While the actual price of college is anything but cheap, the experiences and learning is priceless. I learned more from my out-of-state experience than I will ever learn from a book or degree. I had to really grow up and be on my own in such a critical time. It’s what drove me to be independent and self-reliant. I had to manage my time and focus on what was best for me. I feel like, if anything, college really taught me about who I am as an individual. I was put in an unfamiliar situation and it forced me to grow. Had it not been for my decision to leave, I may be grounded in the same roots I grew up in, without ever realizing the world I was missing out on. I became resilient, passionate and motivated; I knew this was the person I always someday wanted to become. My provincial town kept me from experiencing that self I had only dreamed of being, and this school pushed me past limits I never knew I had. It challenged me and shaped me and I know now the mental strength I have is a result of it.

There is not a feeling quite like the one of finding somewhere new to call home. Once a place of strangers became so quickly a sanctuary of family members. I’ll never be able to adequately explain the feeling of leaving all you know to go somewhere entirely new and starting over. There’s no way to describe the way a place can make you feel, or the way people can bring out the potential you never realized was right inside you. And for those times and that place and those people that I will most certainly not forget, I will be forever grateful for each and every one of them. I don’t live a day without remembering the freedom of that person and the strength and love I have now because of it. It’s a remarkable feeling that I am sure many fall short of experiencing for the fear of being far from home. But honestly, it’s worth a few sleepless nights, and a couple missed birthdays with your families. Because the moments you spend with your friends, those times you stay up all night, long practices, banquets, bus rides, and road trips-- all those times, although at the moment may have seemed minor in comparison to the ones you were missing-- were actually monumental and they're the memories you’ll look back on. Then one day you’ll realize that those small moments, those subtle times of tears, laughter and mischief, were actually the times that were changing you into who you are now. And every way you experience things is a product of the person you became through those moments.

So if you take one thing from this, know that leaving home after high school, getting out of your comfort zone, experiencing the world from a new perspective is the best decision you can make. And those four years-- which seem like an eternity right now-- are really just small fractions of your entire life, so don’t base your decision on the time you're afraid to spend away from home. You’ll go back when it’s done. Just don’t settle for who you are right now because you're afraid of regret or unsure if you're making the right decision; the only regret you should have is if you don’t do everything in your power to find that person.