Leaving high school and heading into the next four years of the unknown that is college life can be intimidating, although exciting when it comes time to make the big decisions as to where your next four years will be spent.

When I was in high school I saw a lot of people making their college decision based on where their significant other or their friends would be attending in the fall. And while I understand the desire to be with people you already know in order to foster a sense of comfort and security, I have to say that, in my opinion, basing a college decision based on the geographic proximity to a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a friend group, etc. is FAR from wise. Here's why:

For starters, life is FULL of changes and I've found college, the first year especially, to be jam-packed with all kinds of "different". Your routine is different, your teachers are different, where you live is different, your entire way of life is different from what it had looked like for the prior four years. So if all these changes are happening, what's to say that your relationship with whomever you base your college decision on, won't change too?

I'm not saying that you won't be friends with the same people or that you'll break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, but I am saying that it is a possibility. As people grow, they change and sometimes with change and growth comes the natural growing apart of relationships that were once more compatible and that's okay! But, recognizing that sometimes people grow apart, should be enough of a cornerstone realization to not base one of the most important decisions of your life on anyone but yourself.

And sometimes, those relationships don't change and that's wonderful. But I can promise that the people who truly love you and care about you are not going to ask you to stay close by so that they can feel secure.

They would rather you be in a place where you are challenged and can grow rather than a place where you would feel stunted and stuck and unmotivated, even if that means you aren't at the same university. If there are people in your life who would ask you to limit your growth, your dreams and your potential for the sake of their own security, think about if those are people you really want to keep close anyway.

Also, not being in the same place, CHALLENGES RELATIONSHIPS in the BEST WAY. Nothing has made me more sure of the relationships with the people I hold dearest than the fact that I live halfway across the country from most of them and can still, without a doubt, consider them my counsel, my people, my best friends, and the holders of the biggest pieces of my heart.

Now, I'm not saying that you should move across the country just to put your relationships to the test. I am saying that if you feel compelled to be in a drastically different place than your people are because you feel like that's where you'll grow the most as a person, don't allow where they are to hold you back. They will always be there when you come home. Love knows no distance, love knows no bounds.

The world is yours for the taking; don't miss it.