Whenever I switched schools or went to the next level of my education, I would be excited to find out what would happen to me and who I would meet. The same thing happened when I was on my way to college. I only knew a handful of people, but I was excited to meet new people and try "the best four years of your life." I can honestly say this year has changed me.
The very first thing I did was scrub away any and every memory from my high school days. I was highly insecure about my younger years, so I knew I had to drop whatever thoughts I had and attempt a new attitude as I entered college. I had to be more outgoing, so I did my best to talk to people I would normally never talk to.
After a while, I started to treat Longwood like my home. I tried not to feel like it was a foreign place anymore, and after two months, I finally decided to decorate my room. I put up pictures of my family and even bought a poster and a flag to hang up. I never did that back home, but thanks to my magical command strips, I finally started to get the mindset that this place was mine, just like everyone else's.
Next, I didn't want to make the mistake of getting distant from my peers because of a lack of activity, so I immediately signed up for a club, then another. I joined a fraternity, then eventually I said f*ck it, and made my own club. Joining and creating organizations are probably the best things I've done at college because it forces you to be busy, to go somewhere and not be alone.
I've also tried to fit into many different groups until I found something that started to click. I think part of me is stuck up in a way, but since coming to college, I realized I liked being with the people others would call weird because they are the most honest and driven people I've ever met. It is just one of many valuable life lessons I've learned.
Some scary stuff has happened too, but I've taken leadership in these problems to combat the same issues other campus's face as well. Part of what college does is make you a leader in things you didn't know you could be a leader of. You find your own moral compass and decide what to do with it from there.
Of course, I felt depressed a few times and gained a lot of weight, but I think they only make the happier times...happier. Rainbows would be boring if we saw them all the time, and the same goes for the happiest moments.
Lastly, I've learned that not everyone is going to like you. You just have do your own thing and appreciate those who do like you for you. You may never get all the answers, but I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes things I would never imagine happening, happen because of unprecedented and unpredictable events.
I think I've really grown into myself, and I still have a lot to grow on. But the first year of college has treated me well. And like the kid I was and still am, I'm excited to see what is next and who I'll meet.
