Many High School students, especially seniors, are presented with a choice: to stay in-state for college or to broaden your horizons and attend an out-of-state school. Staying in-state means for the continuation to be with most of the students from your high school, being able to recognize familiar faces, knowing upper class men who would be able to show you around the campus, and being close to home. But going out-of-state calls for much more excitement.
Most of us have hesitations. Hesitations about if you're going to be able to make friends or if you're strong enough to jump out of your comfort zone. Surprisingly enough, those are the two most amazing things about going out-of-state.
When I decided to attend the University of Arizona, I had an enormous amount of nerves running through my body. Especially when the summer came to an end and everyone began saying their goodbyes, I wondered if I had made the right decision. So many questions ran through my mind like, what if I don't get into a sorority? What if people don't like me? What if being this far away from home is too much for me to handle? But once I got on campus, I was hooked.
Being able to have the luxury to attend an out-of-state school is truly an amazing opportunity that everyone should strive to experience. Leaving Indiana and moving 1,690 miles away was the best decision of my life. Not only did it challenge me, but it changed me. I became a new me that I never thought I was capable of being. I grew up so much and learned new things about myself that I never knew I had in me. Moving away allowed for me to put my past in my past. I moved on from relationships, drama, and most importantly, the cold, to new beginnings, new friendships and a new atmosphere. I'm not going to lie and say that it was easy and that I didn't cry about missing home or missing my friends, but it for sure was interesting to be a part of a new world and experience things in life that not every 18 year old is able to experience.
So this is my tip to all those seniors who are struggling with making their final decision about where they want to spend the next best years of your life. Be brave, be spontaneous, be fearless and try something new. See where it'll take you. You'll make wonderful, new connections, as well as a new life for yourself that you never imagined. See what you're capable of.
