When I was in middle school and the beginning years of my high school years, I was convinced that I had to go to college away from home. To me places, like Missouri State, that were so close to home just didn't seem like the right thing to do.

I had my heart set on places like University of Arkansas and University of Central Missouri, but they just didn't seem to be the place for me. I had heard a lot of great things about Missouri State and decided to go ahead and take a tour, which ended up being my change of mind and my change of heart.

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The next step here was to decide if I wanted to live on campus or stay at home. Sure, staying at home would save me some money and keep me close to everything that I had ever know, but what would I learn and experience if I lived off campus.

Which happened to be my final decision - on-campus living. There were a lot of things I had to consider and a lot of things that worried me a little bit. Some of these decisions and worries including which building I wanted to live in, if I wanted to community style bathroom if I would like my RA, and if my roommate and I would get along. Somewhere along the way, everything started to come together for me and right now I am at the happiest that I have been in a long time.

Here I am into my second semester of my freshmen year of college, thriving with some of the most supporting and amazing people I have ever met in my life, learning real-life skills, building a resume, a joining different organizations on campus that make me feel more connected than I ever did in high school.

Living on campus is the reason that I am so close to these people, especially considering they live on my floor, and I genuinely believe that I wouldn't have tried to get involved in anything if I was living at home thirty minutes away.

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I want to urge future incoming freshman to take the opportunity to live on their campus no matter how far from home they live. Take the chance and move away and start fresh for yourself.

Meet new people, get involved, do anything and everything that sounds interesting to you and makes your heart happy. Joining Odyssey at my university was another step that I took and I'm so glad I did it. College is all about taking chances and finding out who you are, and I feel like a lot of what happens during your first year. Get out there and have fun!