I've lived in a small, carbon copy town most of my life. I always knew I didn't fit in, and that used to upset me. Regretfully, I confined myself to be somebody I'm not for 18 years. I really didn't realize how much I was pretending to be someone else until I left for college. I went to an art academy in Chicago as a freshman last year. It was a big move, going from the simple, small-town life to a life in the chaos of the city. I went somewhere nobody knew my name, and I truly got a complete clean slate. When high school was over for me, I started to change into the person I actually am, very slowly. My last summer in town, I dyed my hair purple and got a tattoo. I know this just seems like a reckless move of a young adult, but that's not the case. I'm one to believe that you can express yourself through appearance with hair dye, tattoos, piercings, etc.

Regardless, I still was hiding who I truly was without even realizing it. Every time I would hang out with friends, I would have anxiety the whole time about saying or doing the wrong thing or being too weird. Looking back, I'm sad I did such a thing. But people in my town are extremely judgmental, and I hated thinking that I was different.

When I left for school, I was unbelievably excited for a clean slate and receiving the opportunity to go to college for something I love doing.

My first day of school was honestly something out of a book or movie. Not in any of the bad ways, but in every good way possible. Everyone was so nice and excited, yet nervous to meet new people. Also, everybody was unique. We gave speeches in my life-drawing class, presenting previous art and talking about our interests, hobbies, etc. It was so fascinating seeing everybody's different style, both in their art and their attire. Everybody was so interesting in their own, unique way.

When anyone presented art, everyone was so supportive and had nothing but kind words to say. No matter who the person was and what they looked like, everyone was amazed and kind, a completely new environment for me. Everybody took complete interest in everyone's speech and learning about fellow classmates. I remember that day feeling a breathe of fresh air. It felt so freeing to let go of the worry of people judging me, because here, nobody judged you for being yourself.

School went on, my true art potential was being unlocked, along with all of my fellow students. It was so awesome seeing myself and everyone else improve so quickly. Even a semester in, everybody was still crazy supportive of everyone's art, only now, we were comfortable enough to provide constructive criticism. There is truly nothing better than being surrounded by people who love what you do, and helping each other build as artists.

I made a large number of friendships that I will hold onto for the rest of my life. These friends are all so amazing and caring. I never once felt like I was "too weird" or could even be too weird for anyone. Nobody here criticized other's for having individuality; in fact, individuality is 100 percent preferred.

One of my favorite parts of school was when I'd be working on art, surrounded by my friends, sharing our favorite music. Whether in class or at the dorms, it was amazing. It was something so simple that was the favorite part of my day. We would talk about crazy experiences we've all experienced, what we all want to be, our favorite artists, the list goes on. There was never a dull moment. Everybody always had something to share, and if not, we were all perfectly content with sitting in silence and putting our hearts into our art.

Another favorite part of my art school experience is simply being able to walk downtown every day. Even the mornings after I had pulled an all-nighter to finish a project, I would still find myself smiling and feeling giddy just walking to school. Something about seeing people who are vacationing to a city you live in, seeing the buildings and taxis, watching people run to work in business attire or fellow college students skate to school just filled my insides with butterflies. I loved it.

As the year flew by, and the all-nighters became countless, I truly had found myself, because I let myself be found. Back in my small town, I didn't let myself get into anything new. I'm ashamed of confining myself for as long as I did, but it just made the college experience that much more worth wile.

I'm now a purple-haired, tattooed art kid who loves comics, makeup, anime and has the sleep schedule of a moth. Art school didn't change me; it helped me create and find who I truly always was. I opened myself up, which I wish I would've done long ago. Now, I can say I'm thankful I was always different, and I'm happy to be too weird. I was always a purple-haired art kid with dark lipstick who only sleeps when the sun is out.

I can't wait for year two.