This past week, I started school at Columbia University. I got a good schedule, a fantastic (if slightly too hot) room, a multitude of new friends, excellent courses that manage to keep me thinking even outside the classroom, and enough homework to make any high school kid across the country tear their hair out. However, what is truly remarkable about my experience here so far is not the libraries, buildings, or too-long lines in JJ’s place. No, what has truly been remarkable so far has been the atmosphere and community.

While I am absolutely sure of the presence of exceptional human beings at any educational institution in the world, and while I may just be writing this out of personal bias for my own university experience, I must say that Columbia’s community has been practically unparalleled by any other community in my life. This is not a slight to my high school life or friends; if anything, Omaha, Nebraska was the catalyst that allowed me to branch out into new experiences and friends. And, while I do expect to form lifelong friendships and relationships at Columbia and New York City as a whole, I would be remiss to forget my own Nebraskan roots.

I have no shame in admitting I have felt no homesickness since arriving here in a new, bustling city. But still, Omaha hasn’t exactly been far from my memory; the Jack Spence Chess Club, my old high school, and even my own parents have flown across this scatterbox I call a mind. In a sense, Omaha has colored New York City for me for the better. This massive city has no shortage of things to do. Omaha, despite its small size and quaint recreational areas, still has a place in my heart. There is a time to move on, to accept new challenges and lifestyles, but I will continue to believe that there is never a time to forget where one comes from.

I suppose no Columbia exposé would be complete without a mention of NSOP, or the New Student Orientation Program. Although my group was small, there was a sense of being tight-knit. Our orientation leader (OL), being extroverted to the max, was incredibly effective in showing us campus and introducing us to Columbia life. Even the night-time activities, from soccer on the lawn to touring Greenwich Village with my friends, was far more enjoyable than I ever could have expected.

This monstrosity of a passage is me essentially trying to say that I think I have a fantastic four years ahead of me. I have everything I could possibly want: fantastic friends, professors, classes, and, most importantly, independence. There is something innately refreshing about not having to rely on parents, elders, or authority figures for decision-making. And, while I am sure that a bevy of mistakes have yet to come, I have no trepidation. Encountering and righting my mistakes is sure to be difficult and painstaking, but I have no fear of the future. For the first time in my life, I feel completely and absolutely ready.