For the first 18 years of my life, I lived and breathed Louisiana pride, still do of course. I enjoyed almost two decades living in the state of the most amazing food in the entire world, with such an extensive, diverse culture and history. I was attached to my cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and honestly, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else in the entire world. With that being said, when I started my Freshman year of high school, the plan was to do the “obvious”: graduate in four years, and then attend LSU for undergrad, join a sorority with my girlfriends, get an apartment with my best friend, and live a happy collegiate life for the next four years. It was a “no-brainer” — that was my plan, and there seemed to be no thought about it, besides excitement.

Well, before I knew it, I was almost finished with my Junior year of high school, and I had just attended an Open House for LSU with my best friend. We took the whole entire day to explore the humungous, beautiful Southern campus. It was obvious that my friend felt right at home at this school, and was bursting at the seams with excitement for what the future held for her there. But, for me…I felt extremely overwhelmed and quite nervous throughout the whole tour that day. It was in that moment that I realized more about myself: in that stage of my life, I was extremely shy, quiet, extremely close to my mom and dad, and all around lacking independence and self-confidence.

And I realized then, that I wanted to break out of my shyness, and I wanted to be confident and independent, and really transform myself…find my voice, and I knew that this just wouldn’t work for me in a large university OR in the same city that I grew up in. So, totally diverting from my original plan, I decided to search for schools that were out of state, and that was how I came across Fontbonne University.

A small, Catholic University in the heart of one of the most beautiful suburbs of St. Louis, MO, I found my dream school. When I went for the first open house, I felt right at home. The admission staff already knew my name and made me feel like they knew me already. I didn’t feel like just another, typical student coming in for a tour—I felt like someone whose presence at this school was valued and appreciated. When I left the open house that day, I told my mom, “THIS. IS. IT.”

And while I felt extremely nervous to have completely changed my plan of staying in my hometown and attending the school I always expected myself to attend, I knew that this decision would be the best one for ME.

Almost three years later, I’m entering my third year at Fontbonne, and let me tell you, it has been one of the best decisions of my life. I have noticed a dramatic change in myself, for the better: I’m so much stronger and confident, I love myself more, and I have become abundantly independent. And above all else, I have built so many amazing relationships with my fellow students and teachers in the Fontbonne community. Thank you Fontbonne!

The purpose for writing about this article is to encourage those prepping for college to choose the right school for YOU. Think about what you need to make you succeed and what you want to get out of your college experience. And guess what, it's totally ok if you steer from the original plan... in my opinion it makes life a bit more fun!