Those college students who knew where they wanted to go their junior year of high school are lucky. They bought their shirts and hats and tumblers and specialized hat for their dogs with their dream schools plastered all across the material. They sent in their application, and their family was already booking a hotel for Parent’s Weekend. They got accepted and received a cake with “CONGRATULATIONS!” and a picture of the school logo on it. They packed up their things, went in their mom’s van to move-in day and met their new life-long best friend- the freshman year roomie!
The funny part is — this was me. I loved my school more than anything my senior year. Then, I transferred home to school, took a year off to live in Florida, and then transferred again. But hey, at least I still can rock my first school with pride.
Every step you take and move you make in college teaches you something. Whether it be what you want to do with your future, what is important to you and how you spend your time, or simply what climate you want to be in- it taught you something.
My first college, the one that I declared my “dream school,” was most definitely not my dream school. But, it taught me how to live on my own away from my family. Being in a small dorm where you really have to care for yourself is an empowering thing. It also taught me that I did not want to be any of the things I thought I wanted to be when I grew up. When it really gets down to taking classes, trying them out is most important- and this was the decider. This “dream school” also taught me how to make memories and have the amazing time at college everyone talks about.
College number two, known as transferring home to county, also taught me what was important. Going out every night might be fun, but working on myself and getting good grades was definitely better. Since all my friends were away, it was easy to take care of what needed to be done and figure things out. Here is where I decided on my major (that still sticks two years later!!) and saved enough money to bring me anywhere I wanted or needed to go.
Untraditionally taking a year off to live and work in Disney World taught me the most, mostly being taking online classes while holding a full-time position taught me that I wanted to graduate and as soon as possible. This is where I found a balance between work and fun, which has helped me so much since.
Finally, I am here at my final location, because as my mom says, “You’re graduating from Rowan whether you like it or not.” But, all the past experiences have helped me be successful here at Rowan. I can’t call any of it a mistake- because although I was a wreck, I still am a wreck. But, at least now I have the skills to be successful about it. Even so, I finally found home at Rowan University — even if it did take a few tries.
