It has been about a year since I graduated High School, and people are still questioning me about why I choose to go to college in Michigan. To this day, I cannot answer that question because there are so many different reasons that I decided to go to college a couple states away and if I were to explain them all, we would be here for quite a long time.

One of the first reasons I left my snug little town in Minnesota is because I wanted to experience something new and exciting BY MYSELF. I wanted to be able to depend on myself and not on my parents as I have typically done in the past. I wanted to grow and hopefully thrive on my own. This decision was honestly one of the hardest I have ever made. "You can still be on your own by living a couple hours away from home." Yes I could, but not as much as being 12 hours away from home.

Another reason is because I didn't want to run into anyone I knew at a local college. Sure it would have been nice to have a familiar face out there, but I survived and have made plenty of friends along the way. I just wanted a fresh start where no one knew me and I didn't know them. At times it was intimidating to get to know someone because where I grew up it was customary to know just about everything about a person without ever talking to them. So when I got to know my friends, I could pick and choose what to tell them about myself without them having prior knowledge of me. Except if they stalked my facebook.

"If you want to go out of state, why not pick some where warm like Florida?" As lovely as Florida sounds, I prefer my 4 seasons thank you very much. The climate in Michigan is similar to Minnesota so that worked for me. Florida is more of a vacation spot, and would honestly probably make me procrastinate even more than I do now.

I have plenty more reasons but I feel like those are the most important to me. Both MI and MN have its charms and its faults, but I am happy to say that they are both home. My friends and family all thought I was crazy for choosing Ferris State, but I am happy with my decision.