Living in a small town, you are judged by having the audacity to change and to go against the norm. They act like changing is the worst thing you could possibly do. I am here to tell you that it is not. Change is not a dirty word. If someone is trying to better their life, there is going to be some form of change along the way.

"College changed you." "You're different." These are among the many phrases I keep hearing from people in my hometown and even from a select few in my family tree. And the only response I have to these comments are "Isn't that the point?" Isn't college supposed to teach you how to think on your own? Isn't college supposed to broaden your mind, make you smarter. Isn't that why I pay college lots of my hard earned money? To be shaped and to become smarter -- to think outside the box of which you were raised.

Another comment I seem to get more often than not is that "college has brainwashed me." That is false. College HAS taught me to research things on my own and to not rely on false information. It HAS taught me that being different is okay, that thinking different is normal, that questioning everything is wonderful. Why believe the sky is blue just because you were taught that way as a child? Why not do your own research and take your own conclusion from it? College shows you different sides to the same story and lets you be the judge as to which side you choose to believe.

Because while the sky may be blue, the sky can also be grey, red,black, pink, and orange depending on what time of day you decide to look up.

They say that I act differently. Quite frankly, I think the term that they are lacking here is "maturely." I have grown up. I think the way I act is acceptable for the age I am right now. What did they expect me to do? Act like a teenager the rest of my life?

Friends are angry because I choose my school work over hanging out with them. They are angry because I changed and that I don't have time to hang out with them. And to that, I say, school will always be more important and if you cannot understand my decision then we are not maturing at the same rate.

So, yeah, maybe I have changed, but since when did the word change start to have such a negative connotation? I view change as a good thing. To change is to want better for yourself. You cannot expect to grow if you are not willing to change. Change is the very aspect that allows the human race to thrive.

Stop belittling people who decide to change their mind on certain issues. Embrace the change! Changing shows that you are learning and growing. I will say it again for the people in the back:

Change shows that you are learning and growing.