In my junior year of high school, I began to tour colleges. I toured several schools in the southeast but none of them stood out except for Auburn University. My dad had gone to Auburn for his college career and I had grown up going to Auburn football games with my family. Auburn was family. When I toured the school, I proudly proclaimed to the tour guide that this was the only school that I was even considering. I had so many great memories there that it seemed like the logical choice. It was only forty minutes from home, my parents would come visit often, and I had some friends who also planned on attending. I was already looking for orange and navy dresses for the football games. It seemed like a sure bet. Unfortunately, nothing in life is a sure bet.
Even though my hometown was on the border, I was technically an out of state student. I needed scholarship to afford Auburn and I took the SAT four times and the ACT once to try and obtain the scholarship that would make my dream come true. The last time I took the SAT, I was ten points off from getting the scholarship that I needed. My mom broke the news to me around January that Auburn just wasn't an option for our family. I cried for days and contemplated where else I could go for college. The only other real option that met my college wish list was The University of Georgia. As I sat down to discuss this option with my parents, I couldn't even remember touring UGA. My mom and I were on our phones the whole time because we weren't interested in the school. The layout of the campus was too long, you had to live on campus as a freshman, and there were way, way too many hills. I honestly hated it. But after a very long discussion with my parents, it was decided that I would be attending The University of Georgia in the fall of 2015.
The first semester was a rough adjustment. I was three hours away from home, there were too many people in my dorm, and the hills were killing me on my way to class in the morning. I had to throw out half of my closet and buy red and black clothes. The students never sat down during football games. And I was still getting over the fact that some of my friends were having the time of their lives in the Plains. I was not happy, to say the least.
But as the semester went on, I began to get involved in different organizations on campus and I began to branch out of my comfort zone to meet friends. I pushed the envelope of the small bubble that I had been living in and I began to put myself out in the world. I joined a sorority (cliche I know) and met some amazing girls who are now my best friends. I discovered the amazing world of the dining halls on campus. I figured out the bus schedule and was able to avoid all of the hills. I began to facetime my family every week which helped with the homesickness. And I slowly began to feel the pride of being a part of the Bulldawg nation. When I came home for Christmas Break, I immediately wanted to go back to Athens. I missed everything about the charm of north campus, the elegance of the MLC, the world class Ramsey Center, and the chaos of Tate Plaza. I missed my friends and our late night calzone runs, our stargazing, and our shopping dates. Even though it took me some time to get used to a new surrounding, I am so incredibly grateful that I had to attend my second choice college. I learned that just because you have to take an alternate path doesn't mean that you can't have the time of your life on that new path. Life may not always work out how you planned but sometimes that's a good thing. You may discover things about yourself that you didn't know. You may experience things that you never would've had the opportunity to experience. You may meet amazing people who will become a part of your life forever. And you may find that maybe, just maybe, you like it. I love The University of Georgia with all of my heart and I would never want to go anywhere else to get my college education.
