From an early age, college was always brought up into simplest of conversations. Living in the great state of Ohio, where we have a total of 136 colleges and universities, it's going to get brought up eventually. So in the eighth grade, it was expected of me to go to a college prep high school. I never would've thought that my freshman year guidance meeting would entail me making a list of colleges I would like to go too. I had just gotten into high school and I didn't think this conversation would have taken place until the end of my junior year.

But, boy, was I wrong.

From that point on it was, "You'll be doing this in college," "Do you think your college professor will take in something this late?" The other girls were taking it all in and preparing. But for me, I just brushed it off my shoulder and kept saying I had time. Again, boy, was I wrong. Before I knew it, I was shadowing careers and college tours and ACT prep and the Common App and the list just goes on. And it was during that time I realized I was too deep in this hole to crawl out, I had to make my own ladder to get myself out.

All this time my parents kept saying, "community college is the smartest thing for you to do," and just the thought of community college made me sick. I didn't want to stay home, I wanted the college "experience." When it came to college, all I could think about was decorating my dorm and parties and all these new people. I didn't have a major picked out or even a plan for my future. But there was always this voice from my parents about how community college is a great place for when you have no idea what you want to do and just your prerequisites out of the way and it would save me so much money! But again, I didn't want that. I wanted a life away from everything that I had already.

So I picked a college and was excited for the future ahead of me. But there was so many factors that haven't I didn't even think about it. I had gotten financial aid, not much, but some, but it just wasn't enough. I then realized that I wasn't enough. So a month before my high school graduation, I finally listened to my parents and applied for my local community college and had to realize this was the best for me, even when I didn't want to.

Since I've made that decision, I have gotten so much praise and acknowledgement from friends and family. I hear, "wow, I wish I was doing that," "that will be so better in the end." There are times when I am very happy for the decision I have made, and there are other times where I wish I just would've gone to a 4-year campus and lived the life everyone else is living.

In the end, if you are not prepared to go to college and are not even thinking about going to community college, please reconsider. You won't be missing out on much; remember, college is about getting a great education, not about partying. Don't feel pressure about committing to a school, take one step at time and take a breath. School will always be there, just make sure you're ready for it.