When I started my freshman year at Indiana University, I was so excited and ready to take on something new. To my surprise, that excitement slowly started to fade once I started struggling to keep A's in my classes and was having trouble making friends. I would call my mom every night just because I was bored and missed home so much. I would tell her about all the events and places I wanted to go to but never did because I was too scared to go alone. My second year was a little better, but I was still having a hard time adjusting and making friends. I became depressed and started going home a lot. I even thought about leaving IU and transferring to a school at home.
My third year started to get a lot better. I had a solid group of friends, my grades were getting better, and I was starting to take classes I actually enjoyed. It was this year that I was introduced to radio broadcasting, which I loved, and the African American and African Diaspora Studies (AAADS) department. Everything seemed to be falling into place, and I was finally happy about my decision to come to IU. After I was more confident and things were going well, I started looking into sororities. I pursued Zeta Phi Beta and was accepted as a member during the spring semester. I had finally had a social life and gained a new Greek life. Thinking about how unhappy I was my first two years, I never thought I would be so happy at IU.
My whole IU journey, the good parts and the bad parts, led me to the best four years of my life so far. I know that is so cheesy to say, but it is so true. Each step in my journey has been better than the one before, and each step has led me to feel as prideful and accomplished as I do at this moment.
As I walked home after my last day of classes for the semester I felt a mixture of emotions: sadness, pride, empowerment, anger, motivation and excitement. All of which led to me bawling my eyes out for 20 minutes once I got home. I have been very sensitive and stressed this whole semester with it being my last and not knowing what's next to come. But at the end of it all, Spring 2015 has been the best semester of my whole educational career and a wonderful note to end on. Every other semester has been great but this one has been exceptional. Even though it's cheesy, I just cannot leave here without acknowledging the people who have helped me and in some cases changed my life. I woke up every day with something to look forward to, and I learned something great every single day. I went from wishing I were at home to never wanting to go back. Besides the relationships I have built and the experiences I have gained, the education is what I value the most. I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to go to college and for the counselors and teachers who believed in me and helped me make it a possibility. Now I can be a role model to my younger siblings and neighbors and hopefully inspire them to get an education and to stick with things even when it gets hard.
Thank you, IU. You've been good to me.
