After I graduated high school, I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. I decided to take a gap year and continue working the same job I had in high school. During this year I watched people (thorough social media) go to college, find all new friends, join a sorority/fraternity, and become basically new people. If they didn't do that, they were stuck at home (like me). Slowly, but surely becoming the "burn out" that we all promised our school guidance counselors we weren't going to be once we graduated. I got so sick of wasting my time at a job that wasn't helping me grow professionally, or personally. At this time I decided to go to college. When I started deciding on which college I should attend, I was mainly looking at acceptance rates, to be honest.

"Oh, only 30% acceptance rate? Nah, I'll go somewhere else."

I didn't want to end up like most I graduated with, going to the community college in our small town in Texas, then either getting pregnant, transferring to Texas State University, or working at the local Wag-A-Bag. Then I finally realized there's a world outside of Texas. (some Texans may disagree with this statement) Then I stopped looking at acceptance rates, and started looking at location. My number one priority became finding a school out of my state and this is why:

I Got a Clean Slate

This was a big factor for me, personally. I made a lot of mistakes during my high school years that held me back as a person. It's hard to become someone new when everyone remember what you've done around you, and holds it against you. Living in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and you run into people you graduated high school with at the Whataburger up the road sucks a lot.

I Get To Meet People From a Different Region

Before coming to Grace College, I probably only knew a handful of people who were from the south (mainly Texas). I actually didn't know a single person who was currently living in Indiana, so it was kind of nerve-racking, but exciting all at the same time. It's so fun to see sayings here in the Midwest that differ from the south. Or how the people here pronounce 40% of the English dictionary somewhat incorrectly. It's crazy how different it is here in comparison to the south, when we are in the same country.

INDEPENDENCE

If i would have ended up going to a college in Texas, I would probably have gone home every weekend so that my mom could do my laundry, make me food that isn't ramen noodles, sleep in my own bed, and see my old friends. I would of slowly slipped back into the person I was in high school, and that's the last thing I would want to happen to me. Since I went 1,201 miles away from my family, I have had to grow up in a lot of ways and become more of an independent individual.

Even though this has been a crazy transition in my life, it has been well worth it. Now that I am finishing up my first session at Grace College, I can confidently say I made the correct decision to go out of state to get my degree.

P.S. Texas Forever