Coming from a town like Columbus, Georgia, the only true excitement we get is the newest episode of "Pretty Little Liars," Forever 21 opening in Peachtree Mall or moving away for college. All of the talk every year is how much everyone wants to leave and never look back. I would be lying if I said I was not a part of the talk. Truthfully, coming from a small town, going to a college in a new town is terrifying. I am about to go to college a little less than four hours away from me, but that is still a huge transition from the little town I am coming out from. The thought of leaving the place I have become so accustomed to over the last seventeen years is enough to make me wonder if it will be worth it. But hear the good news: it absolutely is. You never expand as a person by staying in your comfort zone.
Life is all about making the most out of the time you are given. Our lives are just minuscule dots in the bigger picture. All we are is the little dash between our birth and death date. Moving away from home is bound to happen, and we all must endure adulthood eventually. The one thing to take comfort in is that there are thousands of other people every year that do the same thing. There are so many people that are taking this same journey as you, so do not feel alone. Odds are you will meet the people that affect your life for the better (maybe the worse), but it is all a learning experience. One thing that keeps me confident in my decision to move away is that I can always come back.
College is the experience of a lifetime, I have heard. The best four years of our lives are ahead of us. How exciting it is to know that the things we missed out on in high school, the Friday night lights, the bonfires, the parties, they do not come to an end just because high school does. It's like we get four more years to do it all again, except we get to do it better.
In my own life, I have struggled heavily with identity. It has been really hard to find myself through the struggles of completing AP projects, keeping a decent GPA and testing well on my ACT. I don't know if I truly know exactly who I am yet. College is going to truly benefit me by showing me exactly what I want to be, and what I hope I never am.
Another bonus for college is knowing that I am making my loved ones proud. I am the first kid in my family to go to college, so discovering the dos and don'ts will be a job I cannot count on guidance for. I am thrilled, though. I am going to find out how well I can fall and fly on my own.
I am a mere five months and some change away from being in this great big world by myself. I know, though, that the city I come from has taught me all I need to know. I am ready.
