The first thing people ask when I say I go to Stevenson University, is “Where?” I usually get a lot of head turns and confused looks because most have no clue where Owings Mills Maryland even is. Stevenson isn’t Princeton, or Harvard, or Yale but that doesn’t mean this isn’t the perfect school. With 3 campuses, 10,000 students and a large bronze Mustang standing tall in front of the stadium, it’s hard not to turn your head when driving by.

When a senior in high school goes on college tours usually, or at least for me, there are a lot of factors that go into picking where they’re going to spend the next four years. It’s all about the dorms, and the food and what the social life is like.

I’ll admit, Stevenson wasn’t my first-choice school, but now I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. Stevenson taught me what patience are when you’re waiting 45 minutes for a shuttle to come, and what the true meaning of the freshman 15 is when you eat ice cream and Lucky Charms for dinner. I know the feeling when its 9:30 at night on a Friday and you could die for Chicken Tenders but all the food options are closed. I know the struggle to walk up the hill from the Stadium and I know joy when you still have Flex dollars left at the end of the semester.

If you turn down Owings Mills Blvd, you won’t see a row of frat houses or a party in the day. But you will see people who know what it’s like to smile. You’ll see that Stevenson is about being whoever you want to be without judgement. It’s accepting, and kindhearted. No one gets discouraged for speaking their mind and no one is shut down for having an original thought. As a matter of fact, originality is encouraged. At Stevenson, you’re free to be yourself.

It’s the little things that make this school exactly where I want to be. Stevenson gave me some of my best friends, that soon turned into family and some unforgettable memories. I’ve been here close to a year and I’ve never felt so supported. There are days when classes are impossible and the amount of homework is enough to drowned in but then there are days when people are outside playing beach volleyball, and music is playing, and it’s hard not to be happy.

So maybe it’s the 410-area code, or the fact that Maryland puts Old Bay on everything that made living away from home so easy. Or maybe it’s 70-degree weather in February. But either way, it doesn’t matter, because suddenly before I even knew it, SU became home, and everything just seemed to click.