For my whole life, I feel like most of my major decisions have been made for me. Of course, I have had a personal say in a few minor decisions, but mostly I have been influenced strongly by my friends, teachers, parents, and of course, by society.

But during the last few months of my senior year in high school, I realized that I have had to make some big decisions all on my own. What college will I go to? Will I continue playing sports after high school? I needed to look at what I wanted out of my life, but how was I to know if I had never made any big choices for myself before?

It was like my whole life I haven't been able to make many decisions for myself, but now all of a sudden I am expected to make all of these choices and I don't know how. Because I've never had much of an opportunity to make decisions before, I never really knew what I wanted.

But now that I have been forced to have an opinion and be decisive, I'm realizing how much I don't know about myself. I want to better understand who I am now, who I want to be in the future, and what legacy I want to leave on this earth. These are all super important characteristics of ourselves that only we can answer personally.

What I didn't realize would be so hard about this transition is the fact that I know very little about myself or my goals for the future. These first few weeks at college have made me understand the importance of making decisions, and I hope that I can start being more in control of my thoughts and get concrete answers to my beliefs and aspirations.

Although I wasn't expecting this, I understand now why everyone always says that college is the perfect time to find yourself.

Through my independent opinions, I will grow as a leader, learner, and person, and I can't wait to see where this takes me.