In December of 2020, I got accepted to Ohio University, the school that I had wanted to go to since I had began my college search. I immediately joined every OU Facebook group I could find and tried to meet as many incoming bobcats like myself as I could. I spent the months leading up to my arrival on campus thinking of nothing but how excited I was to be in a new city three hours from home, making new friends and experiencing new things. And when I arrived on campus, that was exactly what it felt like, but that feeling didn't last. Once second semester rolled around, I found I was spending all of my nights alone in my dorm, I had maybe three people who I would truly consider friends, and even though I refused to admit it, I was just generally unhappy.

A few weeks into second semester, two of my friends who now attended Kent State University visited me for two days. These two days were quite possibly the best two days I had had on campus in months, and made me realize how empty my life on campus really was on the daily. And when they left I realized how desperately I needed something in my life to change. I looked around and everyone had found their people and were out having fun while I was stuck in the same place I was in when I first arrived on campus. Add this to the fact that I was living further from home than I had ever been, I knew it was time to consider switching schools.

While I am only in the middle of my transfer process, I was shocked at how easy it was to start the process and apply to a new school. About a month after I started the whole process, I have been accepted to a new school, and am already looking at housing. While transferring might not be the answer for everyone, it is always important to prioritize your own happiness and overall mental health when you know you will be entering a new environment for a long period of time. There is no shame in realizing that you might have made the wrong decision the first time around.