Growing up in small town where everyone knows everything and everyone can get you into some really tricky situations as well as having its perks. When picking out a college my senior year, I wanted to go somewhere far away to get away from my small town. I wanted new-- new city, new people, new start, new me. Applying for schools was easy; University of Michigan, Ferris State University, Grand Valley State University, Oakland University, Arizona State University, Penn State University, Central Michigan University, and Saginaw Valley State University. How was I going to make up my mind with all of these colleges? Some of the things that helped me narrow my choice down was price, distance, campus life including whether or not there was AC in the dorms, and their programs.

I knew I wanted to leave Michigan but it wasn't the right moment in my life to do so. My last two choices I found myself stuck between were the Valleys. I could either be a Laker or a Cardinal. I took it into my hands to research and visit each university a handful of times to make sure I made the right decision. Grand Rapids and Grand Valley were beautiful, I can't think of anything better than how many farmers markets there are in Grand Rapids. The campus was beautiful, the people were nice-- my only problem was that it didn't feel like home. No matter how many times I visited, I didn't get that warm feeling in my stomach that it was the right place for me.

Just like Grand Valley, Saginaw Valley was stringing on my heart. I found myself falling in love with the people I met on visits, the location, the art museum, and the environment as a whole but then I realized that there was one downfall to me personally. The downfall was that compared to Grand Valley, Saginaw Valley felt like a high school to me because majority of the people who attend Saginaw Valley are from the thumb area just like me. The whole purpose of college for me was to get away from where I came from, to start over. I didn't want to be known for who I was in high school or by my last name, I just wanted to be a nobody who went to college to become successful.

So I had two schools narrowed down but how could I chose which one would fit me best? While Grand Valley was almost 3 hours away, Saginaw Valley was only 45 minutes. Distance, Sesa. Distance. That is what I kept reminding myself. I kept falling back to the comfortable and familiar feeling of Saginaw because it was close to home. Choosing a university to attend was one of the hardest things I have had to put myself through and it took me nearly a month to decide while still trying to finish my senior year of high school.

Going days on days without choosing was beyond stressful but I had made my mind up; I would become a Cardinal. Small college, maybe but even if it was close to home and small, I still had the choice to start over. While attending my first year at Saginaw Valley, I ran into more than enough people daily that I knew which sometimes really made me question my choice for my schooling but I remind myself that it is always a great day to be a Cardinal.

While attending Saginaw Valley, I realized that even though it is a small campus, I have the whole world on my side and by "whole world" I mean a great big world.

I will forever run into people I know but that is the beautiful thing about life; you have someone everywhere you look that flashes a smile your way or just wants to say hello. There's been times when my friend group will count the amount of people I pass that know me but that just makes for a bigger friend group. The days I live for at Saginaw Valley are the ones where I casually see 20 people at the FOC that I know or the massive number of students I will meet during my classes. Small Campus, Great Big World; no matter what, it is always a great day to be a Cardinal.