I'm sure everybody's parents tell them that college is a time where you find yourself and that they are the best four years of your life. For me, going to a college that only has 200 students more than my high school, I figured that it wouldn't be that big of a change and that I would still be the same exact person that I was in high school. But the truth is, after only one full semester of being in college, almost every aspect of who I thought I was has changed, and I have learned more about who I am over these past eight months than I have in the past 18 years of my life.
Growing up in a small town, you are practically born with a reputation. You go to school with the same group of kids from kindergarten to high school, and almost everyone in the town knows who you are. In elementary through high school, I was very shy and tended not to talk to anyone or voice my opinion too loudly in fear that someone would criticize what I had to say. Since I grew up with the same group of kids, I never really had to make new friends either. My biggest fear when coming to college was that I wasn't going to be able to make friends because I was so shy, and I tend to not open up to people easily. But the reality of meeting new friends in college is that it isn't as hard as you think it's going to be, and the friends that you make will probably change your outlook on different things and encourage you to become who you want to be, not who you "had" to be throughout high school.
The first friend I made at college was my roommate. And of course, it was horribly awkward at first and we only ever made small talk. But after bonding over High School Musical and popcorn one night, we became best friends. Both my roommate and I played soccer, and we were constantly surrounded by the same group of girls, so it would only make sense that we would bond with them.
Through soccer, I made two other friends who I honestly cannot picture my life without. My group of three then grew to a group of four when we met a girl on the volleyball team, and now we never go anywhere without each other. My group of friends that I have created here at college have helped me learn who it is that I want to be. Unlike high school, nobody at my college judges you for anything you do, which is one of the really nice things about going to a super small school. Since everyone here is very excepting, I don't have to be afraid of voicing exactly what it is that I really want to say, because now I know that what I have to say is important.
Because of this, I have become way more confident and social. The confidence that I have gained here has also helped me to find my passions, such as writing and public speaking. In high school, I wouldn't have dreamed of getting in front of a large group of people and reading a paper I wrote, or debating with someone about controversial topics, or walking up to someone I've never met and inviting them to come over and hang out.
But now I would do any of these things in a heartbeat. So what your parents always tell you about college being the best four years of your life is true. And it will change you, and you will make friends that you might even end up being closer to than the ones you've had your whole life. But the best part is that you get to spend four years of your life surrounded by people that genuinely make you happy, and want the best for you, which is something that I could never be more thankful for.
