Leaving for college was always one of those monumental life events that left me wondering, when it would come, and when would it feel real. When I began to pack and buy supplies, it didn't feel as if I would actually be going to college until I woke up this morning. I woke up to a fairly bare room, scattered with boxes, and left over items. I knew that this morning I'd have to savor my last hours before I left, yes I'd be back but it'd never be the same. I looked out my bedroom windows that lightened my days for the last sixteen years, and soaked in the sunrise.

After everything was packed up, my family and I got on the road to move in. I began to vividly remember staring out the window of my school bus on the way to another day of elementary school, wondering what it would be like to be a high schooler let alone a college student. It felt like forever away, yet in a blink of an eye, here I am all packed driving to college.

Starting the drive down the same roads that my school bus drove me down. Everything looked the same, the cracked pavement, my favorite weeping willow tree, and my town's historic city hall. Yet, this time I didn't take the same left turn to take me to my old school. This time, the drive took me further and further towards a different destination. Leaving behind everything I've ever known, and entering into a new phase of my life.

This new phase scares me, there's so many unknowns. I'll no longer live with my family permanently, or live close to my childhood friends. I'm embarking on another journey on the road of my life, and it's exciting! As I continue to write and glance at the highway that spans into the distance, I can't help but wonder what lies ahead. What lifelong memories I'll make, how I'll grow as a person, and how I'll begin to figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life.

As I arrived to my residence hall, it still didn't seem real. Unpacking my dads truck full of my decor, clothing, and storage felt insane to me. It didn't hit me until my parents had left, and I was alone in my dorm room that night. I wasn't totally alone with girls in surrounding dorms, yet it wasn't the same as when I was in my bedroom. I always had my family just a hall away, and now I was surrounded by strangers. The tears hit me that night, and I cried. Cried with joy and sadness, I was truly entering a new stage of my life. A stage full of freedom and opportunity, but one with so many unknowns.

I've found that late at night is when I do my deepest thinking and reflecting. It's not the most convenient of times, but my difficult self has made a habit of it. So on this late night I wanted to continue writing this article true to my first days, and so I'm writing at one fifty in the morning, wide awake with a racing mind. A mind full of memories from the past, and what ifs for my future. On a night like tonight, I feel blessed to be here, to be able to grow and better myself. The toughest moments in life truly do strengthen you as a person.

As I fully embark onto this next chapter of my life, I know that there's many unknowns to come! Yet, I'm excited. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to gain independence, and find myself throughout this next journey.