This year, I will be going into my freshman year at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. However, I was raised to be a Colorado State Ram.

My hometown in Colorado is only fifteen minutes away from the CSU campus and this has given me many opportunities to attend football games, various sports camps and music events on campus.

I grew up wearing green and gold. It would have been so easy to follow the path laid out for me and enroll at CSU; a path that many of my friends have taken.

However, while there is absolutely nothing wrong with staying in-state for school, I have known for awhile that I need to leave Colorado for college. Here are some reasons why I chose the school I did:

1. Because I copy my older brother...

I’ve always been that annoying, younger sibling who follows around her older brother. So, when my biggest role model went to California for school and loved it, I decided in 7th grade that I wanted to leave Colorado for college as well.

This last year especially, I have spent a lot of time talking with my older brother about college and my options and he reassured me that even though he experienced extreme homesickness during his first semester away, going to California was the best decision he could have made.

Going out of state let him grow without the expectations from the people who have known him his whole life and it forced him to branch out in unexpected ways. As a result, he gained confidence in who he was and in who he was becoming.

2.Completely new people…

One of the most obvious reasons for leaving my home-state for college is the entirely new group of people who, for the most part, have very different backgrounds from me. While it is guaranteed that I will meet new people at any college, going out of state will force me to go out of my way to meet new people.

I grew up very shy, and while I have worked on coming out of my shell, I know that if I had chosen to go to CSU, there is a very good chance that I would have mostly stayed with my friend group from high school. Do not get me wrong, I love those guys. But college is about expanding your horizons and other such cliches, so I needed to give myself the best chance at meeting new people and growing as a person.

3.Learning how to fend for myself...

I have always been fiercely independent. If you ask my grandma, she will tell you all about how I refused help with dressing myself or doing my hair since about the time I was old enough to speak.

It is both my fatal flaw and my saving grace and because of this, I am excited to see how well I actually will be able to fend for myself. I know it will not be easy, but it is important to me to know that I can be on my own. If anything, I am hoping to gain a better appreciation of my family and all of the little things my parents do for me to keep my life running smoothly.

4.Living in a new place for a short period of time...

Colorado will always be my home. Without a doubt, I know that when I settle down in the future I want to be living within sight of Colorado's Rocky Mountains. However, I do not see any harm in living in a new place for a few years and gaining new perspective. I have always loved traveling and I am excited to be in a new environment for at least four years.

5.Homesickness hits everyone, so might as well experience it somewhere new...

College is a big change, for everyone. Just from speaking to friends, I know that whether you go to school two hours from home or 15, homesickness is inevitable at some point. If I am going to be missing home anyways, I might as well be in a completely new place. The hope is that the distance will force me to learn how to handle being away from my family in healthy ways as I cannot stay with them for the rest of my life.

While I will always consider myself an honorary Rammie, I am looking forward to my four years away from home as a Whitworth Pirate. So, here's to uncertainty and new experiences!