It's official! I've completed my first semester as a college student. It was a rollercoaster ride that I am thankful I had the chance to complete. At some moments, I didn't know how I was going to make it through. At other times, I'd never imagined I'd be so happy in such a place.

Waking up the first week of school was always the hardest part of my day. I'd open my eyes thinking I was home; the only place I wanted to be. I'd look outside my window and find a strange place that I didn't know was meant for me. I suddenly had to share a room with someone I barely knew, be away from my family and friends, and tackle challenging classes with professors that never went easy on me. I, along with millions of other freshman across the country, were thrown into a different world.

"Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of those three options, and you must choose now."

As I started to put my eyes on what I had in front of me in the here and now, things started to get easier. I learned to like the view outside my bedroom window. My roommate turned into one of my best friends. I realized how much more I needed to appreciate my friends and family at home. I learned the importance of office hours. I learned to love change.

So if I can thank you for one thing, First Semester, I will thank you for showing me the importance of being present. I like to wander my eyes towards the future and rewind sometimes in the past. First semester showed me that living day by day, will eventually lead you to the place you want to be. You are here and there is a reason for that. All you have is here and now. So thank you Miami and thank you First Semester.

XO

Kate