I Love College

Okay, so let's be real, waiting for college to start seems like it takes forever. In high school, at least for the first two years, college seems like a distant thought, something that’s so far away, you shouldn’t even bother paying attention to it, or thinking about where you would possibly want to go, what you would want to study, or whether you’d want to stay in state or move far way from your family. Junior year, that all changes what with SATs, ACTs, and the never ending reminders from teachers, parents, and your fellow peers that you have to maintain an outstanding GPA in order for colleges to consider you. Senior year rolls around, the applications, interviews, and campus visits make that distant thought of college become that much more real. Throughout the year you’re reminded not to flunk out of any of your classes and try to keep the detentions for dress code and tardies to a minimum. Suddenly, the classmates you’ve known for the past four years are flaunting the colors and clothes of colleges they are considering attending. Spring semester flies by as classes don’t really matter at that point, all the while you experience your last Prom, your last high school rally, and your last day of driving into the senior lot. Graduation seems surreal, everyone moving on to bigger and better things, and suddenly, you realize you only have three months left. Summer goes by like the blink of an eye as you try to make the most of your last moments with the friends you’ve been with for the last four years. You try to balance working twenty hours a week to save up for the next year while trying to party and reminisce about the last four.

And then suddenly, it’s move-in day. The car packed to the brim, you roll up to your college dorm nervous as hell wondering who your roommate is, what view your windows have, and if you’ll actually meet new friends or walk the cafeteria alone.

But let me tell you this: I love college.

It is beyond what is pictured in TV shows and movies, but so, so much more. I have been at Loyola University Chicago for four days now, and the people I’ve met and the connections I’ve already made have been absolutely incredible. You can be whoever you want to be, wear whatever you want to wear, and truly be independent for the first time in your life. Being at college is the most empowering feeling I’ve ever experienced. The professors are there for you, the friends are open to new things and ideas, and the opportunity to study in a different city or state or even country is beyond amazing. Every day I now get to wake up in Chicago, IL and get a morning coffee, walk the city streets, learn about things I never would have dreamed in class, explore the city’s museums, parks, concert venues and more. Believe me, I know being in high school feels like college is so far away, and the question of whether or not college is actually fun or if you’ll fit in is very prominent before you head off to start your collegiate education, but after four days I can already tell college is going to be the absolute best experience I’ve ever had, and it’ll be yours too.