1. Family
I have said it before, and I will say it until I die, there is nothing more important in your worldly life than your family. I have learned the true value of that word over the past four months. With the help of my parents and brothers, I had the confidence to venture out on my own and begin the next phase of my life. With their continued guidance, I know that I cannot fail because they will also stop me before I make a wrong move. I’m beyond grateful for each conversation, dinner, and joke I have with my fam-jam because I know that not everybody gets these moments with their own family. So to my mom, dad, and two goofs for brothers, thanks for being the coolest people I know. Interpret that sentence in your own context.
2. MATURE Friendships
In high school, everything is cliché-ish whether it is meant to be or not. Everyone has a lot of “friends,” but only a few actual friends. I thought that college would be different. I thought that all of the drama and gossip and pettiness would be left in high school, but I was wrong. However, I’ve come to find that if you try hard enough, and have enough patience, you really do find out who your friends are. You find people that you click with, and then you find people you connect with. The people who you connect with are the ones you have for life. This might be the most important thing college has taught me to be thankful for. I now have people who I can call at any hour, and not only will they pick up, but they will actually listen and talk. They don’t discard me because we believe different things or have different personalities. They don’t walk away because of some small disagreement or issue. I’m so grateful for these friendships and for the ones over this semester and back through high school that didn’t work out, because the bad ones helped me find the real ones.
3. Quality of Life
I know this one sounds a little weird, but hear me out. Before college, I was so worried about what would happen next that I rarely took time to embrace the moment I was living in. I still worry about the future, but I’ve learned to live in the moment. So much has happened this semester that I am so glad I paid attention to. I can’t imagine not having the memories and experiences that have come my way so far. I can’t imagine my life without my spot in Birmingham that I can go to so I can think and get away or the little kid that plays on the green every Tuesday and Thursday or even the super sweet guy at Panera who won’t take my order until he knows how my day is going.
College is a lot different than I imagined it being, but I am so happy that it is. I’m blessed to have the people in my life that I do. To know that there are still places and friends that I can go to who will value me even though my day might have made me feel small. So, to UAB, thank you for showing me that my life is so much better than I ever could have imagined. You truly rock.
