To the school that wasn't my forever home,

I want to start this by saying that you did nothing wrong. As the typical line in every romance movie states, "It's not you; it's me."

I was so excited when I got that acceptance letter. I felt like I was on cloud nine. I started buying college gear, putting the name in my social media bio, etc. you know the drill. I couldn't wait for move-in day. I was so ready to spend the next four years there.

But the morning after move-in day, I got a feeling that I couldn't describe. Of course, I had homesickness, but there was another feeling there. It was a feeling that I shouldn't be here, this shouldn't be my school.

This was not my forever home.

This feeling never went away. No matter how much I distracted myself, how many friends I had, how much I told myself it would get better, that feeling never went away.

I was doing great in my classes and I had friends who loved me. Why didn't this feel like home?

I listened to friends back home say how much they loved their college and didn't want to leave. I wondered what they were talking about and wanted so badly to have that same feeling. Soon enough, I started coming home every weekend to escape that feeling. That's when I started thinking about transferring.

My mom had transferred after her first year of college and told me that it was an option for me as well. I started looking back into my dream school and my second choice school that had denied me entry freshman year. I was so depressed about how my freshman year was going that I didn't believe either school would take me.

Surprisingly, as I've been told many times, I put myself down and doubt my abilities. On April 8th, I got the letter from my dream school, UNC-Chapel Hill, that I was in.

My dream had come true.

Since getting into my dream school, I've been visiting the campus frequently. I've never been happier than when I'm on that campus. That is my forever home. I know this in my heart and soul. Dreams do come true and prayers do get answered, this I am sure of.

UNC Charlotte, you have done nothing wrong. You were just simply not the school for me. I will never forget you or the lessons that you taught me.

You taught me to never doubt myself or my abilities. You taught me to shoot for the stars and make my dreams a reality. While this past year didn't seem like a good year, looking back now it was. If I had not gone to UNCC my freshman year, I would not be getting to make my dream.

So thank you UNC Charlotte, Niner Nation will always have a piece of me. I won't forget you.

Sincerely,

Your Former Student