Everyone has their own reasons for going away to college. Sometimes they are the same reasons, sometimes they are very different reasons, but when it comes down to it the majority of us are glad to be away from home. We are given the chance to discover who we are without our parents opinions, we get away from the majority of the people we grew up with especially if you're from a small town, and we get to make our own little worlds for ourselves that are all our own. These are my five reasons why coming to Jacksonville State was the best decision of my life!

1. Moving to a New Town

I'm from a small town about an hour and a half north of Jacksonville, and if I know anything about small towns, basically everyone knows everyone and we all know each others' business. Since coming to Jacksonville, I've been able to get away from it and essentially get away from my past and have a fresh start where no one knows who I am or anything about me. It's nice to get away from the "label" that was laid upon you before you even really knew what labels were, and of course once they were there, they never went away; they followed you like a disease all the way up until graduation. After a life of trying to get away from all of that drama, it's nice to be able to breathe a sigh of relief and wash my hands of it all.

2. Meeting The Love of My Life

I met the love of my life the very first day I came to Jacksonville as an accepted student. I didn't know it then, but this man, who at the time was so scared to even say hi to me has become so very important to me; he's become my best friend, the person who can make me laugh even in the most stressful of times, and sometimes the most serious ones as well. He spoils me beyond belief, but more than anything he has helped me find who I am and has made me smile more times than I ever did before coming here a cold day in February.

3. Discovering Myself

In terms of self-discovery, there's no better place to do that than a new place. When you get stuck in the same rhythm of your home town where everyone knows your past, it's hard to change and try new things out. Coming to college in a new town where no one knows who you are makes it easy to try new activities, appearances, and find who you are rather than who everyone thinks you are.

4. Feeling a Sense of Independence

College is the place for most teens to begin to live on their own. By moving to Jacksonville, an hour and a half away from my hometown, I am able to experience that feeling. I'm close enough to home that I can come and go when I need to, but far enough away to be on my own. I am able to do almost everything for myself that my parents might have been doing at home, such as washing clothes or getting groceries. Coming to Jacksonville is also like an introduction to adulthood.

5. Meeting New People

Coming from a small southern town, you grow up knowing almost everyone, and if you don't, your family probably does. Which, with that, you've probably heard at least a few stories about them or their family from yours. Moving to Jacksonville opened up a whole new arena for connecting to not only new people, but different people. Jacksonville is filled with much more diversity than my hometown, and that makes for an amazing learning experience.