Change is tough. Change is especially tough when you finally adjust to something and have to have it ripped away from you. For me, that change was transferring back home after a year away. It's no secret that my first semester I spent all my time locked in my room, homesick. I barely ate, didn't talk to many people besides my roommate, and I went home every weekend. I was having a hard time adjusting to this new change. But by the time Christmas came, I started making new friends. I found out the people who lived right around me were awesome, and I started to form super close friendships. I was really starting to enjoy my college experience. When I had to leave for Christmas break, I was actually kind of sad to leave. As the new semester came around, I decided to join club lacrosse. I swear if it wasn't for that I probably wouldn't have survived my second semester. I made so many new friends playing on a team, and because we had weekend practices I could no longer just go home whenever I wanted. It gave me a chance to stay on campus, hang out with new people, and have fun.

For some reason, I chose to go to a school that I had never heard of. I applied to 8 schools, got into them all, but when I visited DeSales I immediately felt at home. I got that feeling inside that told me this was where I needed to be. I knew nobody going into my freshman year besides the very few people I had met at our pre-orientation. It was tough, but as I look back on my experience, I would never give it up.

Deciding to transfer was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. My first semester, I thought for sure I wanted to leave. I thought I could pack my bags, walk out, and never look back. But as I made more friends, I realized this place was my new home. I loved the atmosphere, the friends, the professors even. How could I have ever wanted to leave this little home? It was tough, I thought of many ways I could stay, changing my major again to something close to what I wanted, but as my mother said "you can't go to school because of your friends, you need to go to a school that has your major, and can help you grow."

DeSales helped me grow in so many ways. I learned how to do laundry there (yes, I was the girl who went away to school not knowing how to do laundry). I learned that I can survive and thrive in a new state, new environment, and new culture despite feeling anxious and believing that I couldn't. I made lifetime friends who I can always count on whenever I need to vent, or want to share good news with. I made a forever home.

Lately, I've been missing my old home. I miss how comfortable it was to walk across the hall, into my friend's dorms and say hello. Living at home is different. Commuting to a new school is different. My major is different. This new change was tough, but so was my first transition to DeSales.

Last weekend, I finally got to go back to my forever home. Driving through the winding roads, I felt an unimaginable amount of butterflies float in my stomach. My heart raced as I saw the DeSales University sign, and I knew I was back home. My friends welcomed me with open arms, we embraced for what felt like forever and it gave me that sense of closure to know that, even though I had left, this place was still my home. Everyone there, was excited to see me. It made me so incredibly happy to know that even miles away, if I ever needed a place to stay, or people to talk to, I could go back, whenever, to my home.

That's the thing about DeSales. No matter how far away you go, no matter how long you stayed there for, once a bulldog, always a bulldog. And everyone there, knows that. I'm so grateful for the year I spent at DSU. I'll never forget the people I met, friends I made, and the homey feeling the campus has. Thank you, to my forever home, for always taking me back, for never giving up on me, and for giving me friends who will stay with me a lifetime. Thank you, for being my forever home.