I thought I was so smart, but I really wasn't. I thought because my high school GPA was so high and that I got accepted to all of the schools I wanted that I deserved to go to the school I wanted. That didn't happen though. Sometimes finances just don't work out. So where do you go from there? Community college.

The amazing thing is that God knew what I needed. He knew I needed to be humbled, and he knew I needed to grow as a person before I could be on my own.

It was a rough transition, but it helped that my sister had gone through the same thing. She was able to support me and give me the advice I needed to hear even if it was hard to hear.

Part of this transition was getting to see my friends go on to colleges and universities away from home, living their lives on their own. I on the other hand was still living in the same bedroom I had been in since eighth grade. The thing about me at that point was that I was not a confident person. I still struggled to speak up for myself. Having a job dealing with customer service helped this tremendously. At the time though, I don't think I would have made it very well on my own. I needed to figure out who I was while still having the safety net of what was familiar in living at home and staying in the same area.

It also helps that I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do, and I didn't know for sure until my last semester at community college. If I had gone to a four-year university than I would not have been able to play around in the different fields without spending an exorbitant amount of money on classes that wouldn't count towards my degree (In case you didn't know, at CPCC when you graduate with an Associates Degree, all of your general education classes are waived at UNCC!)

One of the things I am most grateful for is that I got to meet a lot of different people I would never have had the opportunity to if I had gone to a four-year university. I had the privilege to be in classes with people younger than me who were still in high school trying to get ahead so they could finish college early and enter to the work force to help support themselves and their parents. I had the privilege to be with people who were older than me who worked their butts off all day in a 40-60 hour work week and had to find someone else to watch their kids for the evening just so they could attend a night class to get the degree/certificate they’ve been working so hard and so long for. There were people form all walks of life, and it was beautiful. I learned something from all of them.

Don't ever look down on someone because they didn't go to a four year college/university. The person I considered my closest friend at the time did, and it was awful. It's not something to downplay. An education is an education. Some of the hardest classes and best professors I've taken have been at community college. AND I’ll be graduating with two degrees instead of just one. How cool is that?!

Going to community college is such a smart move, because unless you have a scholarship or parents that will cover all of your expenses, school will cost you an arm and a leg and those loans will hang over your head for the next ten years. It's not worth it.