I have been in college for a solid two years of my life now. That's two years of new places, new faces and new experiences. It's two years of growing up into a young adult three hours away from my home, family and friends. I am about to be twenty years old, I am not the immature teenager that I was when I left for the first time. I am not the same person that I used to be, but I still get the same comment, "You've changed."

My parents sent me off to college a month after I got my diploma. I was still only seventeen years old, soon to be eighteen a few weeks later. You could only imagine how terrified I was to be living on my own, even if it was only a dorm building, and being responsible for myself. It was time for me to get my act together and start living on my own. Supporting myself while my parents couldn't has changed me.

The friends and relationships I have gained and lost the past couple of years have had an impact in my life dramatically. I don't talk to a lot of my high school friends anymore and that's okay, whether it be an ex-friend or guy that was a part of my life. The same goes for some people I have gained and lost in college. There was some kind of outcome that has made me stronger, and cutting a toxic person out of my life was for my own good. Life is too short to have people tear you down 24/7. My relationships have changed me.

Joining a Greek organization has helped me grow into someone more mature and made me ready for the real world after college. Old friends I had thought being in a sorority was going to turn me into a girly spoiled brat that spends her free time getting drunk. I am the complete opposite. Becoming a member of my organization has given me the professional reality of working with people, the community, and taught me several social skills. I am more outgoing and broken out of my shell because of my sisters, why is that such a bad thing? My sorority has changed me.

Telling me that I have changed is not going to hurt my feelings. I am going to take it as a compliment. I am happy that I am not the same person I was two years ago. I am happy that I am growing up and making a name for myself. Yes, I have changed and yes, I am proud of it.