"The College Question" is every high school senior’s kryptonite. Family members and friends always linger on the question, our tongues practically raw from the times we answered the inevitable, “Which college are you attending?” Some people have planned their college career since their first encounter with the universities emblem on various paraphernalia, some figuring it out after their first SAT score came through the mail. I envied those people who knew exactly what they were working towards. I spent my entire senior year stuck between my head and my heart, never quite certain where I would end up. My head told me to chase the stars through the rolling hills of Virginia and settle my cloud of dust in a school a few constellations away. I wanted to get lost in a cluster of bright lights- to be able to fade in and out if I wanted to. However, my heart felt strained at the thought of leaving the tiny little city I grew up in. Nothing felt right and every looming decision made my brain spin and spin and spin. If I’m being honest, I was scared. I didn’t want to settle into the wrong choice, immobile and miserable in an unfamiliar place. It wasn’t until a month before the beginning of fall semester that I actually knew exactly where I wanted to go.
It was by pure chance that I ended up at the University of Mary Washington, a small college in the heart of Fredericksburg. The city is tucked away in the upper right corner of Virginia, built on the shores of the Rappahannock River. My entire life has spanned between the city limits, my memories like Polaroid’s of the streets downtown and the country back roads. Fredericksburg is beautiful and quaint, relatively peaceful and small, but also notorious for being the city with nothing to do. For a long time I believed that. It isn’t a place you go to get lost and it certainly isn’t a place you find much adventure. I constantly felt oppressed by the familiarity of everything and I craved for something more. I was adamant about applying to colleges anywhere but UMW and wouldn’t even tour the campus. My mind was set on escape. The only reason my name ended up in their mailbox was because my parents insisted I have a school to fall back on.
Decision day and graduation passed by in a blur excitement, the page to a new chapter slowly flipping over. For me, my fingers were pressing white knuckles into the page, hesitant and anxious to completely transition to the next plot point in my story. The college question was still difficult for me; my answer always felt heavy on my tongue, like it was weighing on me. I was miserable at the thought of my freshman year, perhaps just a glimpse of what I would’ve felt in the fall. I felt like I was being backed into a corner and my only escape was straight through the path I had fought tooth and nail to avoid. I was extremely lucky that UMW accepted my late decision, only a month before the beginning of classes, and that I was able to find a residence hall that could fit in just one more bed.
Stepping on campus for the first time, I immediately felt like the walls behind me had broken down to mortar and dust, liberating me from the same type of oppression I thought UMW would confine me to. Now, as my freshman year draws to a close, I can honestly say that this school is the best choice I’ve ever made. I was so afraid that staying here wouldn't provide me with enough opportunities, but it has actually given me more than I could have ever hoped for. Being here has allowed me to grow in not only my independence, but my perspectives. Fredericksburg isn’t just my town, it’s my home. No matter how far I travel, nothing will ever compare to beauty of the place that I grew up in.
