Twenty-One years old and I still have two more years of college when I'm supposed to be graduating spring 2018. I attended the "great" University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown for two years before deciding that I needed a change or I was going to fail out. I grew up in little old Johnstown, three minutes from the UPJ campus. For those of you that don't know Johnstown, it can be described in one word... awful. They say on every corner there is a bar and a church which is almost 100% true. With that being said, I grew up around lots of alcohol which led to my excessive drinking every weekend at UPJ and resulted in taking an F as a final grade like a champ. Mind you.. I didn't want to go to UPJ. It was more or less a forced situation by my father because that is where he went and he was paying.
Now, I am living in South Carolina. So, ultimately I won! I moved in with my dads parents (my "Grandparents") to establish residency so that I could go to school and get in state tuition... I now live in my own apartment. I have been through so many obstacles financially, physically and emotionally since I have been living in South Carolina. Let me tell you, until you are completely on your own paying for everything yourself and being an "adult" you don't know who you truly are. I have learned so many things about myself that I honestly did not want to know. One example is that I have a hard time sharing with other people. This is probably because I was an only child, but that's besides the point. There are a lot more negative aspects but I will focus on the positives.
1. I read when I never even touched a book before.
2. I pray. Even though I used to be terrified of churches and didn't have a religious bone in my body.
3. Excessive drinking annoys the HE double hockey sticks out of me.
4. I love the outdoors (minus spiders and snakes) and started hiking as a hobby.
5. I am a clean/neat freak. (I used to let everything pile up so you couldn't walk in my room)
6. I am now interested in learning and doing well in college.
Finding myself has been one of the greatest journeys I have been on and its not even close to being over. With all this being said, BE THE PERSON YOU WANT TO BE AND DO NOT LET ANYONE DICTATE YOUR DECISIONS. In the end, life works itself out on the right path no matter how many turns it may take. Be humble, be positive and always trust in your heart.
