Dear High School Seniors,

Right now is a crazy time in your life. I remember the college application process perfectly in all its scary, exciting, and stressful glory. You may know your dream school already or be unable to decide between ten different options. As you're applying, you're probably thinking of criteria for where you want to spend the next four years of your life. You may know you want to rule out any school with a large campus, or maybe you want to go to the biggest university possible. Whether you know you're itching to leave home or you're terrified to even consider it , this is for you. The one thing I want you to take away from this article is to not shut down the idea of going to a school because it's too far away from your hometown.

Of course, there are many different factors that go into deciding the location of your school, such as financial situations or family matters. But, if there's even a possibility of being able to leave home for college, this is for you.

I'm from Charleston, South Carolina where it's warm, sunny, and very southern. I now go to Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, where this is not the case at all. I started my journey in August, not knowing a single person, having no family in the state, and not even owning a winter jacket. And now, two months in, I know it was the best decision I've ever made.

Now I realize everyone's view of "far away" is different. For my friends who came to Boston from California, my trek home is a breeze. For some, moving one state up or down is a stretch. As long as you feel some sort of culture shock in your new home, you've followed my advice.

Last year at this time, I knew I wanted to go to a school in a big city. I knew I definitely wanted to leave home because, at the time, it was an abstract concept that seemed easy. The nearest school I applied to was in North Carolina, which still seemed too close for my liking. I felt on top of the world. I was so confident in saying I was going to live hundreds of miles away from everything I knew, until this summer when reality hit me.

Since schools up north start later than in the south, my friends were slowly disappearing one by one. I started thinking about not being able to eat at my favorite restaurants or how I won't be able to sleep in my own bed for months. This is when I realized that what I was about to do was real, and it was starting to seem harder than I pictured it to be.

The first week of college was weird, scary, and foreign. I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach from the second I said goodbye to my family that I felt would never go away. There was one moment where I remember distinctly sitting down and realizing I now lived in a city by myself. And it's not like I could just drive home when I missed something from my hometown. I couldn't just hop on a plane whenever I wanted.

A week later, this feeling was completely gone and replaced with excitement, independence, and opportunity. I discovered my new favorite coffee shop, met amazing friends from all over the country, and realized I had a whole city to explore. I thought about an alternate universe where I was going to school in a place I already knew like the back of my hand and couldn't picture myself there for a second. I've met so many people with different backgrounds, stories, and experiences. I learn something new every day about myself and my new home-away-from-home.

Taking risks is harder than people make them out to be. The concept sounds nice, but when you actually have to change your life completely, it gets intimidating. So if you're deciding where you want to go to college, know leaving home isn't easy. But, taking the safe route will not be half as rewarding and life-changing. Realizing you can live by yourself in a foreign place gives you a special type of confidence you never even knew you could feel. You're capable of taking this leap, I promise. You'll thank me later.

Sincerely, Giselle