It was the middle of my junior year of high school when our guidance counselors started to sit down with each of us to see what our plan after graduation was. It was the year we all started to stress out about what colleges we were going to apply to, and when we were going to take the SATS and ACT's. I had a couple of universities in mind but was just so unsure if I was ready to take this big step being only 18 at the time. I still applied to them because I knew I wanted to pursue a counseling psychology degree. I was an average B+ student who always did her very best but when it comes to standardized tests… they were and still are my weaknesses so I was afraid I wouldn't get in. But I still pursued and applied for three universities and I got accepted to all of them— the excitement but indecisiveness began. Am I ready to live on my own? Am I even sure I want to go for this major? Am I even sure I am ready for college?

I had all of these doubts and questions in my head but also so badly wanted to "fit in" and be like all of my other friends who were going to a 4-year university. After a couple months of thinking about it, I decided to go to the community college in my county. I was so embarrassed to tell anyone when they asked "what college are you going to?" because people used to tell me that a community college is the "13th grade."

The summer after I graduated, all of my friends were shopping for dorm room supplies and getting excited for their 4-year universities as I sat in my house deciding if I made the right decision…. Two years passed by and I graduated from my community college with an Associates Degree in Liberal Arts and am so thankful I have chosen to save money and go this route. Starting college is very different compared to high school. Not only academically but emotionally and physically things are changing. You're trying to keep friendships from childhood while making new friends, you are writing 20-page papers compared to 3-5-page papers and having mental breakdowns over them, you may even be teaching yourself some classes because some professors just don't teach you what you need! These two years helped me to grow not only academically but mentally and prepared me to pursue my Psychology major at a university in my state. In any college, community or not, you get what you put in. You can either make your time at community college terrible or make the best of it. I met some amazing professors who helped me grow in ways I did not think I could and met some amazing friends who made my experience so much better. I was able to see my two nephews grow up and was able to be there for all of their "first time" experiences which meant so much to me. This decision had been one of the best ones I've had and I am forever grateful for all of the opportunities and amazing people I met in my community college. So if you are thinking of going to a community college first, do not be ashamed for choosing what could be one of the best experiences.