some old friends, and decided it was time to start doing things for myself. I found who I was, and figured out who I wanted to be, so thank you University for allowing me to find the best version of myself. I am the strongest I've ever been, and only plan on getting better.
