4,156. That is how many people are in my town as of last year. I have always lived in this small town and this year I will be going to college at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The university holds 21,734 undergraduate students, not including graduate students, teachers, administration, and everyone else. I recently toured the university for orientation, and many wonder how I would go from such a small town to one of the biggest colleges in Massachusetts.

I am nervous to go to such a big school, but I also love the fact that it is such a large school. My heart has always been set on travelling to anywhere that was in reach. I love exploring cities, and although Amherst is not a city, it still has a campus inside of it that holds many people, giving it the city feeling. I love the idea that there are so many people I have the potential to meet, and there will still be many that I will never see. Although some may disagree since my town is only half an hour away from the university, I really do feel I am putting myself out there. I feel like I am stepping out of my comfort zone because it is not easy to make that adjustment.

People ask me if I'm worried about getting lost, and to be honest I am. The school is very big as I have said, but like everything else, I will learn my way around. I am going to make the university my home for the next four years and I could not be more excited because it will be quite the adventure. I will probably be late to a class or two because I do not know my way around and that is okay because I will eventually learn from that mistake just as I would with any other mistake.

In all honesty, I am more excited about to college than anything. UMass gives me the opportunity to meet many people and decide what my future has in store. There are more than 300 clubs and I am happy that I am already writing for the Odyssey because through here I can meet people I may not meet in other classes or activities. On another good note, I know many people from my school that go to UMass, and I know that if I have any questions I can just talk to them because they will help me.

For anyone considering going from a small town to a large school, please do it. You will get lost, you may get nervous, but it is okay because many schools can give you so many opportunities that you could never even imagine. And if you try it and you do not like it, at least now you know and you can make any adjustments you need.

But believe me when I say, just go for it.