Towson University was not my first choice for college. It wasn't my second choice, or my third choice.

Out of ten schools that I applied to, Towson was my last option. Towson was my safety school. Towson was where I would go if I didn't get in anywhere else, or if I had a last-minute panic about moving away from home.

And then, even after getting in other schools, and getting some (but, never enough) money from them, everywhere else was cost prohibitive.

My dream of moving to Boston and going to school in the city was crushed one night when my dad and I looked at prices on the family computer and compared those prices to the money that schools were offering me.

"Sorry," he said.

"Are you sure it can't work?"

He didn't answer. He just exhaled, and shook his head.

Instead, we submitted my decision papers to Towson. Towson. My last choice. The safety school that I thought I would never end up at. It was devastating.

Now, though, Towson is home. I love it here. I love Baltimore County. The winter break after my first semester, though, I thought I wasn't going to come back to campus.

I didn't like living in a dorm. I was cordial with my roommate, but it wasn't the experienced I imagined it would have been. I struggled with finding a solid core of friends. I wasn't happy.

Over winter break, I told my family, in no uncertain terms, that I wouldn't be going back. It almost became a reality -- until my brother and sister, thankfully, told me what a mistake it would be. Tough it out through the year, the said. And then decide.

And thank God I did.

I went back to campus, trying to stay open to the idea of hanging around, but always thinking I would be leaving before long.

And everything fell into place. I found my role at The Towerlight -- it was a job, and it was a community of friends. I got living arrangements for the next year (off campus, thankfully) and I got an offer for a summer job that I had been dreaming of for years.

By the time I hit my sophomore year, I was so, so glad I had come back to Towson. I had responsibilities on campus, as a member of The Towerlight editorial board. I was involved with the Honors College. I was starting to enjoy the classes I was in -- I was getting to know both my classmates and my professors. And, though I didn't know it for sure yet, I was falling in love.

I stayed because my siblings told me that I was. But, God, am I glad I stayed. Towson has provided me so much -- a supportive and powerful network, opportunities for growth and a vibrant community to be a part of.

Towson isn't where I ever expected to end up, but now I can't imagine it any other way.