Picking a college wasn’t an easy decision for me. Instead, it was a long and drawn out process filled with much traveling and discussions with my parents. It was also a scary experience, because for most of it I didn’t know where I wanted to go. While most of my friends knew where they wanted to go since the beginning of applying to schools, I was instead lost trying to apply anywhere. My college story is full of surprises and let downs. There were times when I felt let down, and there were times that I felt lost. But in the end I ended up where I was supposed to. This is my college story.

To start, I applied to six colleges that I felt fit me. I wrote my essays, and even had them reviewed by family and friends I trusted. Almost all of them said that my essays were very thought-out and I would get into anywhere with them. I then asked my teachers to write me letters of recommendations. All of them praised me and the work I had accomplished. After that was finished I applied to my colleges. In February, my first choice college denied me. I thought for sure they would have accepted me. I had the perfect essay and had tried my hardest to get in there. I was devastated. I felt let down and ashamed of myself, but not all of my hope was lost. I was still accepted into the other five schools I had applied to. Maybe my first choice hadn’t accepted me, but I knew one of the others was the right fit for me. So, I moved on to my second choice college.

My second choice college was located in Boston. Obviously, my parents were not exactly excited about that. But they still were open to my opinion and that allowed me to visit the school with my dad in late March. When I got to Boston it was cold, and I hate the cold. The campus was very pretty, but I just didn’t feel like I would fit in there. I also felt very far from home. I knew that I wanted to be away from home and expand myself as a person, but I knew that Boston was just too far for me.

This left me with three other options. I toured one of them, and still didn’t feel like it was the place for me. That left me with one other option. The problem was that I got the flu the day I was supposed to tour the school. Instead of touring the school, I went to Patient First, and there I had a nurse that told me I should look into James Madison University. It was a very weird experience, as I was looking for an answer that day. National decision day came and I took a risk. I sent in money for JMU. I had never been there or even seen the campus. I am so glad that I did. I love this school. My advice for any high school seniors is to not stress about where you are going to go and instead explore all your options. You may just end up somewhere you never thought you would.